FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2011
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins
(662) 329-7124
aperkins@pa.muw.edu

High school culinary teachers learn cutting-edge skills at ProStart Institute at MUW

COLUMBUS, Miss. –Approximately 30 high school teachers from across the country will be at Mississippi University for Women learning about the latest in restaurant management and culinary arts July 24-28.

MUW’s Culinary Arts Institute will host the ProStart Institute for culinary educators. The goal of the summer institute is to provide educators with a forum to learn cutting-edge skills, which they can then take back to the classroom.

“There are three levels of ProStart Institutes. This year we are only doing Level I, but I hope to in future years do Levels II and III,” said Erich Ogle, MUW Culinary Arts Institute director.

The session will provide an overview of the restaurant and foodservice industry. Participants will be introduced to food safety, workplace safety, kitchen essentials, stocks/sauces/soups, communication and management essentials.

ProStart is the two-year career-building program for high school students who are interested in culinary arts and foodservice management.

Last year MUW signed an articulation agreement with the National Restaurant Association which gives the university access to the Mississippi schools that offer the ProStart program.

The Culinary Arts Institute, which is an institute of the School of Professional Studies at MUW, is the only culinary institute in the state and the only one in the region that offers a B.S. in culinary arts.

For more information about the School of Professional Studies, call (662) 329-7152.