The California Restaurant Foundation’s annual teen culinary competition, ProStart Cup, is back and in-person for its 20th year with 14 high schools from across Southern California competing for $500,000 in scholarships.

ProStart Cup began Monday morning at the Long Beach Convention Center where both the teamed Culinary Cup and Management Cup events were underway. The Culinary Cup is modeled after competitive cooking shows, such as “Chopped,” where teams of high school students rush to make a gourmet three-course meal in just one hour with only two butane burners to cook with.

Meanwhile, in the Management Cup which is designed to emulate “Shark Tank,” teams are tasked with pitching their best restaurant concepts complete with menu, marketing plan and design to a panel of judges.

ProStart Cup will continue until Tuesday, March 8, where there will be more cooking and an awards ceremony announcing the winners. For more information on the competition and the California Restaurant Foundation, click here.

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David Nguyen, of the company Ecolab, is one of the judges in the 20th anniversary culinary competition, ProStart Cup in Long Beach Monday, March 7, 2022. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
A supporter cheers on her team as high school students compete in the 20th anniversary culinary competition ProStart Cup in Long Beach Monday, March 7, 2022. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.