ProStart

The ProStart Program is a 2-year high school culinary training course, taken as an elective class. The program is 350 hours of instruction and 400 hours of an industry work experience. After passing the exams for Year 1, Year 2, and completing the competencies, students receive a certificate from the National Restaurant Association and an opportunity for scholarships. The Nevada Hospitality Foundation implements the program statewide in partnership with the Nevada Restaurant Association. Students learn topics such as: food safety, knife cuts, basic cooking techniques, baking, menu design, basic accounting, costing, and restaurant management.

We are proud to teach this curriculum statewide!

Become an Educator

Preview the Suggested Equipment: Preview the suggested equipment list – please note that it is NOT required for a school to have a full commercial kitchen. Many have “home ec” type spaces.

Purchase Curriculum: The first thing you would want to do to teach the ProStart program is to purchase books. The National Restaurant Association partnered with academic and industry experts to develop Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary Arts, Second Edition. To use the latest edition of FRMCA in your course or to learn more, please visit https://textbooks.restaurant.org or email your requests to textbooks@restaurant.org.
FRMCA, 2e includes updates throughout to reflect the most current competencies and industry trends. The curriculum is divided into two levels to give students the most comprehensive introduction to both the culinary and management sides of the business.
What’s new in the Second Edition?

Shorter, "bite-sized" chapter modules for more flexibility and better student retention
Application of math, science and technology in every chapter
New pedagogy and design to engage students and highlight key content and competencies
An expanded program of digital offerings including the following new assets:
- Media library featuring nearly one hundred original videos and animations
- Media-rich, interactive e-book option
- Online recipe management program from MasterCook
- Expanded teacher’s resource package for even more support in the classroom

Learn more about FRMCA, 2nd edition, see sample chapters, access resources and purchase materials at https://textbooks.restaurant.org.

Connect with Your ProStart State Coordinator: Your ProStart State Coordinator can help you implement the ProStart Program in your state. You can do this by emailing chefchelle@nvrestaurants.com

Educator Registration: Register as a ProStart Educator. When you register as a ProStart Educator, you will select the ProStart Program that you will be teaching. If you school is not listed, please contact your ProState Coordinator to have the school registered.

2022 Nevada ProStart Champions
Congratulations to our 2022 Nevada ProStart Culinary Champions representing Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology and Management Champions from McQueen High School (both from Reno)!

Both teams represented Nevada at the National ProStart competition in Washington D.C. in May 2022

Become a Mentor
Mentors help in a classroom to teach culinary and management skills through demonstrations and sharing personal stories about the profession. Mentors provide moral and professional support to the instructors as well as the students, and/or coach teams for the state and national culinary competitions.

How could YOU help?
We encourage you to make a commitment and get involved! Support can take many forms:

Offer tours of your business.
Be a guest speaker in the high schools.
Hire a ProStart student to work at your restaurant.
Provide a student scholarship in your company’s name.
Sponsor a teacher/mentor appreciation luncheon ($500)
Chef Demo for school classroom
Mentor a competition team (visit school once a month Oct.-Feb.).
Sponsor a teacher for the Summer Institute Training ($500)
Sponsor a student/team for the State Competition ($500/student)
Sponsor the Awards Banquet for the State Competition ($5,000)
Sponsor a student/team for the National Culinary Competition ($1,000/student).
E-newsletter sponsorship ($2,500 / 12 issues)
ProStart community involvement Fund ($100)

ProStart Educator Events

Newport Meat Company sponsored a Certified Angus Beef Meat Lab. Meat Scientist, Carson Rogers, PhD fabricated a whole beef carcass and discussed the decisions a butcher must make when meeting the supply and demand of their clients and how to break down each primal of the cow into various cuts used in industry.

ProStart teachers had the opportunity to meet with Chef Gary LaMorte and tour the Raiders training facility kitchen. They learned about the intense focus on player nutrition for health and performance, how to prevent food fatigue, and the overall function of the kitchen and dining room.