National ProStart Competition is THIS WEEKEND
The 2025 National ProStart Invitational takes place this weekend, May 3-4, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. Strawberry Crest High School is representing Florida in Culinary and Wekiva High School 
is representing Florida in Management.
STRAWBERRY CREST CULINARY TEAM
Rubicel Lopez
Jadira Ipanaque
Savannah Heist
Sophia Reyes
Riley Clark, Team Manager
Paul Bonanno, Joshua Bauer, Jeremy Walburn, Instructors
WEKIVA MANAGEMENT TEAM
Onyx Castillo
Zariah Edwards
Isaac Aristud
Aubrey Pugh
Parker Masangkay, Team Manager
Christopher Bates, Instructor
STREAM THE AWARDS The awards ceremony takes place on Sunday, May 4 at 6:30 pm. You may livestream the awards at this link.
The FRLAEF will conduct two ProStart Teacher Training events this summer. Training will be held at the Keiser University Sarasota campus and at UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality in 
Orlando. Both events will begin on Tuesday evening and conclude at Friday lunch.
PROGRAM COST
The FRLAEF, along with its sponsors, covers the cost for all qualifying attendees, including instruction, lodging, chef coat and take-home educational materials. Most meals will be provided. Transportation is on your own.
Accommodations for both events will be in a local hotel and each participant will have their own room. FRLAEF will cover the cost of the room nights on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
UCF’S ROSEN COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY, ORLANDO (EVENT IS FULL, CLICK LINK BELOW TO GET ON WAITING LIST)
June 17-20, 2025
Accommodations are at Rosen Shingle Creek.
KEISER UNIVERSITY, SARASOTA
June 24-27, 2025
Accommodations are at Homewood Suites Lakewood Ranch.
REQUIREMENTS
All attendees must teach the ProStart curriculum during the upcoming 2025-2026 school year.
TRANSPORTATION
Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to the event as well as to and from the campuses each day.
ServSafe Exam The ServSafe review and exam will be offered at both locations on Tuesday, June 17 and 24. If you are NOT attending the training this year but need to take the ServSafe exam, you may sign up for the review and exam using the Teacher Training registration link.
REGISTER HERE FOR TEACHER TRAINING
Registration closes May 2, 2025
FRLAEF Post-Secondary Scholarship Closes this Month
The FRLAEF Post-Secondary scholarship is now available for your graduating seniors.
In order to be eligible for this scholarship the applicant must:
• Be enrolled at a post-secondary school pursuing a culinary or hospitality program–Summer/Fall 2025 term
• Return your transcript by application deadline
Six $2,000 scholarships will be awarded. This is a one-time, non-renewable award. However, students may reapply each year.
Application deadline: May 16, 2025
Applicants notified award status by: May 23, 2025
CLICK HERE TO APPLY
Fresh from Florida
Hey ProStart Teachers! Want to learn how to improve the flavor and freshness of your students’ culinary creations and at the same time, support Florida farmers? Learn from the fun and engaging resources at FreshFromFlorida.com! To have FREE access to over 400 recipes and receive seasonal information from Florida’s Culinary Ambassador Chef Justin join the Fresh From Florida Club. Follow them to stay updated on Instagram or Facebook @FreshFromFlorida or at their website, followfreshfromflorida.com!
Hospitality Industry Internships
The Hospitality Industry Internship (HII) provides the opportunity for Florida ProStart & HTM instructors to work in a 
foodservice/lodging establishment for at least 40 hours. Once the required paperwork has been processed, the participant will receive a personal check for $600.
To qualify for an HII, the instructor must teach the ProStart, HTM, or HTMP curriculum during the 2024-2025 school year. If you are already employed at a restaurant or hotel, you MAY NOT use that site for your internship. The restaurant/hotel must be a new work experience for you, not somewhere you have worked before or used as an HII internship location.
The applicant must secure a position at a foodservice or lodging facility where a minimum of 40 hours of hands-on experience is guaranteed. The host location may pay the recipient but is not required to do so.
This year’s HII closes on June 20–if you can get your 40 hours in before then–
APPLY NOW!
2025 FRLAEF Scholarships Awarded
The FRLAEF awarded $65,000 in scholarships last month to over 30 Florida ProStart and HTM students. Each student will receive a one-time, non-renewable scholarship for $2,000. Over 70 students applied and the applications were impressive.
If your student was awarded a scholarship, you were copied on the email. Below is what is what the student must return to actually receive the FRLAEF scholarship.
SCHOLARSHIP REDEMPTION As a recipient of an FRLAEF Scholarship, the student will receive a one-time $2,000 scholarship to the post-secondary institution of his/her choice. The student must be pursuing a degree in culinary arts or hospitality. This scholarship is contingent upon the FRLAEF receiving verification the students is enrolled in a post-secondary institution.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION The scholarship check will be cut when the student emails Amy his/her
- College Student ID Number
- College Name
- College Financial Aid Mailing Address
Once we receive this, we will mail the scholarship check to the student’s school which they will deposit it into the student’s account.
Redemption Deadline: June 13, 2025
Banana Split Showdown Winner
Congratulations to Wekiva High School for winning the Banana Split Showdown! They received a knife kit and a field trip for their class to a local dairy. These runners up received two ice cream makers each to keep in the classroom after the Showdown. The runners up are listed below.
Deland High School
Miami Central Senior High
Northeast High School
Sarasota High School
Pre-Order New Edition ProStart
The National Restaurant Association is offering the opportunity to pre-order the new edition of Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary Arts (FRMCA) for the fall 2025 semester. Pre-ordering the textbook in advance can offer schools:
- Guaranteed availability
- Ability to use budgets to their advantage
To make the pre-order process as simple as possible, please find the details below for your reference:
- Eligible Products
- Price List information
- Pre-orders must be paid for upfront – and payment submitted based on the quote (not an invoice).
- Standard discounts offered will be applicable during the pre-order window.
- Pre-order products will ship as they become available. Access to Teacher Resources will be provided once those are available.
- Pre-order deadline:
– April 4, 2025– Textbooks, Lab Manual, Textbook + Lab Manual bundle, Answer Sheets
– TBD – Teacher Resources
Table of Contents and Learning Objectives for 3rd edition
To place a pre-order reach out to Lauren Robin or 312-627-2424.
ProStart Articulation
The National ProStart Collegiate Passport includes information about post-secondary schools that offer college credit and/or scholarships to ProStart students who have earned the ProStart National Certificate of Achievement (COA). The credits and scholarships listed in the Passport are available to any ProStart student with a COA, regardless of residence, although out-of-state tuition may apply.
CLICK HERE FOR THE PASSPORT
Kitchen Tour Video
One of our FRLAEF Board Members, Dennis Chan is the owner operator of Blue Bamboo restaurant in Jacksonville. If you have received a Mini Grant, Chef Chan is among our Board members who spend a few hours going line by line through the requests and then awarding the Grants. He loves it!
The Clay County ProStart schools were having a hard time getting approved for field trips, so Chef Chan put this virtual kitchen tour together for them. Feel free to share with your students.
Florida Hospitality by the Numbers (click to enlarge)
