On Thursday, Feb. 27, the Lincoln Southwest ProStart Culinary team competed at The Career Academy for the Nebraska ProStart Culinary Competition and ended up winning second overall. ProStart is an extension of the curriculum used in culinary one through three and is a career-building program for high school students who are interested in culinary arts and foodservice management.

“At this level of competition, the winning is in the preparation,” ProStart advisor Mrs. Elizabeth Griffith said. “We have to bring every single thing we need for the entire event, so we have worked to perfect our packing lists so that we will remember every spoon, spatula, mixing bowl, ingredient, etc. that we need to prepare these dishes.”

The Culinary Team-Manager is junior Madeline Prouty and she is in charge of keeping an eye on the team as they progress through the 80-minute event, as well as keeping track of preparation timelines, recipes or notes to assist in keeping the team on track.

“Although my role is serious, I try to be kind, friendly, fashionable, and always encourage everyone on the team at competitions,” Prouty said. “I keep everything the team needs in a binder and keep it all organized based on what it is.”

The Culinary team has a total of 5 students who are all equally important and help keep the team running smoothly through every event. The team consists of junior Sam Cedarberg, junior Mikayla Vauiso, sophomore Prince Goronga, freshman Hailey Wagner and their team manager Madeline Prouty. 

“In competitions I do ‘all the little things’ so the rest of the team can do all of the big things perfectly,” freshman Hailey Wagner said. “I work closely with Mikayla Vauiso on the production of most dishes and she’s definitely a big inspiration for me.” 

The Culinary ProStart team is accepting to all grades freshman to senior and takes all skill levels. The goal of ProStart is that through competitions, students will get to experience the industry first hand and earn recognition for their skills. For more information about the ProStart Culinary Team contact Mrs. Griffith through her email.