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Moapa Valley High School and Carson High School Take Top Honors At State Competition - (3/3/2008)

High School students from across the state shine at 6th Annual ProStart Student Invitational

February 25, 2008 - Las Vegas - Moapa Valley High School took top honors in the Culinary Competition at the 6th Annual ProStart Student Invitational, held Feb. 22 at the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Las Vegas (formerly The Culinary Institute of Las Vegas) in Henderson, Nevada. Carson City High School won second place, Las Vegas High School placed third, and Regional Tech High School placed fourth for this portion of the contest.

All together, more than 200 students from schools across the state took part in the culinary and management competitions. More than $55,000 in scholarships was awarded to the students. Winning teams will go on to represent Nevada at the prestigious National ProStart Student Invitational in San Diego, Calif., in April.

“We were delighted to again host the Nevada Pro Start Student Invitational. These students show a passion and drive for the culinary field that carries them into their post secondary education and into the industry,” says Chef David Hendricksen, Academic Director of Culinary Arts for The Art Institute of Las Vegas.

Twenty-three notable chefs and industry experts judged the contests and gave valuable advice during feedback sessions. “I was very impressed with these kids—high school students with basically very little training. Some of them were really exceptional and will have great careers in the industry,” says Chef Andre Rochet, Las Vegas’ original celebrity chef and owner of Andres French Restaurants, and Alize, who served as lead tasting judge.

Carson City HS took top honors in the management competition followed by Moapa Valley, Regional Tech High School, and Coronado High School. Carson wowed the judges with their solution of the case study and the knowledge displayed during the jeopardy-style quiz bowl contest. Lead Case Study Judge Mike Santos said, “I applaud the professionalism and dedication that each student in the program demonstrated on Friday. I think the teachers in this state have done a phenomenal job of teaching these kids the fundamentals of this great industry.”

Alex Shurtlift from Moapa Valley High School was awarded first place for the Knife Skills contest, followed by Colin Grishot of Carson City High School, Houston Costa of Moapa High School, and Nick Guinn of North Valley High School.

The popular Cake Decorating contest was won by Reanna Urena of Spring Valley High School. Aaron Davalos of Carson City placed second, and Allison Decampos of Carson City and Everett Wilkes of Silverado tied for third place. Will Warning of Silverado placed fourth.

For more information about the ProStart Program, please visit: www.nraef.org/prostart. Or, call (312) 715-6741.

The Nevada Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NvRAEF) is a non profit 501c3 corporation. Together with the Nevada Restaurant Association, its mission is to promote, Protect and educate the hospitality workforce of Nevada.

Founded in 1982, the Nevada Restaurant Association is the leading business association serving the needs of the food service operators in Nevada. As an affiliate of the National Restaurant Association, and together with the Nevada Restaurant Association’s Educational Foundation, the Association’s mission is to represent, educate and promote the rapidly growing industry, which is comprised of more than 5,200 restaurant and foodservice outlets employing more than 150,000 people. Learn more at: www.nvrestaurants.com.

1500 East Tropicana Avenue, Suite 114A
Las Vegas, NV 89119-6516
Tel: 702.878.2313
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