Media Contact:
Elizabeth Ray
FRLA Communications Director
850.224.2250 x255
ERay@FRLA.org
The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Educational Foundation (FRLAEF) is proud to present the 2015 ProStart Culinary Team Competition. In its 15th year, the high-stakes competition features students from Florida’s ProStart program, a career technical education program where high school students learn from an industry-derived curriculum that teaches culinary techniques and restaurant management skills. More than 20,000 students from across Florida are enrolled in the program. The event is scheduled to take place Friday, February 27 and Saturday, February 28, 2015 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando.
“This event gives hardworking hospitality students an opportunity to showcase their talents and highlight the lifelong skills they learned through the FRLAEF, which is the only organization in Florida designed to provide students with school-to-career hospitality training,” said Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. “These students are Florida’s next generation of hoteliers, restauranteurs and business leaders and it is incredibly rewarding to watch them succeed in their home state.”
Students will compete for more than $800,000 in scholarships. First-place teams from the management and culinary competitions will advance to the prestigious National ProStart Invitational in Anaheim, Calif., April 18-20, 2015.
During the event, ProStart students will demonstrate culinary techniques in a high-energy competition as they prepare a three-course meal in 60 minutes, using only two butane burners with no access to running water or electricity. Additionally, management teams will develop a business proposal for an original restaurant concept and present it to a panel of industry judges, who challenge them to address the issues restaurant managers face on a daily basis. Please see the below schedule for a full listing of events.
The media is invited to attend both days of competition, and the awards ceremony.There will be an opportunity to film the events and interview the participants and judges. Please contact FRLA Communications Director Elizabeth Ray at 850.224.2250 x255 or via email at ERay@frla.org to arrange. The complete list of winners will be posted on the FRLA website and distributed to media outlets following the awards ceremony.
WHAT:
The FRLA Educational Foundation’s ProStart Culinary Team Competition
400 Florida High School Students from 49 Schools Scheduled to Compete
WHEN:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Johnson & Wales University Culinary Competition
9:00 AM – 5:10 PM Cracker Barrel Management Competition
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM Keiser University Edible Centerpiece Competition
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Education & Business Expo
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2015
7:00 AM – 3:00 PM Johnson & Wales University Culinary Competition
8:00 AM – 2:00 PM Cracker Barrel Management Competition
8:00 AM – 3:00 PM Education & Business Expo
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM The Coca-Cola Company Waiters Relay Competition
6:30 PM – 9:00 PM Salute to Excellence Awards at Rosen Plaza Hotel, Grand Ballroom
WHERE:
Rosen Plaza Hotel
9700 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
For more information about the FRLAEF program, list of participating high schools, and the 2-day event program, please contact Laura Rumer at 321.689.7192 or email her at LRumer@frla.org. You may also access the FRLA website at http://frla.org to learn about ProStart.
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About the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association
FRLA is Florida’s premier non-profit hospitality industry trade association. Our mission is to ‘Protect, Educate and Promote’ Florida’s $76.1 billion hospitality industry which represents 23% of Florida’s economy, $4.6 billion in sales tax revenue, and nearly 1.1 million employees – making it the state’s number one industry. We offer regulatory compliance and food safety training needs (RCS and SafeStaff®); industry developed career-building high school programs (FRLAEF); sponsor the only event in Florida exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry (FR&L Show, October 6-8, 2015 in Orlando); and we safeguard the needs of the hospitality industry by providing legislative advocacy. We represent and serve more than 10,000 independent and household name members, suppliers, and theme parks. For more information, go to www.FRLA.org and find us on Twitter @FRLAnews, Facebook and YouTube.