Restaurant Association of Maryland Blog

BB&T Bank - New Gold Sponsor of the Maryland ProStart Student Invitational!

This past week the Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation announced that BB&T Bank in Maplelawn, MD has come on board in support of the Maryland ProStart Student Invitational. BB&T has joined the large group of MPSI contributors as a Gold Sponsor of both the event and awards dinner. The MPSI culinary competition provides the opportunity for students wishing to pursue culinary arts and hospitality management to take another step towards successful and rewarding careers in the restaurant industry. Thank you BB&T Bank for helping make that possible! For more information about becoming a supporter of the Maryland ProStart Student Invitational please visit www.ramef.org or contact the Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation at 800.874.1313. 

Photo: Paul Hartgen, President & CEO-Restaurant Association of Maryland, Jeff Stauffer, BB&T Bank - Maplelawn, MD, Marshall Weston, Vice President-Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation

Education Foundation Nominated for Maryland Tourism Award

The Restaurant Association of Maryland Educational Foundation (RAMEF) has been nominated by Howard County Tourism for their work in training the future of the Maryland Restaurant Industry.

In four years the RAMEF has been able to grow their ProStart program to 103 Maryland High Schools.  As of September 2009 there are over 3,500 juniors and seniors enrolled. Currently in 14 counties, the foundation looks to be in the remaining 10 in the next 5 years.  ProStart is the career-building program for high school students who are interested in culinary arts and food service management.

"We continue to address the needs Maryland's workforce," said Marshall Weston, Executive Vice President for RAMEF, "we understand that the industry will grow 12.5% over the next 10 years and we are addressing this issue today."

Over two challenging and rewarding years, ProStart students experience classroom study, mentored work experiences, and local and national competitions. ProStart works for students, parents, teachers and the restaurant and food service industry.

"Restaurants are a big part of tourism and the product we call Maryland," said Paul Hartgen, president, of the Restaurant Association of Maryland.  " We look to continue to improve on the culinary experience in this state and what an honor to be nominated for an award while also fulfilling our mission."

The winner of this award will be announced at the Annual Tourism & Travel Summit in Ocean City, Maryland November 4th - 6th, 2009.  This award illustrates industry’s commitment to education by recognizing an individual, business,organization or group who has significantly contributed to the education of current and future tourism professionals and who has fostered the recognition of education as vital to the tourism industry. Nominee may be an individual or organization involved in creating educational opportunities for tourism professionals through personal experience or program development.

This event is produced by the The Maryland Tourism Council (MTC).  The MTC is the statewide membership organization representing all private-sector segments of the hospitality and tourism industry emphasizing government affairs, business growth, professional development, and alliances with other tourism organizations, the business community, and state and local governments.

Nation's Restaurant News: Having words with Mike Gibbons

Nation's Restaurant News

After spending six years working for C.A. Muer Corp. of Southfield, Mich., during college and afterward, Mike Gibbons decided to venture out on his own. He partnered with former Muer vice president Dennis Serras in 1979, and in 1981 formed Main Street Ventures. They opened their first full-service restaurant in Farmington Hills, Mich., and then proceeded to expand their business holdings, opening a string of other full-service restaurants in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Florida. Today, Main Street operates 17 restaurants. Gibbons also has been active in state restaurant associations as well as the National Restaurant Association. He joined the NRA board in 2000 and was named chairman last month.

Read more: http://www.nrn.com/article.aspx?id=374220#ixzz0VRHzc2Nw

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NRA To Host Card Check and Labor Reform Webinar

Join us for our Card Check and Labor Reform Webinar scheduled for Thursday, August 6th at 2pm EDT (Eastern Daylight Time).  You'll discover what the Employee Free Choice Act means to you and your company. Participate in a free, members-only National Restaurant Association webinar to learn more about this legislation and how the Association is responding on your behalf.

Share your story

Find out how the Association's strategy will address this and future restaurant industry labor challenges. Don't miss this opportunity to raise questions and suggest ideas to Association leaders. We will also provide an overview of the current political climate and share important tips for operators. With Congress in recess this month, learn how you can utilize this time to tell your business's story and have your voice be heard before the debate flares back up in September.

Presenters:
Brendan Flanagan, director, government relations, National Restaurant Association
Chris Raymond, vice president, government relations, National Restaurant Association
Steven D. Wheeless, labor and employment attorney, Steptoe & Johnson

You will need your last name and member ID.

Register now

If you have any questions, please e-mail webinars@restaurant.org.

Back To School For Maryland ProStart

It is already that time...Today the Restaurant Association of Maryland's Educational Foundation (RAMEF)started the training for the 2009/2010 school year getting things geared up for the future of the Maryland Restaurant industry.

ProStart is the career-building program for high school students who are interested in culinary arts and restaurant and foodservice management. Throughout an exciting two-year period, they study in the classroom, participate in mentored work experiences, and test their skills in local and national competitions. Most importantly, ProStart students grow into the leaders our industry needs.

"Currently RAMEF has 85 high school programs with over 3,000 students enrolled, " said Marshall Weston, Executive Vice President of RAMEF. " We hope to grow the program to include 100 high schools and ultimately have one in every county.  We will need industry support to achieve this goal."

According to the National Restaurant Association Maryland restaurant employment will grow by 12.5% over the next 10 years and will need 29,000 more employees. 

"We believe that ProStart is part of the solution and in a state industry that does $9 Billion a year in sales we are hopeful that a more educated workforce can also help tweak sales by 1%," said Paul Hartgen, president of the Restaurant Association of Maryland. " A 1% increase equates to $90,000,000 more a year for this one company."

RAM Tells the Story of the Restaurant Industry to the GBC

Earlier this morning Paul Hartgen, president & CEO of the Restaurant Association of Maryland spoke to members of the Hospitality/Tourism Committee of the Greater Baltimore Committee . 

Chaired by Peter Komar, CHA, General Manager - Holiday Inn Inner Harbor the committee discusses issues pertaining to the hospitality/tourism industry such as the Maryland tourism budget; tourism safety; and convention business.

Hartgen's presentation gave the perspective from a national, state and local level. The Maryland restaurants are the the cornerstone of the economy, of rewarding career opportunities, and of community involvement.

The video - America's Restaurant - Serving our Nation 

The PowerPoint - Download Tourism Committee

Baltimore County Students Manage Their Way To National Award

Carver Center for the Arts and Technology Place 4th in National ProStart Invitational

The Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation (RAMEF) announced today that the high school hospitality management team from the Carver Center for the Arts and Technology in Baltimore County took 4th place at the National ProStart Invitational in San Diego, CA this past weekend.

The National ProStart Invitational provided the stage for 31 high school teams from across the country to compete against one another in a hospitality management competition.  Teams were given a “case study” that involved several problems and situations that might arise in the hospitality industry on any given day.  After 30 minutes of preparation, the team then had to make a presentation to judges on how they would handle those situations.  Judges then scored their presentations based on how the team addressed customer relations, inter-departmental communications, staffing and labor, sanitation, safety and organization.  Teams also competed against one another in a knowledge bowl, answering questions about hospitality management, culinary arts and food safety.  Judges included hospitality industry professionals and instructors from post secondary schools with hospitality management programs.  Over 1 million dollars in scholarship money and national bragging rights were on the line for the top finishing teams in the competition.

This was the second year in a row that the Carver Center and instructor Bette Mullins had won the Maryland ProStart Student Invitational and earned the right to represent Maryland in the national competition.  Team members Brina Furman, Rachel Sherman, Brenna Hoffman, Tara Lewis, and Thomas Burch each earned a $500 scholarship from both McCormick and Whole Foods Market for winning the state competition, along with several scholarship awards from numerous post secondary institutions.  “These students put in hours and hours of work to prepare for the national competition”, stated Mullins, “I am extremely proud of their 4th place finish and they exceeded all my expectations”.

For placing 4th in the nation, each student on the team will receive a $500 scholarship from the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and the Coca Cola Company along with a gift bag worth over $200 in culinary tools and materials.  This is in addition to the scholarships awarded to them for finishing first at the state competition. 

“This is the best finish for any Maryland team in the National ProStart Invitational” commented Marshall Weston Jr., Executive Vice President of RAMEF.  “Having the highest score in the knowledge bowl competition is what propelled this team to 4th in the nation.  This group highlights the caliber of students we have in the ProStart program in Maryland.”

The ProStart program is a high school culinary and hospitality management curriculum that also requires 400 hours of paid industry work experience in order to receive a ProStart National Certificate of Achievement.  Students completing the ProStart program are qualified to enter the workforce in positions above entry level and are on a fast track to management careers.  ProStart is endorsed by the Maryland State Department of Education and also prepares students for post secondary education at culinary schools and hospitality management programs. 

Weston added that “It is the partnerships between the industry and education that has helped these students achieve nationally recognized success.  The financial support and mentoring of those in the industry are what enabled the Carver Center for the Arts to perform at the highest level.”

Join them on FaceBook.

Maryland Culinary Students Heat Up California Kitchens In National Cooking and Hospitality Management Competition

Two Maryland ProStart Teams Travel to San Diego California to Compete in the National ProStart Student Invitational

Earlier today, two Maryland high school culinary teams departed for San Diego, California to compete in a national hospitality competition against teams from across the United States. Carver Center for the Arts in Baltimore County and Howard County Applications and Research Laboratory (Howard County ARL) will represent Maryland on behalf of the Restaurant Association of Maryland’s ProStart program at the National ProStart Student Invitational (NPSI) to take place April 24-26, 2009.

“It’s a significant accomplishment for these young, aspiring hospitality professionals to win Maryland’s regional competition and go on to represent our state in a national competition! To win takes vigorous coursework and countless hours of on-the-job training.  We are so proud of their accomplishments thus far and can’t wait to cheer them on from the crowd at Nationals” commented LaDeana Litchfield, Director of Workforce Development for the Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation (RAMEF). RAMEF orchestrates the ProStart program for the state of Maryland. 

Teams of students representing their state restaurant association’s ProStart program competed in individual state competitions to secure a position in this national event. Howard County ARL and Carver Center for the Arts were the first place winning teams of the culinary and management competitions respectively at the Maryland ProStart Student Invitational on March 4th and were therefore selected to move on to compete at NPSI.

The two sectors of the competition are judged based on specified criteria ranging from sanitation to organization for the management competition and food safety to proper cooking technique for the culinary competition. Judges for each competition include hospitality industry professionals and instructors from post secondary schools with hospitality management programs and top culinary schools in the United States. Over 1 millions dollars in scholarship money and national bragging rights are on the line for the top teams in both sectors of the National Invitational.

Students who complete the high school culinary and hospitality management curriculum are qualified to enter the workforce in positions above entry level and are on a fast track to management careers. “The ProStart program is phenomenal for our industry. It instills hard work and excellent training into each and every student. It truly prepares them for the tough but rewarding hospitality industry,” added Paul Hartgen, President and CEO of the Restaurant Association of Maryland.

The restaurant industry rallied behind these budding chefs and managers by hosting a wine dinner held at the Rumor Mill Fusion Bar and Restaurant in Ellicott City. The dinner featured the winning menu prepared by Howard County ARL at the Maryland ProStart Student Invitational. All proceeds from the dinner were donated towards travel expenses for both teams travelling to NPSI. 

For more information regarding the Maryland ProStart Student Invitational or the National ProStart Student Invitational and the over 3,000 students currently in the program in more than 85 Maryland High Schools please contact the Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation at 410-290-6800 x1015 or visit www.ramef.org.

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The Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation (RAMEF) is a nonprofit organization that works with the Restaurant Association of Maryland to educate the hospitality workforce of Maryland.  RAMEF offers certifications in food safety and responsible alcohol service along with server and hospitality management training.  RAMEF also supports the 80 schools in Maryland using the ProStart program, a culinary and hospitality management curriculum for high school students that is endorsed by the Maryland State Department of Education. Scholarships to students and industry professionals are also managed through the Foundation.  More information on RAMEF can be found at www.ramef.org.

The Restaurant Association of Maryland (RAM) has remained relevant to restaurateurs for over 80 years by maintaining core principles born out of the first national financial crisis.  In 1927 a small group of Baltimore area restaurateurs met to deal with the challenges facing the economy and the foodservice industry. Today, RAM is a 2,000 member strong statewide trade association operated for the purpose of promoting, protecting and improving the foodservice industry in the State of Maryland.  Since the very beginning, the Association has been run by restaurateurs and suppliers working not only for the benefit of dues paying members, but also for the restaurant industry as a whole.  For more information about the restaurant industry in Maryland please visit our website at www.marylandrestaurants.com.

Hartgen Speaks to Members of the Clarksville Rotary

The president of the Restaurant Association of Maryland, Paul Hartgen, was the guest speaker at the April Clarksville Rotary meeting.  Part of the association's ongoing effort to educate business leaders in Maryland about the role restaurants play in Maryland's economy.

Hartgen spoke about how this industry employes 174,000 great people in over 9,600 locations and generates $9 Billion in sales.

Said Nancy M. Szlasa, Assistant Rotary Governor, "As indicated by the attention and questions posed by the Rotary, we were captivated by your presentation.  You surely heightened our awareness of the role of The Maryland Restaurant Association and its contribution to the industry and to the community.  Your enthusiastic presentation which reflected your wealth of knowledge was definitely appreciated by the Clarksville Rotary Club."

The Powerpoint presentation: Download Clarksville Rotary

High School Students Turn on Heat in Culinary Competition

Howard Co. team among those who worked to create three dishes, under deadline and under budget.

By John-John Williams IV | john-john.williams@baltsun.com