Bonney Lake Tutors

About Bonney Lake

Bonney Lake High School students who like to cook or want to explore restaurant careers are in luck. The school has a well-developed culinary program, thanks to ProStart, a national culinary arts and restaurant management program offered at more than 1,700 high schools. About 100,000 students in forty-eight U.S. states and Guam and on military bases participate in the program each year.

ProStart’s creator, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), aims to prepare youth to continue their education or pursue careers in the food-service sector. Serious students can set as their goal ProStart’s Certificate of Achievement, which requires completion of two levels (two years) of the program plus 400 hours of work experience. Student who work with a Bonney Lake tutor for their other academic courses will have more time for those work hours!

Bonney Lake High participants begin the program by learning basic skills and then progress to food preparation and culinary arts. Additionally, they are introduced to the business side of food service: accounting, customer relations, marketing, and cost control. They are also connected with local businesses that provide workplace experience.

Throughout the program, students cook at fundraisers, cater events, and go on field trips. Sometimes they even cook alongside famous guest chefs. Student teams also compete at statewide competitions, and they have qualified for and competed at national events as well.

At BLHS, the competition team is chosen months in advance, giving students time to perfect whatever they will be demonstrating, often a three-course meal that must be completed within an hour, without running water or electricity, and with only two butane heaters. For certain events, five students do the cooking, and a separate five-student team comprises the management team. The management team creates and presents a business plan, which includes the restaurant’s concept, décor, floorplan, recipes, menu, pricing, marketing strategy, and photos of the meals. Overall good time management is essential for students who participate in ProStart; seeking tutoring in Bonney Lake can free up time for cooking practice.

Competing at national competitions is a big deal, as the teams are vying for several million dollars in scholarships, even full rides to culinary schools. During the competition, student teams prepare one or more courses. In one recent national competition, BLHS students prepared a starter, entrée, and dessert within sixty minutes using two butane burners. Judges awarded points not only on taste, but also on teamwork, knife skills, safety, and sanitation.

BLHS culinary students also share their talents by catering community events or cooking for year-end events. One year they even colored a couple thousand Easter eggs for an egg hunt!