TEMPLE, Texas — Three Temple High School culinary arts students made program history when they competed in the ProStart Texas Food and Restaurant Management State Competition two weeks ago in Waco. The trio of students became the first Temple High School culinary arts students to participate in that event.
Seniors Alysha Osborne and Keiazia Wheeler and sophomore Maya Clements were the three THS students to compete in the event. Each student was able to choose which event to compete in with Osborne competing in the Pecan & Peach Dessert Duel challenge and No-Bake Dessert competition. She created peach and pecan macarons and a lavender-honey goat cheesecake for those events. Clements participated in the Burger Without Borders contest, where she made a rice-bun bulgogi burger. Wheeler competed in the Coca-Cola Refresher competition and improvised a drink by utilizing strawberry puree, lemonade concentrate, and agua fresca concentrate. The competition challenged their creativity in unfamiliar categories and also came with some frustrations and unexpected complications during the competition. Those challenges ranged from blenders not working, to missing ingredients, to some difficulties with the recipes themselves. But each of the students learned something about themselves they can use moving forward.
“We had some complications during the competition, but we were able to improvise,” Osborne said. “My cheesecake didn’t cool like I was expecting, but I was still able to get two slices that I could present to the judges. This will definitely help us know how to think on the fly when we get into the workplace to be able to fix things quickly.”
“I didn’t have some of the ingredients I needed but I was able to put something together and finish in the top four, so that was a good feeling,” Wheeler added. “It helps by knowing the structure you have to always go through no matter what and you can figure out another solution to whatever you are facing.”
“I was able to watch some of the other people make buns out of things I never would have thought of using, so it was really cool to see how everything came together,” Clements said. “It helped me learn to remain calm in rough situations. It helped me focus on continuing to work through the issue.”
More than 900 high school culinary and hospitality students competed in the two-day event. There were team-based culinary and restaurant management contests, and more than 300 students, including the Temple High School representatives, competed individually across 20 categories testing technical skills, creativity, and speed.
“ProStart is supported by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, allowing students to showcase their culinary skills in various disciplines they have been learning in a unique setting, either in a team or individually,” Temple High School Culinary Arts Teacher Kaylin Culp said. “It gives them an opportunity to demonstrate their talents and passions for the hospitality industry, as well as further practice their employability skills. Students also gain exposure and recognition while receiving feedback from industry professionals.”
First-place finishers at the contest qualified to advance to the National ProStart Invitational. Other top finishers also received scholarships during the event.