HHS team wins cake decorating contest

HURON — A team from Huron High School won the cake decorating competition held as part of the S.D. ProStart Invitational Monday and Tueday in Mitchell.
Team members Emily Forrest and Stephanie Vandenhoek created a multi-layer cake decorated to follow the theme, Under the Sea. They were under the direction of instructor Kathy Engst.
Teams of students from Brookings High School and Mitchell CTE won the culinary competition and are headed to a national ºcompetition in Providence, Rhode Island April 27-29, after taking top honors in the 11th annual South Dakota ProStart Invitational.
The ProStart Invitational is an intense, fast-paced event, with teams vying for state titles in a culinary division and a business management division. Nearly 60 high school students participated in the competition, held March 12-13 in Mitchell.

In the culinary portion of the competition, teams of students demonstrated knife skills and then had just 60 minutes to prepare a three-course gourmet meal without the use of electricity. Many of the state’s premier chefs watched closely, scoring the teams on numerous factors including presentation, taste, sanitation and teamwork.
Teams also went head-to-head in a business management competition. They gave presentations on the steps they would need to take to start up a restaurant. In addition to presenting details about the concept to one set of judges, a second set of food-service professionals grilled the teams about their business plans.

COURTESY PHOTO
Emily Forrest, left, and Stephanie Vandenhoek won the cake decorating competition Monday during the S.D. ProStart Invitational in Mitchell. The competition theme was Under the Sea.

Next, Vandenhoek puts the finishing touches on their cake.

And next, the finished product.