Photo Courtesy of Glenda Seward

Aspiring chefs from Mid-Prairie High School partnered up with Cafe Dodici in Washington last week for a four-course, wine-pairing dinner, with proceeds going toward the Mid-Prairie ProStart Program.

Glenda Seward, Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher at Mid-Prairie High School, says the event was well-received by those attending. The students were in charge of the appetizers for the evening. Seward says from an initial group of 12 potential appetizers, the students chose six to present to Cafe Dodici for taste testing. Four of those were then selected to be served. Seward says all four appetizers received positive reviews at the event, but the bacon-wrapped dates were the most popular. 

ProStart is a program created by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and implemented in Iowa by the Iowa Restaurant Association Education Foundation. It gives students interested in joining the culinary field the opportunity to learn necessary skills. Mid-Prairie is a recent addition to the program, having joined four years ago. Students take classes in culinary foundations, as well as classes in sanitation and safety.

The classes teach students skills outside of the kitchen as well, Seward says, “I look at teamwork and being able to work with anyone to be an extremely strong component of the program. We switch up lab groups every so often and you just learn to work with whoever you’re working with. And that’s a life skill that will transfer very, very well.”

Proceeds from the event will go toward scholarships, mentoring experiences, competitions, and more.