Wilbur Cross High School Culinary teams repeat big wins at ProStart national competitions

Fresh off a trip to the national finals, the ProStart culinary team at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven showed off what they do best: create unique meals together.

“For our entrée, we had a stuffed rabbit loin roulade with a pea purée, a mustard sauce, and a carrot and asparagus decorations,” explained team member Dyani Dolberry, a junior at Wilbur Cross. “We didn’t want to do like duck or lamb or beef or anything, so we just decided rabbit.”

They demonstrated their cooking skills on Friday, recreating the menu that got them first in the state at the ProStart competition in February at Yard Goats stadium, and that won them 16th in the country at the national competition in Baltimore in April.

The after-school team spends a year planning every detail and training on how to execute a perfectly plated three-course meal.

“Putting in the work, sometimes it would be like, 'oh, I have to wake up at 8 a.m. and I don’t want to.' But then once you were finished cooking, it felt good. Especially if it was a nice day,” Dolberry said.

Over the years, the culinary teams at Wilbur Cross have won the ProStart state title eight of the last ten years and placed in the top 25 nationally five of the last six years.

The culinary arts program and the ProStart competition teams are inspiring students to think broader about their futures.

“When I go to college I definitely want to minor in culinary arts or go to a trade if that’s possible because I like to cook, and having something on the side that for me would be nice,” Dolberry said.

“A lot of our students may not be going to Yale or Princeton. Some of them are hands on and just want to get out and work in the real world,” said Nathaniel Bradshaw, culinary arts teacher and coach for the ProStart teams.

While the culinary team made winning dishes and placing in the top 25 nationally, they’re not alone. The management team placed second in the national competition with their business plan for Ahkihca, an indigenous-inspired restaurant.  

“To me it’s priceless to see what a wonderful job these students have done,” Bradshaw said.

“I think we’re all very happy. Our families are very happy. The school’s very proud of us,” said senior Adam Sharqawe.

The restaurant’s concept is based on creating foods that are rooted in indigenous cuisine, like fry bread. The students presented an entire concept from restaurant layout to the menu to the target customer base.

“For us this was about showing Connecticut, showing New England, and showing indigenous culture in the restaurant industry, which is very, very rarely discussed,” Sharqawe said.

In his second year on the team, Sharqawe says the experience has helped him learn valuable skills for the future.

“I think it’s helped me a lot from a presentation point of view, from a collaborative point of view, knowing how to work in teams, but also being really committed and making deadlines,” Sharqawe said.

There’s a waiting list for the culinary arts program at Wilbur Cross and getting a spot on the ProStart team is just fairly competitive.

Bradshaw says it’s all done on a tight budget. They rely on donations of food for their many practices and also count on outside support for things like travel funding. Bradshaw hopes the success will show what programs like this, and more government funding to go with them, can do for students’ futures.

Lisa Lapidus has been with the program for nine years, coaching and mentoring students to bring out their best skills.

“When you look at this program as a whole, we’re walking out with a really well-rounded student,” Lapidus said.