Plymouth Canton students defeat more than 90 teams in culinary competition

Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press
·3 min read

Culinary art students at Plymouth Canton Educational Park cooked up a big win at a recent national competition.

The students competed at the 2023 National ProStart Invitational on Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, D.C. ProStart is a nationwide career and technical education program from the National Restaurant Association's Educational Foundation and state industry partners.

Five students — Mazin Ahmed, Sophie Dorado, Yamir Garver, Carmen Hensley and Charles Salowich — competed for Plymouth Canton. As part of the ProStart program, the students are part of the chef student team at Salem High School's Rock Cafe.

Sophie Dorado, Carmen Hensley, Yamir Garver, Mazin Ahmed and Charles Salowich are part of culinary team at Plymouth Canton Educational Park culinary arts program.
Sophie Dorado, Carmen Hensley, Yamir Garver, Mazin Ahmed and Charles Salowich are part of culinary team at Plymouth Canton Educational Park culinary arts program.

At the high-stakes event, more than 90 high school teams from 46 states competed in two categories —management and culinary.

For the presentation, the team cooked and presented a menu that included tuna, steak and an orange-almond cake for dessert. The P-CEP team wowed the culinary division of the competition, taking home the No. 1 spot, which earned them not only bragging rights but a trophy and a share of scholarships.

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For the competition, students on culinary teams had just 60 minutes to prepare a three-course, fine-dining menu to present to a panel of judges. Under that time constraint, the students could only use two butane burners and had no running water or electricity.

According to a news release, the P-CEP students prepared:

  • Appetizer: Soy-marinated tuna with charred scallion mayonnaise, pickled apple, avocado mousse, cucumber beets and black tahini tuile

  • Main course: Strip steak and braised short rib with potato dauphinoise and puree, carrot matignon with pickled mustard seed and tomato

  • Dessert: Coconut Bavarian orange-almond cake with caramel jam over a coconut, blackberry sorbet and passion fruit curd

Teams competing were judged on taste, skill, teamwork, safety and sanitation.

"The team's hard work and dedication to their craft is a testament to their talent, as well as the quality education the P-CCS (Plymouth Canton Community Schools) Culinary Arts program offers students who will become tomorrow's leaders. I could not be prouder of this amazing accomplishment,” P-CCS Superintendent of Schools Dr. Monica L. Merritt said in a post on the district's website.

The P-CEP students earned a share of $200,000 in scholarships, split among the top 10 teams in the competition. Each student on the P-CEP teamed earned $7,000 in scholarships. Their trophy will be displayed at the Rock Cafe, according to the school district.

“These talented students worked so hard together as a team,” said Diana Woodward, P-CCS chef instructor and coach in a news release. “We couldn’t be prouder of our students, who poured their hearts and souls into their cooking for themselves and each other. I really do believe that unity and teamwork were the secret to their success.”

Students from Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, Connecticut, won the management portion of the competition.

Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Plymouth Canton students win National ProStart Invitational