Rutigliano Recognizes National ProStart Invitational Restaurant Management Competition

HARTFORD- State Rep. David Rutigliano (R-123) recognized the Connecticut Restaurant Association (CRA) and the Connecticut winners of the National ProStart Invitational® Restaurant Management Competition on the floor of the House of Representatives.

New Haven’s Wilbur Cross High School took first place at the National ProStart Invitational® Restaurant Management Competition in Providence, RI. The team, consisting of Janaisha Taylor, Kayla Rose, Brenda Lituma, Denaysia Gumbs and Eva Perez each won $5,000 scholarships from the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and Coca-Cola®, plus an additional $1,000 scholarship from the Burger King McLamore Foundation. In addition, the winners have more than $100,000 in college and university-specific scholarships available to them, should they choose to attend any of the sponsoring schools.

The five students from New Haven, Conn. won the Restaurant Management competition, which consisted of 46 teams from around the country. The young ladies created their own restaurant idea called “N2ICE LAB” and presented it to a panel of world-class judges from the restaurant industry. The N2ICE LAB concept is a woman owned business that uses food science to create unique, non-dairy frozen desserts using liquid nitrogen, while also creating awareness and opportunity for women in the STEM fields.

The National ProStart Invitational is the country’s premier competition for high school students who are studying culinary arts and restaurant management. Each year, the top 400 ProStart students from around the country put their knowledge and skills to the test in front of industry leaders, National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) Trustees, state restaurant association executives, and top culinary and arts universities.