October Deadlines
10/4
- Competition Application Closes
10/18
- Universal Orlando Handheld Stage One Paperwork Due
10/25
- Regional Workshop at Keiser Melbourne Registration Closes (2 spots left!)
ProStart Culinary Team Competitions
The 24th Annual ProStart Culinary Team Competitions will take place Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, 2025 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando.
On Saturday, March 8, most of the Culinary Teams and Management Teams will compete along with all Edible Centerpiece teams. On Sunday, March 9, 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. The stipend will be $425 per competition with a school receiving a total of $1700 for competing in all four events.
RULES All competition rules may be found here on our competition page. Rule updates are in yellow.
HOTEL The Rosen Plaza Hotel will be the host site for the 2025 ProStart Culinary Team Competitions. The room rate at the Rosen Plaza is $155 per night. To reserve hotel rooms contact the Rosen Plaza at 800-627-8258 and reference the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation. The deadline to make hotel reservations is Wednesday, February 5, 2025. Do not wait to book your rooms! You may always adjust your reservation as the event gets closer.
CLICK HERE TO APPLY!
The application deadline is Friday, October 4, 2024. Applicants will be notified their status by Friday, October 11, 2024.
NRAEF Data Collection Survey
The NRAEF Data Collection Survey is live. The survey went out to all teachers that are registered as ProStart Educators at www.chooserestaurants.org. If you did not receive the survey, please contact Amy Parker at [email protected].
When you complete the National Restaurant Association Data Survey, we will send you a link to order up to $800 of free foodsafety materials!
Universal Orlando’s Handheld Food Competition
FRLA and UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality are excited to announce the 3rd Annual Universal Orlando’s Handheld Food Competition. This event will take place in three stages with the winning 
item being sold in one of Universal Orlando’s properties. The first stage of the event will consist of teams submitting their menus and recipes. The top ten entries will then be selected to compete in-person at UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality. The third and final stage of the competition will be the top three teams competing at UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality where the winning item will be selected.
STAGE ONE: All entry paperwork due by October 18, 2024
STAGE TWO: Top 10 selected teams to Orlando on December 3, 2024
STAGE THREE: Top 3 selected teams cook and present handheld in Orlando on February 4, 2025
For the first stage, you may use any equipment you want as there are no restrictions concerning electric or battery-operated devices. For each subsequent stage, we will discuss the equipment provided in the kitchens to ensure teams have everything they need. Also for the first stage, make sure EVERYTHING is correct in your recipes which includes math, measurements, etc. as the judges will be looking at every detail. Finally, a handheld item does not necessarily mean it must be eaten while walking around in a theme park. It may be better to think along the lines of an item that can be eaten without utensils.
CLICK HERE for complete competition rules
FRLAEF Regional Workshops
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 which includes lunch and chef 
coats for participating ProStart students. Travel to and from Regional Workshops is at your own expense.
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.
The UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality events are scheduled for September 24, October 8 and November 12.
The Keiser University events are scheduled for October 17 in Sarasota, December 12 in Melbourne and November 1 in Tallahassee.
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.
GO TO REGIONAL WORKSHOP PAGE
Mini Grants
The FRLAEF Board will meet in October to award Mini Grants based on your applications. Laura Rumer will email your award amount along with instructions how to purchase your item(s) no later then October 21. If your item(s) were not approved, the Board will set aside some funds for you to resubmit. Laura will email you those details and work with you to find another item if needed.
UCF Rosen News
UCF Rosen College is hosting an Open House for prospective students and their families. Space is limited. Please share the registration link with your students and encourage them to visit campus. More information can be found at https://hospitality.ucf.edu/open-house-at-rosen/.
UCF Admissions Update: The application opened on August 1st. Students applying as a freshman have the option of using The Common App or the UCF institutional application found on our website https://www.ucf.edu/admissions/undergraduate/apply/. UCF announced an Early Action Option for Freshman applicants starting Summer or Fall 2024. For more on UCF Admissions and the Early Action option, visit https://www.ucf.edu/admissions/undergraduate/freshman/.
Foundations & ServSafe Updates
The 3rd edition of the ProStart curriculum, Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary Arts is set to be released in Spring 2025. A price list has not been made available. Schools do not have to purchase the 3rd edition to retain their status as ProStart schools, however, schools that have the 1st edition of ProStart will need to upgrade to the 3rd edition.
Effective Tuesday, October 1, 2024, there will be a 2% increase in the list price for the following products offered by the National Restaurant Association:
- ServSafe Coursebook and ServSafe SmartStudy Only
- Foundations of Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts (including eBooks and SmartStudy)
Florida Hospitality by the Numbers (click to enlarge)
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.
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.
APPLY NOW!
Salute to Excellence Awards Dinner
The Salute to Excellence Awards will take place on Sunday, March 9, 2025 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. The awards dinner will recognize all ProStart Competition, Pineapple Award, and Hospitality Excellence Awardees.
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.
Registration will begin in January 2025.
Complimentary Foodsafety Materials (ServSafe and/or SafeStaff)
Each Premier and Full ProStart program is eligible for free ServSafe or SafeStaff materials. Once we receive your ProStart Classification paperwork (i.e.. Premier or Full), you can order up to $350 of complimentary ServSafe/SafeStaff materials through a link we will send you.
NEW THIS YEAR When you complete the National Restaurant Association Data Survey, you will be sent a link from us to order up to $800 of free foodsafety materials. We will let you know when the survey is available. It has typically gone out in late September/early October.
Become a Premier ProStart School with Free ProStart Exam Materials
Teachers often ask how they can become Premier ProStart schools when they are doing everything required to be Full ProStart schools. In order to get to Premier, you must have at least one student earn the ProStart Certificate of Achievement (COA). If you have a student already working in the foodservice industry, this could be a pathway to get to Premier status. To earn their COA, students must:
- Work at least 400 hours in the foodservice industry
- Pass both Foundations exams
- Have their manager complete the Work Experience Checklist
For a detailed list and a how-to of these steps click here.
The FRLAEF offers free ProStart exam materials each year to Premier and Full ProStart schools. Once we have received a teacher’s Full Implementation contract you are free to request complimentary scantrons or online codes.
Complimentary ServSuccess Materials
ServSuccess is a stackable foodservice industry credential. The entry level certification is Certified Restaurant Professional (CRP). Individuals must have 400 hours of industry experience along with the ServSafe certification 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.
Scholarships
The FRLAEF will award at least $65,000 in scholarships during the 2024-2025 school year. Each scholarship awarded will be in the amount of $2,000 and will be a one-time, non-renewable 
scholarship.
To be eligible for this scholarship the applicant must:
- Be enrolled in a ProStart program in a Florida secondary school
- Be a graduating senior who will begin post-secondary education in 2025
- Be entering a culinary or hospitality post-secondary program
- Return a copy of their OFFICIAL high school transcript to FRLAEF by application deadline
APPLICATION TIMELINE The FRLAEF Scholarship application will become available in January NewsBites. The application deadline is April 11, 2025
COMPLETE THE FULL APPLICATION! For the last six years, each applicant that has returned a completed application along with their high school transcript has received a scholarship. It only takes a few minutes, so please encourage your students to complete the process.
The FRLAEF will conduct two ProStart Teacher Training events during summer 2025. 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 will cover the cost of all Florida ProStart instructors who will be teaching the ProStart curriculum during the 2025-2026 school year. Attendees will be responsible for their travel and some meals.
SAVE THE DATE
Attendees may choose from one of the trainings below when the registration link becomes available in March NewsBites.
June 17-20, 2025 UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality
June 24-27, 2025 Keiser University, Sarasota