WESTFORD — Their victory last year wasn’t just a flash in the pan.
Students and staff in the Culinary Arts program at Nashoba Valley Technical High School won first place for the second straight year at the Massachusetts ProStart Competition, held March 10 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
At the ProStart Competition, sponsored by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, students from competing schools have one hour to complete a three-course meal using only two burners and no other electronic equipment.
The Nashoba Tech students — the same five that competed and won last year — created the menu and determined the costing and plate design, with help from Chef-Instructor Carley Capraro and Chef-Instructor Paul Wilson.
Students on Nashoba Tech’s winning team are Jillian Cambridge (junior, Ayer), Colby Hebert (senior, Ayer), Alexis Linstad (senior, Chelmsford), Samantha Richards (senior, Chelmsford) and Tyler Zerbinopoulos (senior, Chelmsford).
With the first-place finish, the team will now move on to the National ProStart Student Invitational competition, April 24-26 in Baltimore. Last year, they placed 14th nationally. The national event is sponsored by the National Restaurant Association.
At ProStart, students teams must develop a proposal and marketing plan for a new restaurant concept, then develop a menu that fits the concept. They have 60 minutes to cook an appetizer, entree and dessert. Students also must provide recipes, cost and menu pricing.
Judges are industry professionals who volunteer their time and expertise. “The students take this seriously as major scholarships can be and have been awarded for winning first place,” Capraro said. “They have been practicing two times a week for three months to get timing down to the second, and clearly it has paid off. Now, moving on, they will practice even more.”
Upon completion of the event, colleges and universities from around the country are on hand to offer scholarships to the top teams in the competition. For example, The Culinary Institute of America offers up to $90,000 to students. Winning teams have the opportunity to compete nationally at the National ProStart Student Invitational, which is hosted by the NRAEF.
Nashoba Tech’s menu consisted of:
• An appetizer of butter-poached native lobster cake paired with bacon-laced corn cream, and shaved apple-fennel salad dressed in a light honey vinaigrette and watercress.
• For the entree, uniquely seasoned and pan-seared venison tenderloin served with roasted rainbow carrots, local mushrooms, fondant potato, and a maple-shallot veal stock reduction.
• And for dessert, fluffy lemon chiffon cake resting upon a blueberry compote and lemon gelee, crowned with a vanilla chantilly, blueberry mousse, and a blueberry-dusted tuile cookie.
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