• Texas ProStart Invitational

    March 24-26, 2023
    Waco Convention Center

    Learn More

What is Texas ProStart?

Texas ProStart prepares students for careers in the restaurant and foodservice industry. They gain valuable restaurant and foodservice skills through their academic and workplace experience.

It’s a well-known fact that everything is bigger and better in Texas. Our approach to high school hospitality education is no exception to this rule. The Texas Restaurant Foundation took the benefits of the national ProStart program and added a Texas twist:
  • Outstanding Curriculum
  • Educator Excellence & Professional Development 
  • Industry Support & State-of-the-Art Facilities 
  • Student Achievement 
We take high school culinary and restaurant management to the next level by providing the full support of the Texas restaurant industry to over 215 high schools reaching over 25,000 students nationally each year. The program grows each year – adding more schools and reaching more students!

The connection between industry and schools ensures that teachers and students get the most from the Texas ProStart program. We provide extensive resources for educators and students to succeed.


The culmination of their skills comes to a head at the annual Texas ProStart Invitational, where teams from across the state showcase the amazing passion and dedication students have for our industry.

Check out the Texas Restaurant Foundation partners and learn how you can get involved!

Learn how ProStart brings industry and the classroom together to give students a platform to discover new interests and talents and open doors for fulfilling careers.

Texas ProStart Invitational 2024

Save the date! The Texas ProStart Invitational will return to Waco in 2024. Registration information coming soon.

National ProStart Invitational 2024-2026

Save the date! The National ProStart Invitational will be in Baltimore starting in 2024. More information can be found on their website. 

How The Competition Works

Teams of students representing their high school ProStart program will compete in the Texas ProStart Invitational (TPSI). One qualifying competition is held over one weekend in Waco, Texas at the Waco Convention Center. In this qualifier, 44 culinary and 24 management teams will compete. First place winning teams in the culinary and management competitions qualify to compete at the National ProStart Invitational on May 2-4, 2023.

Management

Management teams develop a proposal for the next promising restaurant concept and present it to a panel of industry judges.
Their problem solving skills are tested as they quickly solve challenges faced by managers daily.

Culinary

The culinary competition highlights each team’s creative abilities through the preparation of a three-course meal in 60 minutes, using only two butane burners, and without access to running water or electricity. Students are evaluated on taste, skill, teamwork, safety and sanitation.

Texas Prostart Sponsorship Opportunities

Elevate your brand, company mission, and organizational goals to an audience of fellow industry executives and the best of the restaurant industry’s next generation.

Contact Us 
Ben Knorr, Partner & Sponsor Development Manager
 [email protected]

Have Questions?

If you are an educator, mentor, chaperone, parent or school administrator, please contact your ProStart State Coordinator with questions.

Contact Texas ProStart Coordinator

If you are a judge, development guest, exhibitor, post-secondary school, or SRA rep, please direct questions to your NRAEF contact or Susan Petty at spetty@txrestaurant.org.