The Oklahoma Restaurant Association announced the winners of the 2023 Ben E. Keith Oklahoma ProStart® Student Invitational, held on Friday, March 4 at the Embassy Suites Norman Hotel and Conference Center.
In the culinary division, students with Pioneer Technology Center took home the title. Abbi Corbin, Makenna Eaton, Nikita Longoria, Donna Gray, and Darrius Allen of Pioneer Technology Center from Ponca City will represent Oklahoma at the National ProStart® Culinary Competition in Washington D.C. May 2-4. The team will be led by their instructor Brenda Pollack and mentor Andrew Enninga.
This is the twentieth year of the Oklahoma ProStart® Student Invitational and industry leaders continue to come back to volunteer and support the future of Oklahoma’s hospitality industry.
“I come back each year because it’s special to help the future of our industry,” said Chef Bill Leib, Lead ProStart® Judge with Francis Tuttle Technology Center. “These students involved in ProStart are the ones who will continue to elevate the hospitality industry for Oklahoma.”
This is Chef Leib’s twelfth year volunteering with Oklahoma ProStart®.
“This program is one industry professionals want to be involved in,” Leib said. “Getting to work with such talented individuals is inspiring, and to be a part of a program that is building long-term success in the industry is what we all want at the end of the day.”
For more information about Pioneer Technology Center’s Culinary Arts program or to enroll, call 580-762-8336 or visit their website www.pioneertech.edu.
Caption: Pictured left to right Chef Mark Vannasdall, Nikita Longoria, Ponca City; Abbi Corbin, Marland; Donna Gray, Burbank; Makenna Easton, Ponca City; Darrius Allen, Ponca City; Brenda Pollak, PTC Instructor; Andrew Enninga, Mentor and former ProStart student; and Dan Carman with Ben E. Keith. The Pioneer Technology Center ProStart team will represent Oklahoma at the National ProStart® Culinary Competition in Washington D.C. May 2-4.