Salem’s next wave of chefs and restaurant leaders will be put to the test March 2 when students from Salem-Keizer’s Career Technical Education Center and South Salem High School compete at the Oregon ProStart Championships at the Salem Convention Center.
The statewide event brings together culinary and restaurant management teams from across Oregon, with a state title on the line and a path to nationals in Baltimore this spring. The National ProStart Invitational is scheduled for April 24–26, 2026, where top teams from around the country compete in front of industry judges.
ProStart’s format is built for pressure. Culinary teams have 60 minutes to produce a three-course meal using only two butane burners, working without ovens or standard kitchen equipment. At the same time, management teams build and pitch an original restaurant concept, selling judges on everything from branding and operations to menu design and financial planning.
Salem-Keizer CTEC arrives with a track record that has made it one of the state’s most consistent programs in recent seasons. In 2025, CTEC placed first in management and second in culinary. In 2024, the program won management and took third in culinary, advancing to nationals and finishing eighth in the country in management, according to information provided by the program.
That success has continued even as student rosters turn over year to year, with graduating seniors handing off to new competitors. The program is led by CTEC culinary instructor Austin Stinson, a former ProStart student, and supported by industry mentor Wendy Bennett, who was recognized as Oregon’s ProStart Mentor of the Year in 2025.
South Salem High School has been a steady challenger in the management category, placing third in 2025 under longtime educator Laura Hofer. Hofer has been recognized by Oregon ProStart for her work helping students translate classroom skills into real-world hospitality experience.
The Oregon ProStart Championships are produced by the Oregon Hospitality Foundation in partnership with the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association. Across the state, ProStart serves more than 8,100 students in 54 Oregon high schools, connecting teens with culinary and restaurant management training while building direct ties to employers and mentors.
For Salem, the March 2 event is both a competition and a snapshot of workforce development in action: students performing under tight constraints, presenting professional-level work, and stepping into a career pipeline that reaches from high school classrooms to industry kitchens and boardrooms.
