Brittney Rivera Dominguez sliced bread, diced vegetables and built a multiple-tiered appetizer layer by layer, topping it off with microgreens in front of a crowd Thursday.
The Smoky Hill High School junior and her three teammates — who also created an entree and a dessert — were among 100 high school juniors and seniors from across Colorado competing in the ninth annual ProStart Student Invitational and Sysco Denver Hospitality Cup competition held at Johnson & Wales University.
“I want to be a nutritionist who makes food that is good and healthy,” said Dominguez, 16.
The competition included two parts: culinary and management components. Winners in each category — Battle Mountain High School in Vail for culinary and Coronado High School in Colorado Springs for management — advance to the national championship in San Diego next month. Nationally 43,000 students in 47 states participate in ProStart. In Colorado, 600 students from 29 high schools are in the program.
ProStart, a program of the Colorado Restaurant Association, provides an introduction to the restaurant and hospitality business and includes 400 hours of work experience in sponsoring restaurants and hotels, said Joe Madril, CRA board member and owner of the Cool River Cafe.
“This the future of our industry,” Madril said.
A survey of the program’s 2005 graduates in Colorado found that 68 percent were in college; 37 percent of those are majoring in the field, and 57 percent are working in the field.
Colorado teams have placed in the top three in five of the last six years. This year marks the seventh time in nine years that the Vail team has won the state competition under the tutelage of Paul Ferzacca of La Tour in Vail.
The management competition included a case study and a Jeopardy- like game. The culinary part required teams to prepare a starter, an entree and a dessert, said Mary Mino, president of the CRA Education Foundation.
“This means I already have the experience in the culinary business, and it gives me a chance to get a scholarship,” Dominguez said.
The teams were judged by experts and chefs from popular Colorado spots, including the Brown Palace Hotel, the Broadmoor Hotel and Centerplate.
“These kids are really ambitious and, for being in high school, do a really good job,” said William Dexter, executive chef at the Brown Palace who judged the dessert category. “This gives them a taste of what to look for in the industry.”
Joey Coucke, 16, a junior at Middle Park High School in Granby, plans to apply to culinary programs next year.
“I love the smell of the kitchen,” he said. “We are getting practice here and getting ready for college. It’s another step in our process.”
Elizabeth Aguilera: 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com
