The head chef of the culinary department has recently won a state recognition award and was selected as the 2023 ProStart Educator of Excellence.
ProStart is the curriculum that all high school culinary programs follow that set students up for their future careers in the food industry.
“Prostart is run by the national restaurant association for all culinary arts in the United States. They focus on providing opportunities and focusing on skills that a real chef would use. They provide a competition that is done at the state level for all of the skills and it's a very fierce and competitive competition,” Yount said.
This award is a big deal in the culinary community and sets the standard of excellence for the students in the program. The culinary students are extremely proud of Yont and expected nothing less of their teacher.
“Prostart is very unique because you can go in with a team of five students and they get one hour to design an appetizer entree and dessert using two burners, with no running water or electricity. Their menus are student-created, developed, and designed. They do everything from start to finish. They work on their timing and finding different ways to cook products with just two burners,” Yount said.
Chef Yont has exceeded expectations over the last few years of her teaching career. Yount has been dedicated to teaching here for the last several years and made an impact on plenty of students. Yount is proud of herself for achieving something like this and plans on continuing her hard work.
“Working hard eventually pays off so never give up. I'm very proud of her for winning the award and her hard work because she deserved it, ” junior Connor Terhaar said.
Winning this award is a big honor and it recognizes the hard work and dedication that goes into being an instructor of culinary arts. The ProStart program has helped outreach to about 165 thousand students in over 1800 schools across the country.
The program has been around for the last 23 years and since its inception over 1 million students have participated in the program.
“[It's] very special. It is a very high reward one that I've watched all my college peers and chef educators win over several years. It's just a really big honor because ProStart is very special to our industry and specifically our pathway. To be seen and recognize our work that is not easy. It just makes you feel good,” Yount stated.
Prostart is run by the national restaurant association for all culinary arts in the United States. They focus on providing opportunities and focusing on skills that a real chef would use. They provide a competition that is done at the state level for all of the skills and it's a very fierce and competitive competition. Prostart is very unique because you can go in with a team of 5 students and they get one hour to design an appetizer entree and dessert using 2 burners with no running water or electricity.
Their menus are student-created, developed, and designed everything they do everything from start to finish and they work on their timing and finding different ways to cook products with just two burners. They also have to cost out their recipes and menus and cook under a certain time frame they watch their safety sanitation their knife cuts and cooking techniques and so they are watched pretty much the whole time from start to finish they have to pack all of their equipment and pack all their food in coolers when they get their e they check their coolers you can't buy anything store-bought.
[its] very special, it is a very high reward one that I've watched all my college peers and chef educators win over several years. It's just a really big honor because prostart is very special to our industry and specifically our pathway. To be seen and recognize our work that is not easy it just makes you feel good.”
Senior Jalen Hooks is a memorable athlete who has made a name for himself in boys' basketball, playing for multiple schools throughout his high school career.
Hooks is noticeable from anywhere in the school because of his height. He is tall, so he stands out in a crowd, and on the court. This year, the whole team stood out, even hitting a buzzer-beater in the first round of sectionals.
“Whenever I needed anything on and off the court, he was there for me every step of the way. He didn't just care about my basketball, he just wanted to see me succeed in life,” Jalen Hooks said.