Cape High culinary students earn first place in state contest

Cape High culinary students Hazel Getzlaff, Jacqueline Nelms and Wiley Owens are heading to nationals after placing first in the management competition at the 10th annual Delaware ProStart Student Invitational held March 10 in Dover.

More than 150 Delaware high school students participated in the contest hosted by the Delaware Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, where 25 culinary and management teams were judged on teamwork, culinary expertise and restaurant industry management skills. 

For the competition, Hazel, Jacqueline and Wiley built an international airport-based restaurant from the ground up, said culinary arts and hospitality management instructor Kimberly Bailey-Thomas. 

Students brainstormed the concept, designed a floor plan and menu, and created marketing promotions for their restaurant, Delicieux. During competition, they demonstrated their knowledge of their business and the industry by delivering a verbal presentation and answering judges’ questions in a rapid-fire session.

Hazel, Jacqueline and Wiley will incorporate judges’ feedback and fine-tune their presentation for the National ProStart Student Invitational, set for May 2-4, in Washington, D.C. 

Before nationals, they will attend the April 19 Delaware Restaurant Association Educational Foundation Fundraising Dinner at Riverfront Events in Wilmington, where they will be recognized for their first-place finish and have the opportunity to greet and direct guests to auction and raffle items available for bidding.

The Delaware Restaurant Association Educational Foundation is the nonprofit, philanthropic arm of the Delaware Restaurant Association, the state trade association dedicated to promoting, educating and advocating for Delaware’s foodservice industry.