LRA Education Foundation announces new partnership with Camellia Brand to launch 2014-2015 Student Recipe Contest

Louisiana students preparing for culinary careers challenged to reinvent red beans, signature dishes

The Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF), in a new partnership with Camellia Brand, today announced a ProStart® Program recipe contest for the 2014-2015 academic school year. The contest was unveiled at Grace King High School this morning to ProStart Program instructors from across the state.

The recipe contest will challenge high school students in each of the participating 50 ProStart Programs statewide to create an original recipe featuring one or more Camellia Brand products including: Red Beans, Lady Cream Peas, Black Beans and Crowder Peas. Details will be presented to ProStart students at the beginning of the 2014-2015 academic calendar and each team will develop recipes during the fall semester before submitting them to be reviewed by LRAEF and Camellia Brand selected judges.

Ten finalist teams will be invited to prepare their recipe in person for a LRAEF and Camellia Brand tasting panel of judges. First and second place recipes will be selected by judges based on taste, presentation, creativity and originality. The winner will receive a $5,000 cash award and the runner-up will receive a $1,000 cash award payable to the school to be used for support of the ProStart Program.

"Who better to ask for recipe innovations than
ProStart students, the future leaders of Louisiana's
culinary and restaurant industry?"

The winning recipe will also be featured in promotional materials and on the Camellia Brand website, while the winning students will also be celebrated at a luncheon and offered paid cooking demonstration and brand ambassador opportunities at Camellia Brand involved trade shows, events and festivals. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in live stream video opportunities and Camellia Brand's new product line developments. 

“So many of us grew up eating Camellia Brand beans,” said LRAEF Executive Director Alice Glenn. “This is a great way for the students to not only pay homage to such a long-standing Louisiana staple, but also to give them an opportunity to show their skills and ingenuity in creating a new dish. Who better to ask for recipe innovation than ProStart students, the future leaders of Louisiana’s culinary and restaurant industry?”

“Louisiana ProStart Program students take the initiative to really understand how one of our state's life bloods - the restaurant industry - works. They deserve our full support since they are the future advocates of our culture and we hope this recipe contest will really challenge them to put their generation's twist on indigenous cuisine,” stated Vince Hayward, CEO of L.H. Hayward and Company, the internationally recognized packager of Camellia Brand dry beans, peas and lentils. “Louisiana restaurants have always supported Camellia Brand. With recent discussions surrounding a lack of skilled workers in the Louisiana restaurant industry, we wanted to do something to help improve the situation at its core.”

The LRAEF is grateful to its 2014 annual partners: 5 Diamond—Acme Oyster House, Auto-Chlor Services, Louisiana Hospitality Foundation, Louisiana Restaurant Association and Louisiana Seafood; 4 Diamond—Performance Foodservice-Caro; 3 Diamond—Atmos Energy, Camellia Brand,  Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, Louisiana Culinary Institute, New Orleans Wine & Food Experience and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers; 2 Diamond—Louisiana Gas Association, Whole Foods Market and Chef Paul Prudhomme’s “Sea of Hope”; and 1 Diamond—Entergy.

About LRAEF ProStart® Program
ProStart is a two-year, culinary management program for high school juniors and seniors with a curriculum designed to teach students culinary techniques as well as restaurant management skills. ProStart is in 50 high schools statewide and more than 1,500 students participate in the program. ProStart is a registered trademark of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.

 

As the philanthropic foundation of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, the LRAEF exists to enhance our community through expanded educational career opportunities, the formation of strategic partnerships and the elevation of our professional standards and practices.

About Camellia Brand

Founded in 1923 by Lucius Hamilton Hayward, L.H. Hayward and Company is a Greater New Orleans, 4^th generation family food company internationally recognized as the packager of 17 types of Camellia Brand dry beans, peas and lentils. Camellia Brand products, including New Orleans’ famed red beans, are sold in stores across the country, as well as in select international locations.

Camellia Brand was founded on tradition in New Orleans’ French Quarter Market and its beans always meet the “Hayward Standard,” which is to deliver a premium, healthy, distinctive product like no other on the market. The Camellia Brand logo means what it’s always meant: the most delicious, creamy, flavorful, fastest cooking meals you will ever find on a grocery store shelf. Camellia Brand beans are non-GMO (not genetically modified in any way).

In 2014, the Hayward family will expand the Camellia Brand product line with Camellia Classic Cuisine, a new product line of unique meal solutions consisting of 8 new soups and side dishes.

For more information, visit http://www.camelliabrand.com/.