LRA Education Foundation awards $61K in scholarships

The Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) Board of Directors, through its Scholarship Fund, will award $61,000 in scholarships to 30 students to further their post-secondary culinary educations. The students will be presented with their awards at the 2014 LRAEF Five Star Futures Gala August 2, 2014 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.

The LRAEF Scholarship Fund was created in 2009 to support the continuing education of ProStart^® students, industry educators and other students with an interest in culinary and hospitality studies. This financial support allows the recipients to pursue post-secondary education in the culinary or hospitality fields, with the goal of having them select Louisiana’s restaurant/hospitality industry as a career choice. Since its inception, the Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $200,000 to deserving students.

The LRAEF/NRAEF ProStart Scholarship is a co-branded scholarship given to students who have, or will receive the ProStart Certificate of Achievement. This year’s recipients are: 

• Liana Aucoin, graduate of Slidell High School, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute
• Sabrina Bodenheimer, graduate of Lakeshore High School, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University (second year recipient)
• Wade Bowers, graduate of Sulphur High School, attending  Louisiana Culinary Institute
• Victoria Cart, graduate of Sulphur High School, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University (third year recipient)
• Bryan Tyler Day, graduate of West Monroe High School, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute
• Lauren Fendlason, graduate of Hammond High Magnet School, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University (second year recipient)
• Jessica Foret, graduate of Grace King High School, attending Delgado Community College
• Tate Jones, graduate of Dutchtown High School, attending Johnson & Wales University
• Peyton Leffingwell, graduate of Destrehan High School/St. Charles Satellite Center, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute (second year recipient)
• Nicholas LoCicero, graduate of Mandeville High School, attending Culinary Institute of America (second year recipient)
• Jordan McClelland, graduate of Dutchtown High School, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University (second year recipient)
• Melissa McGuire, graduate of Mandeville High School, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University (third year recipient)
• Thien Nguyen, graduate of Dutchtown High School, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University (third year recipient)
• Sadie Poche, graduate of Lutcher High School/St. James Career Center, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University
• Hillary Scott, graduate of Allen High School (Texas), attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University (third year recipient)

The General Hospitality Scholarship is a scholarship given to students who are currently enrolled or have been accepted in a hospitality or culinary degree seeking program. This year’s recipients are:

• Traci Andely, graduate of Baton Rouge Magnet High School, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute
• Sunni Authement, graduate of South Terrebonne High School, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University
• Nicole Biddy, graduate of Gueydan High School, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute (second year recipient)
• Lindsey Carroll, graduate of Lutheran High School of Greater New Orleans, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University
• Thaddeus Christy, graduate of Baton Rouge Magnet High School, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute
• Garrett Couvillon, graduate of Marksville High School, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute
• Rachel DeFelice, graduate of Grace King High School, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University
• Tashira Green, graduate of Zachary High School, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University
• Brooklyn Hawkins, graduate of H.L. Bourgeois High School, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute
• April Lee, graduate of East St. John High School, attending the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University (second year recipient)
• Keiyana Price, graduate of New Iberia Senior High, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute (second year recipient)
• Shelby Smith, graduate of False River Academy, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute
• Christian Sturgeon, graduate Zachary High School, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute
• Nicole Washington, graduate of Ursuline Academy, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute
• Marcus Williams, graduate of Scotlandville Magnet High School, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute

For the second consecutive year, top applicant Nicole Biddy is also this year’s Jim Funk Scholarship Award Winner. The LRAEF’s most prestigious award, the scholarship is named for former LRA President & CEO Jim Funk, who retired in 2010 after 30 years of service. Funk is a LRAEF co-founder and culinary education champion.

“The best part of my responsibilities as Chair of the LRA Education Foundation is to have the opportunity to reward students for their hard work,” said LRAEF Chair Helen LeBourgeois. “I have no doubt that these individuals will use these scholarships to strengthen the foodservice and hospitality industries in the coming years.”

ProStart Educator of the Year Carolyn Senac is
recognized at the NRA Educational Foundation
Educator of Excellence Awards Dinner in May. 

The night will also feature the LRAEF honoring its ProStart Educator of the Year, Carolyn Senac of Mandeville High School. Senac was also recently recognized, along with her counterparts from across the country, at the National Restaurant Association’s annual NRA Show in Chicago this past May, for this exemplary dedication to the ProStart program.

The LRAEF would like to thank its annual partners, whose financial assistance makes the LRAEF Scholarship Fund a reality: 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: Chef Paul Prudhomme’s “Sea of Hope,” Louisiana Gas Association and Whole Foods Market and 1 Diamond: Entergy. Also, the LRAEF extends special recognition to all LRA chapters that support ProStart and the LRAEF through its various philanthropic activities throughout the year.

ProStart Student Competition convenes in New Orleans March 25-26

The Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) will host its 13^th Annual Louisiana Seafood ProStart^® Student Competition, March 25-26, 2014 at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center, Hall G. More than $1.2 million in scholarship opportunities will be awarded to students whose teams place in the top three in both the culinary and management competitions. The funds were donated from 10 of the leading post-secondary culinary and hospitality programs in the country, including Louisiana Culinary Institute, Nicholls State University John Folse Culinary Institute and University of New Orleans School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism, among others. The Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board is the competition’s title sponsor for the second consecutive year.

The competition showcases the culinary and academic talents of high school junior and senior ProStart students from 23 schools across Louisiana. The competition features two primary components: the Culinary Competition and the Management Competition.

During the Culinary Competition, Tuesday, March 25 from 10:45 a.m. – 5 p.m., teams will demonstrate their creative abilities through the preparation of a three-course, gourmet meal consisting of: a soup, salad or appetizer; a protein such as meat, fish or fowl, vegetable and starch; and a cold or flambé dessert. All teams’ menus must feature at least one type of Louisiana seafood. Twenty-four judges from the foodservice industry and post-secondary educational institutions will observe and rate their performance during the competition.

Teams participating in the Management Competition, Wednesday, March 26 from 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., will demonstrate their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by developing a restaurant proposal, delivering a verbal presentation and applying critical thinking skills to challenges managers face in day-to-day operations. Their performance will be observed and rated by 15 judges from leading colleges and universities and industry professionals.

The 2014 LRAEF ProStart Student Competition Sponsors include: Louisiana Seafood, Acme Oyster House, Auto-Chlor Services, Louisiana Hospitality Foundation, Performance Foodservice Caro, Atmos Energy, Louisiana Culinary Institute, Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, Raising Cane’s, Louisiana Gas Association, Whole Foods, Entergy, Chef Paul Prudhomme’s “Sea of Hope,” Centerplate, Coca-Cola, Community Coffee, Custom Apparel, Ecolab, Freeman Decorating, Generations Hall and the New Orleans Morial Convention Center.

ProStart is a two-year comprehensive culinary management course for juniors and seniors in high school with two primary outcomes: to prepare students for higher education and to train students to go directly to work in Louisiana’s foodservice industry. The LRAEF pairs ProStart students and LRA members together in a mutually-beneficial relationship. Students are required to complete a 400-hour work internship, thus providing hands-on training. Many of LRA members serve as mentors to ProStart students. 

ProStart students statewide to compete for $1.2 million in scholarships

For the past 13 years, the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) has hosted an annual ProStart Student Competition. This year, March 25-26, 2014, 23 teams from across the state will convene for the first time at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center to compete in the Louisiana Seafood ProStart Student Invitational. More exciting is that the top three teams in each competition will have more than $1.2 million in scholarship opportunities to the top Louisiana and nationwide culinary institutions.

“What is evident is the demand by leading culinary institutions to recruit Louisiana ProStart students for their programs,” said LRA President/CEO Stan Harris. “The amount of scholarship dollars the LRAEF obtains for our students rivals those secured by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation for its National ProStart Invitational winners.”

Administered by the LRAEF, ProStart is a two-year comprehensive culinary management course for juniors and seniors in high school with two primary outcomes: to prepare students for higher education and to train students to go directly to work in Louisiana’s foodservice industry.

“There are so many rewarding career possibilities for these young people participating in ProStart,” said LRAEF Chair Helen LeBourgeois. “In the next decade, our industry in Louisiana will add more than 17,000 new positions.”

The competition showcases the culinary and academic talents of high school junior and senior ProStart students and features two primary components: the Culinary Competition and the Management Competition.

During the Culinary Competition, Tuesday, March 25 from 10:45-5 p.m., teams will demonstrate their creative abilities through the presentation of a three-course, gourmet meal consisting of: a soup, salad or appetizer; a protein such as meat, fish or fowl, vegetable and starch; and a cold or flambé dessert. All teams’ menus must feature at least one type of Louisiana seafood. Twenty-four judges from the foodservice industry and post-secondary educational institutions will observe and rate their performance during the competition.

“The judges are always impressed by the degree of difficulty the students undertake when preparing and presenting their dishes,” said LeBourgeois. “Some of them judge ProStart competitions in other states and consistently compliment our students on how well they season their dishes.”

Teams participating in the Management Competition, Wednesday, March 26 from 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., will demonstrate their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by developing a restaurant proposal, delivering a verbal presentation and applying critical thinking skills to challenges managers face in day-to-day operations. Their performance will be observed and rated by 15 judges from leading colleges and universities and industry professionals.

“Louisiana teams do extremely well at Nationals, particularly the management teams,” added LeBourgeois. “Several years ago, Louisiana took top place at the National ProStart Invitational in the Management Competition and consistently places in the top 5.”  

To compete at this level for high schools students is a testament to the ProStart curriculum and the dedication of the teachers to preparation them for the challenge. To effectively compete requires teamwork, planning, communication, measurement, and writing and presentation skills.

“Of all the events the LRA hosts, the ProStart Competition is by far my favorite to attend,” said Harris. “It is exciting to see these young people test their skills and knowledge of culinary and management techniques, while showing their commitment to teamwork and their future.”

The ProStart Competition and the work of the LRAEF are made possible by the nine LRA Chapters and their annual contributions, as well as its Annual Partners. This year’s event sponsors include: Louisiana Seafood, Acme Oyster House, Auto-Chlor Services, Louisiana Hospitality Foundation, Performance Foodservice Caro, Atmos Energy, Louisiana Culinary Institute, Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, Raising Cane’s, Louisiana Gas Association, Whole Foods, Entergy, Chef Paul Prudhomme’s “Sea of Hope,” Centerplate, Coca-Cola, Community Coffee, Custom Apparel, Ecolab, Freeman Decorating, Generations Hall and the New Orleans Morial Convention Center.  

“This annual event allows us to showcase the commitment of these young people, who are training to become the future leaders of Louisiana’s restaurant industry,” added Harris. “The LRA encourages its members to hire ProStart students and to further the LRAEF’s mission, the LRA State Board has dedicated a portion of its excess surplus annually to the Scholarship Fund.”