O.C. high school culinary students heat up the competition at ProStart Cup 2025
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A Newport Harbor culinary student watched a pan of scallops intently as the seafood sizzled over the heat of a butane burner. Nearby, other students from the high school whisked saffron cream sauce and meticulously plated dollops of golden potato parsnip puree. Chef judges with white toques perched on their heads walked around the table of tense students as they cooked.
“Last five minutes!” shouted one judge.
“Heard!” the students barked back in unison.
Newport Harbor was one of four Orange County high schools to participate in the 2025 ProStart Cup, a two-day entrepreneurship competition put on by the California Restaurant Foundation. The competition is just one facet of CRF’s ProStart program, a two-year industry-backed culinary arts and restaurant management program for high school students that is designed to prepare the industry leaders of the future.
Held this year at the Proud Bird Food Bazaar and Events Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 24 and 25, students competed for scholarships and the chance to represent California at the National ProStart Student Invitational in Baltimore.
“Programs like the California ProStart Cup and competitions like this are so important for students; it’s transformative,” said Alycia Harshfield, president of the California Restaurant Foundation. “It helps them not only think about what their future can be, they tap into their potential and they get to test their skill.”
The competition is divided into two sections: a Culinary Cup and Management Cup. For the former, teams of up to four students create an original three-course menu of an appetizer, entree and dessert in under 60 minutes. The meals are judged on knife skills, safety and sanitation, taste and more. The Management Cup is a “Shark Tank”-style competition in which teams of students pitch an original restaurant concept before a panel of judges, preparing a business plan, marketing materials and more.
“They learn so much from these experiences and our industry needs people who are passionate, curious and interested in being our next business owners, entrepreneurs and fantastic chefs,” said Harshfield.
In the past participating Orange County schools have included the Orange County School of the Arts, Fountain Valley, Fullerton Union, Newport Harbor, Rancho Alamitos and Valley high schools. This year OCSA, Fullerton Union and Newport Harbor high school returned, and Huntington Beach’s Marina High School competed for the first time.
Early the first day, OCSA’s culinary team organized tools onto a speed rack as they prepared to take the floor for the culinary competition.
“We are putting all our equipment onto our equipment cart so it will be easy to grab and we can do that super-efficiently while cooking,” said Cynthia Zhou. “Soon we will get into what we call our ‘mise en place,’ prepping our ingredients before we enter the final cooking time.”
The team trained extensively for the timed cooking contest.
“We have been practicing since September, twice a week. Now it’s been, like, three to four times a week,“ said Stella Mulholland. “In the beginning months we were recipe testing, and by December we had our menu finalized. In January and February, we have just been drilling, doing the exact same thing over and over again to get it perfect.”
Besides the main competitions, students also participated in quick-fire contests hosted by events sponsors, like Wienerschnitzel’s Dress Your Dog competition and Idaho Potatoes Loaded Potato competition. Others wandered around the college and career expo, meeting with hospitality-focused companies like Coca-Cola, Habit Burger, BJ’s Restaurants and more.
Many of the volunteers and judges at 2025’s ProStart Cup are former students who competed in past competitions themselves. Chef Dominique Valenzuela, who served as judge for the Culinary Cup this year, recalled competing with La Quinta High School when he was a student.
“Being introduced to ProStart at an early age in high school really set the foundation needed to excel in culinary school and my career,” said Valenzuela.
Today Valenzuela is the executive pastry chef at JW Marriott Desert Springs Palm Desert, and he enjoys coming back to the event as a volunteer. It is a way he can pay it forward to the California Restaurant Foundation and the many mentors who guided him on his own culinary journey.
“It is definitely rewarding not only to be asked to participate in something that is so meaningful to many students here in California but also to see where I once was in their shoes,” said Valenzuela. “I realize how many people helped support me and get me to the place where I am today, and I want just want to do the same. It is rewarding to see the sprint, the drive and the dedication.”
In another area of the event, Fullerton Union High School students filed into a conference room to get feedback from judges on the vegan and gluten-free food concept Cali Roots that they had presented for the management cup.
“We have been working since October, getting our written proposal together, then building our slides,” said Ben Dennis.
The students shared how much they value the ProStart program and what it has given them.
“We think the ProStart program is great, it is a great stepping stone for learning more about the food and hospitality industry, and we are very grateful to have this opportunity to be competing here,” said student Emma Kojonroj.
Fullerton Union High chef and culinary instructor Mario Schwarz-Cole said he sees the difference the program makes for his students.
“I see the growth in my students, their confidence,” said Schwarz-Cole. “It gives them great experience for the future. They growth together as a team too.”
At the end of the competition, OCSA placed first in management for the second year in a row while Fullerton Union High School took third place, below Bontia High School in second place. For the Culinary Cup, OCSA placed second behind San Dimas High School, with Bonita High School in third place. Orange County students also took home awards in the quick-fire contests with Fullerton Union High School student Emily Alvarado taking first place in the Wienerschnitzel Dress Your Dog contest and OCSA student Angela Luo taking third place in the Loaded Idaho Baked Potato competition.
Whether or not the winners decided to pursue a career in the culinary arts or hospitality, Valenzuela said he knows the experience the students have at ProStart Cup will be a formative one.
“The competition gives the students the opportunity to meet one another, to connect, to see that there are others that are mutually as invested and interested in getting to the next stage and that is so rewarding on all fronts,” said Valenzuela.
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