OLATHE, Kan. — After securing first place in the 2024 Kansas ProStart Invitational – a culinary arts competition that was hosted in Wichita in March – four high school student chefs with Olathe Advanced Technical Center are headed to nationals in Baltimore, Maryland, next week.
The student chefs have prepared an Asian-inspired three-course meal, and are confident their dishes will be competitive at the national stage.
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“I know they’ll get up there in the top 10, and I’m hoping they can get up on stage so they can get a lot of accolades and everything,” said Philip Shaw, a chef instructor at Olathe Advanced Technical Center.
The twelve hours of practice outside of school each week has proven beneficial, as the team’s placement in the Kansas ProStart Invitational improved from last year, when the team placed third.
“I am nervous,” student chef and junior at Olathe East, Brianna Keese, said. “I think (nationals) being double the size (of state) is even more scary, but I think being at state also helped, though, because you know what it’s going to be like; it’s the same thing and you just have to know you did place first and you can do this again.”
Shaw said the program provides students with real-world experiences, including catering opportunities around the Kansas City metro area, as well as the trip to Baltimore.
“And they’ll have a real good time in Baltimore together,” Shaw said. “This group gets along really well ‘cause that’s something we preach here is teamwork and for them to get along, and that’s how a team really succeeds in the food service industry.”
The team – made up of four students from across the Olathe school district – will compete on April 27, and will be judged on taste, skill, teamwork, safety and sanitation.
“I’m really looking forward to it, I’ve never been,” said Konner Nguyen, a student chef and senior at Olathe North, said.
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