The McMinnville High School (MHS) ProStart culinary team was featured on the KGW 8 program “Portland Today” this morning. The team includes MHS students Devin Baldwin, Kaylyn Clevenger, Hanna Eby, Luis Garibaldo and Karissa Olsen and is coached by MHS Culinary Arts teacher Krista Carpino.
The Portland television station sent a crew to interview the team, which won the 2017 ProStart Culinary Championships in February, during a practice session for the upcoming National ProStart Invitational in South Carolina later this month.
During the live broadcast, the students prepared their entry for the upcoming competition and finished on time, even though they were interrupted by interviews and some changes in their positioning to accommodate the video crew. Afterward, the KGW correspondent Cassidy Quinn and cameraman Steve Hanson did taste tests of the finished work.
The team has been supported with donations for practices and shipping food to the national competition by the following organizations: the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation (ORLAEF), which donated $10,000 to cover hotel and airfare costs and is spearheading a fundraiser to support the program. Additionally, the Oregon Trawl Commission (OTC) will provide shrimp and ling cod; and the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission will supply crab and also donated $1,500; and Airgas donated all the dry ice used for practice and the national competition.