Culinary students place second in statewide competition
Jun. 2—A masterpiece of a restaurant pitch earned a team of culinary students from Crawford County Career and Technical Center (CTC) second place in a recent statewide competition.
Their Italian Renaissance-themed concept marks the third consecutive year a CTC team has placed among the top finishers at the ProStart Invitational, according to chef Tim Brown.
"The kids did really well," said Brown, the CTC's culinary arts instructor. "Their presentation was strong and well-rehearsed. During the question-and-answer session, they worked together as a team and came up with mature, smart answers. The judges were very complimentary at the end of the presentation."
The "Shark Tank"-like videoconference format saw the CTC team of senior Jordan Linz and juniors Chloe Hindle, Kirsten Marks and Cynthia White pitching their proposal for "The Last Supper." The restaurant, which would feature staff in period dress and a menu inspired by Renaissance cuisine, was named for the Leonardo da Vinci fresco that depicts Jesus Christ sharing a meal with the Twelve Apostles shortly before his crucifixion.
Over the course of nearly three months, team members spent part of their afternoons at the CTC developing and refining the concept and preparing for their 10-minute presentation plus Q-and-A session with the judges. Entries in the contest consisted of written proposals, designs for floor plan and decor, a menu with pricing, photos of sample menu items and marketing strategies.
"When a customer walks into the Last Supper they will feel like they are traveling back in time to the Renaissance period," the team wrote in their proposal. In addition to the period dress and manners of the staff, the sounds of lutes and violins would add to the ambiance, as would the tricks and jokes of a roving jester. Instead of just a meal, a visit to the Last Supper would become an interactive experience with a little bit of history spicing things up.
Results for the competition, usually held in State College but conducted virtually this year, were announced last month and proved similar to last year: The Crawford County team took the silver medal behind a team from the Milton Hershey School, the private boarding school in Hershey that continued its dominance of the competition, winning for the fifth year in a row.
Linz, who begins a business program at Indiana Wesleyan University in the fall and hopes to go into the culinary field after graduating, came up with the initial theme. It was motivated, she said, by a desire to find something unique that would attract customers.
Once inside the hypothetical eatery, diners could start with a charcuterie board or homemade bread before moving on to a meal featuring cod piccata and side dishes such as mixed spring vegetables.
The videoconference format for the competition worked to the team's advantage, according to Marks.
"They made us feel comfortable and at home," she said as the team took a brief break from class on Tuesday. "I feel like it was easier not being face-to-face."
Their "super hands-on" experience at the CTC also worked to their advantage, White said.
The program helped them create a more realistic proposal for the competition, according to Hindle.
"We kind of got a feel for how a kitchen should look and how it should operate," she said.
Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at mcrowley@meadvilletribune.com.