Ben Barber culinary students earn national honor

The culinary and restaurant management stars of tomorrow took center stage at the 2025 National ProStart Invitational, hosted by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The high school students showed off their talent and skills, with the team from Mansfield's Ben Barber Career Tech Academy placing second in restaurant management.

The San Dimas High School team from San Dimas, Calif., won first place in the culinary competition and Chalmette High School team from Chalmette, La., taking first place in the restaurant management competition.

More than 400 of the nation’s best and brightest culinary and restaurant management students on 96 teams from 47 states and the

District of Columbia, competed for top billing and their share of $200,000 in scholarships.

The 2025 National ProStart Invitational theme, “Burn Bright,” highlighted the passion, creativity, and dedication of the competitors who have spent the school year preparing for competition.

Teams earned their spot in the national showdown after winning their respective state level competitions.

The culinary competition was a high-stakes challenge of preparing and plating a three-course menu in one hour without access to running water or electricity and using just two butane burners. Teams in the restaurant management competition presented and defended their team-developed restaurant business concepts and plans to a panel of restaurant and foodservice industry judges.

The San Dimas High School team won the culinary competition by creating and executing three menu-ready recipes that included detailed cooking instructions and menu cost analysis. Each dish was professionally plated, tasted, and analyzed by a panel of industry judges. Their menu included an appetizer of pan seared Chilean sea bass resting in a coconut, lemongrass, ginger and chive oil broth; an entree of lamb strip loin with truffle pommé puree and blueberry port wine sauce, featuring a brûléed poached shallot and salad; and coconut mouse encased in a chocolate shell for dessert.

The Chalmette High School team captured the national title in the restaurant management segment, presenting and defending their La Strada concept that honors the Sicilian lineage that has shaped the greater New Orleans' culinary scene for over a century. Their menu is filled with dishes centered on simplicity, freshness and quality including Sicilian pizzas, muffulettas and po’boys for lunch and table-side pasta, prepared in a Parmigiano Reggiano cheese wheel at dinner. The restaurant also has a strong social good component, supporting their community with food drives, college book drives and sponsored community refrigerators and pantries across their area. The restaurant is also committed to reducing waste and supporting a greener future through sustainable operations practices. During their hour-long presentation to a panel of industry professionals, the students pitched their full business plan, including budget,

restaurant design, and marking strategies.

“The National ProStart Invitational competition is a tremendous spotlight on our nation’s most talented restaurant culinary and management students,” said Michelle Korsmo, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association and CEO of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. “ProStart students have talent, skills, and dedication and the restaurant

industry can offer them unlimited opportunities in the more than 70 career paths among the more than 200,000 jobs added in the restaurant industry each year. These students are a clear indication that the future of the restaurant industry is bright.” 

“As America’s second-largest private sector employer and a places where millions of people gather and eat, restaurants rely on the kind of innovation, creativity, and teamwork displayed by ProStart competitors this weekend,” said Rob Gifford, president of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. “I can’t wait to watch how these young culinarians and business minds continue to burn bright, no matter where their futures take them.”

Following are the top five teams in the culinary and restaurant management competitions:

Culinary Winners

1. San Dimas High School, San Dimas, CA

2. Plymouth-Canton Educational Park, Canton, MI

3. Anderson Career and Technology Center, Williamston, SC

4. Clinton High School, Clinton, MS

5. Youthentity, Carbondale, CO

Management Winners

1. Chalmette High School, Chalmette, LA

2. Ben Barber Innovation Academy, Mansfield, TX

3. Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

4. Wekiva High School, Apopka, FL

5. Wando High School, Mt. Pleasant, SC

2025 James H. Maynard Teacher of the Year

In addition to culinary and restaurant management competition winners, Chef Phillip Cropper, the ProStart educator at Worcester Technical High School in Newark, MD, was named the 2025 James H. Maynard Teacher of the Year. With support from Golden Corral, the award is part of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation ProStart Educator of Excellence program, which recognizes the country’s top educators who demonstrate classroom excellence and an unparalleled commitment to helping their students make the most of the program’s opportunities.

ProStart – the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s nationwide career and technical education program – has equipped more than 1 million high school students with career-ready culinary and restaurant management skills. More than an elective, the program is designed to equip students with restaurant-specific certifications and competencies, over 400 hours of practical work experience, and access to restaurant and hospitality apprenticeship and scholarship opportunities. Students complete the ProStart program ready to join a professional kitchen or advance to higher education. Today, the program reaches 222,000 students at 2,200

schools.

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