WI ProStart Invitational and Midwest Food Expo 2014

It was an amazing and challenging year for Pulaski High School's ProStart team as four ambitious students decided to take on both management and culinary events.  The result? FIRST PLACE IN MANAGEMENT and an awesome effort in culinary, including first place in Dessert Presentation and second place in Dessert Taste.  I couldn't be more proud of Grant Bachman, Brooke Baron, Kaylee Court, and Hannah Stephanie.  Our journey will soon continue in Minneapolis, MN, May 4-6, when the team will compete at the National Restaurant Association ProStart Invitational in the management event while we cheer on Badger High School, Lake Geneva, WI in the culinary event. GO WISCONSIN!

Culinary Event

Sampling of WI ProStart Culinary Team Entries

  

Midwest Food Expo

 

Schaum Torte w/ Strawberry Coulis

Culinary Arts 1 students learned how to prepare Schaum Torte (baked meringue) and Strawberry Coulis  (coo-lee)... a fancy way of saying strawberry sauce without the seeds.  But to have the dessert isn't enough- we need to play with garnishing!!! 

I'm already hungry again looking at them.

Advanced Foods students finished up their last week before spring break with freshly made soft pretzels.  

Check out the recipe here! 

Orange Ginger Rice

There are times for dried herbs and spices and there are times for flavoring your food with completely fresh ingredients.  This Orange Ginger Rice uses fresh ginger, orange zest, scallions, red bell pepper, and garlic.

Chicky chicky nug-nugs

Tyson has nothing on our Family Foods students who now know how to make their own Chicken Nuggets.  Breaded and BAKED (not fried!!), teams made their own nuggets and dipping sauces for the class to try.  Winning entries voted on by the students themselves... winners pics will be coming soon! 

(Thanks to Kaylee Court for naming this post)

Pasta doesn't need meat to be tasty!

Family Foods students explored vegetarian lifestyle options and practiced cooking pasta to AL' DENTE *insert a very enthusiastic Italian accent.* For the vegetarian pasta cook-off, groups chose recipes that would be suited for vegans, lacto, or lacto-ovo vegetarians. 

Disney Cake Challenge Pics & WINNERS!!!

Thank you to all who voted for this semester's Advanced Foods Cake Challenge!  It was a difficult decision for many; I'm just thankful I didn't have to take that decision on by myself :)

                                 

Open Cupboard Cook-Off: Advanced Foods Style

Advanced Foods students put their spur-of-the-moment cooking techniques to the test when given the opportunity of an open cupboard lab.  Any food in the cupboards, refrigerators, and freezers were fair game!

Cookie Decorating Challenge Winners

Votes were plentiful and the winners are announced- "Your Lucky Day!" wins!!! Thanks for all of the votes!
                              

Just a fact.

Pasta, pasta, pasta.... and more pasta

Culinary Arts 1 students try to perfect the art (and patience!) of preparing homemade pasta.

It doesn't need to take a ton of time to be tasty

Bisquick Cook-Off:

The Family Foods students finally were able to choose their own recipes! Following a lesson on functions of ingredients (i.e. Flour provides structure, eggs bind ingredients together and add color, etc) and convenience foods (foods that take steps out of a recipe), students used Bisquick's website to find a recipe to prepare in class.

Happy students mean happy food...or is it vice versa? :)