October Deadlines
Please note the September Deadlines below. Details for each event or opportunity may be found below.
- Extreme ProStart Kitchen Makeover closes 10/1 (Premier Schools Only)
- ProStart Competition application closes 10/8
ProStart Culinary Team Competitions–Deadline Next Week!
The 21st Annual ProStart Culinary Team Competitions will take place Saturday, March 5–Sunday, March 6, 2022 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in
Orlando.
On Saturday, March 5, half of the Culinary Teams and Management Teams will compete along with all Edible Centerpiece teams. On Sunday, March 6, the remaining Culinary and Management teams will compete along with all of the Waiter’s Relay Teams. The competition will be followed by an awards dinner at the Rosen Plaza Hotel.
STIPEND FOR COMPETING SCHOOLS The FRLAEF will provide stipends to offset the cost of participating in the event. Participating schools will receive $250 per event in which they compete.
RULES Competition rules are now available and may be found at the competition webpage: frla.org/2022-prostart-competition
HOTEL The Rosen Plaza Hotel will be the host site for the 2022 ProStart Culinary Team Competitions. The room rate at the Rosen Plaza is $132 per night.
To reserve hotel rooms contact the Rosen Plaza at 800-627-8258 and reference the FRLAEF ProStart Competition 2022. The deadline to make hotel reservations is early February 2022. Do not wait to book your rooms! Please book your room now. You can always adjust your reservation as the event gets closer.
PARTICIPATION CLICK HERE for the competition application. The application deadline is Friday, October 8, 2021. Applicants will be notified their status by Friday, October 15, 2021.
Extreme ProStart Kitchen Makeover–Deadline is Today!
The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation (FRLAEF) is pleased to announce it will be providing one kitchen remodel grant to a Florida ProStart high school. In order to be eligible for the grant, you must be a Premier ProStart program and teaching the ProStart curriculum during the upcoming 2021-2022 school year.
The FRLAEF is investing $50,000 into one Premier Florida ProStart school to provide much needed funds to renovate a kitchen facility. These funds are for use in a ProStart class only. Use of this funding to enhance programs outside of the ProStart curriculum is prohibited.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 1, 2021
GRANT AWARD NOTIFICATION: October 2021
NRAEF Data Collection (Fall Survey)
The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) will continue its ProStart Data Collection this year. The survey is managed by NRAEF. The survey will open later this month. If you have not registered as a Confirmed ProStart Educator, several emails with those instructions were sent to you. However, please let us know if you missed it!
Once you complete the survey, the FRLAEF will send you an email to request $350 worth of free foodsafety materials. This is on a first-come, first served basis, so complete your NRAEF survey as soon as possible. The FRLAEF will not send you foodsafety materials unless you request them. We will also be offering gift card incentives this year.
Mini Grants
The FRLAEF received over 150 Mini Grant applications. The Board will meet in early October to determine the distribution of this year’s budget of $95,000.
GRANT AWARD NOTIFICATION: Applicants will receive email notifications by the middle of October.
FRLAEF Regional Workshops–Registration Ongoing!
The FRLAEF is offering six Regional Workshops this fall. ProStart teachers may bring up to five students to each event. There is no fee to attend a 
Regional Workshop. Lunch and chef coats will be given to all participating ProStart students at each event. Travel to and from Regional Workshops is on your own.
The UCF at Rosen School of Hospitality events are scheduled for September 21, October 19 and November 16. The Keiser University events will be held on October 1 at the Sarasota Campus, October 15 at the Melbourne Campus and October 5 at the Tallahassee Campus. If Regional Workshops reach maximum capacity prior to the deadline, all subsequent schools will be placed on the waiting list. Most events begin at 8:30 am and conclude no later than 2:00 pm.
Please do not register for more than one event. We only have space for first-time attendees at each event, so register for the event you are most interested in attending. If you are interested in another event, let us know and we will send you the link for the Waiting List.
CLICK HERE for the Regional Workshop page with details and registrations links for each event.
UCF Rosen News
UCF Rosen College was excited to host a ProStart Student and Teacher workshop on September 21st. Students and Teachers from three regional high schools spent the day learning about the exciting world of the Restaurant and Foodservice industry and engaged in a variety of fun activities. The student-chefs got the opportunity to cook in the state-of-the-art Rosen College kitchens, while Prostart teachers participated in a Prostart competition Q&A session with the Rosen College’s Chef Jay Judy. There will be two more ProStart Student and Teacher workshops in October and November. (10/19 and 11/16) Space is still available, but it is filling up fast.
The Rosen College Open House will take place on Friday, October 29, 2021. Visit https://hospitality.ucf.edu/open-house-at-rosen/ to register. The event will start at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at 2:30 p.m. Reservations are required and space is limited.
Any student that has questions about the Rosen College Open House should contact rosenadmission@ucf.edu or call 407-903-8166.
Hospitality Industry Internships
The Hospitality Industry Internship (HII) provides the opportunity for Florida ProStart & HTMP 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/HTMP curriculum during the 2021-2022 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.
The FRLAEF will award 11 HII’s this school year on a first-come, first-served basis. So apply NOW! Work experience may begin once the applicant receives an award notification from the FRLAEF.
ACF Young Chefs Forum: Focus on Pastry Techniques: Chocolate BonBons & Décor
10/5 at 11am ET
Reg link:https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_C0fasUv_SjaHmROl5SYAcA
Cheers for Chocolate! National Chocolate Day is in October – and ACF is ready to celebrate with you! Please join them as they spotlight Chef Jessica Quiet, the award winning Pastry Chef at The Lodge at Spruce Peak in Stowe, Vermont, to learn more about the art of chocolate bonbons. Chef will share her tips and techniques for tempering and painting bonbon molds, as well as proper casting, filling, sealing and proper release of these sweet confections. Chef Quiet’s demonstration will also include ganache fillings, such as the signature, Maple Chocolate Creemee! She’ll also share her favorite techniques for chocolate décor and will answer your pastry questions live during the virtual trip to the Green Mountains of New England.
Salute to Excellence Awards Dinner
The Salute to Excellence Awards will take place on Sunday, March 6, 2022 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. The awards dinner will recognize all ProStart Competition, Pineapple Award, Scholarship recipients and Hospitality Excellence Awardees. Registration will begin in January 2022.
ProStart instructors will have the opportunity to recognize one student during the awards dinner with a Hospitality Excellence Award. These students will be called on stage during the awards dinner and recognized with a certificate.
All ProStart instructors may receive a complimentary ticket to the awards dinner. Hospitality Excellence Award students receive two complimentary tickets, one for them and one for a guest.
Complimentary Copies of the Business Side of Restaurants
The Business Side of Restaurants was written by former Georgia Restaurant Association Restaurateur of the Year, Cliff Bramble. Mr. Bramble has over 40 years of industry experience as well as founded one of the best restaurants in Georgia and one of the best steakhouses in America. He also co-owned four multi-million-dollar restaurants. During COVID closures, he had to close his restaurant which gave him the time to write a book about the industry. This book covers everything from lease discussion and operating cost to human resources and the areas that can suck a business dry. It also includes QR codes throughout the chapter which link to online webinars and videos relevant to the topic covered. For more information go to https://www.hungryhospitality.com/the-business-side-of-restaurants.html or https://www.hungryhospitality.com/uploads/5/9/8/3/5983830/final_print_book_summary_091721.pdf.
Mr. Bramble is interested in providing complimentary eBooks to you and your students. If you are interested, please reach out to him at sales@hungryhospitality.com. Include that you are a Florida ProStart school.
Complimentary Foodsafety Materials
Each Premier and Full ProStart program is eligible for free ServSafe or SafeStaff materials. To ensure you get the materials you need, you must notify us of your needs. Once we receive your ProStart Classification paperwork, you can order up to $350 of ServSafe/SafeStaff materials. Click here for the price list. Email Amy Parker to place your order–you do not need to fill out the form. Requests are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
The FRLAEF will not send you foodsafety materials unless you request them. Please do not forget to request the materials.
Complimentary ProStart Scantrons
The FRLAEF will distribute over $25,000 worth of free ProStart Exam Scantrons to Premier and Full ProStart schools during the 2021-2022 school year. Once a school has turned in their ProStart Classification paperwork, email Amy Parker to let her know how many ProStart Exam Scantrons you need. Requests are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Complimentary ServSuccess Materials
ServSuccess was introduced last year by the National Restaurant Association. It is a stackable foodservice industry credential. The entry level certification is Certified Restaurant Professional (CRP). In the perfect world (which we do not live in), the COA will unlock the CRP. We do intend to submit the CRP for DOE’s 2022-2023 CAPE list. Individuals must have 400 hours of industry experience along with the ServSafe exam to be eligible to sit for the CRP. No training is required but five modules are offered.
If you would like to take the courses and/or the exam, email Amy Parker to let her know and she will get you signed up for free!
The link below will provide you with additional information on CRP.
Congratulations to Emmanuelle Suarez, ProStart teacher at Lake Worth High School, and Kim Westrom, ProStart teacher at Port Charlotte High School for being the first Florida ProStart teachers to earn their CRP Certification!
Scholarships
The FRLAEF will award $44,000 in scholarships during the 2021-2022 school year. These scholarships will be awarded during the Salute to Excellence Awards in the Spring. The scholarship application will be available in January.
The FRLAEF will be conducting two Teacher Training events during summer 2022. Training will be held at the Keiser University Sarasota campus
and at UCF Rosen in Orlando. Both events will begin on Tuesday evening and conclude at Friday lunch.
PROGRAM COST
The FRLAEF will cover the cost of all Florida ProStart instructors who will be teaching the ProStart curriculum during the 2022-2023 school year. Attendees will be responsible for their travel and some meals.
REGISTRATION
Online registration will begin Spring 2022.