TCD instructors and chefs Matt Barker and Kyle Neuner coach the team and will accompany them to Minneapolis. Chef Faith Jennetta is the coordinator of TCD’s award-winning culinary program, which features the industry-recognized ProStart curriculum and is the only Illinois high-school program certified by the American Culinary Federation Educational Foundation. Last year, TCD’s state champ team went on to place second at Nationals.

Neuner, a TCD alum and former ProStart competitor himself, credits TCD’s success to hours of practice and strong partnerships. ProStart team members were selected via a formal tryout before several of the culinary program’s business partners and alumni. TCD’s hard-working team members met two to three times weekly in four-hour sessions to practice their competition menu. The state competition requires that chicken or salmon be used in the entrée portion of the three-course menu. Each team develops its menu considering time and equipment constraints, the skill level of the competitors, and seasonality.

“Great alumni and business partners are critical assets in the practice sessions,” says Neuner. “They are able to communicate with the team in ways the chef coaches cannot.”   

Business partner Mark Palicki of Fortune Fish made sure the team used high-quality product. Chef Jennifer Kopp at Chevy Chase Country Club in Washington, D.C., provided input on the development of the dessert. Consulting on the entrée and appetizer were Chicago-area Executive Chef Sarah Grueneberg and Master Chef Steve Jilleba.