Caesar Rodney’s national champion culinary team visited the White House this week.
The five-time state champion and two-time national champion culinary team of Caesar Rodney School District celebrated their dynasty this week by visiting the nation’s capital for a trip to the White House.
Caesar Rodney High School’s culinary team took home its fifth straight state title this year in the 11th Annual Delaware ProStart Student Invitational. It won the national competition this year after finishing second in 2023 and winning it all in 2022.
“Being honored with a VIP tour of the White House after winning the National ProStart Championship was such an amazing experience,” said team coach Terri Senn. “Just touring the White House is awe inspiring, but seeing the kitchen and meeting Executive Chef Comerford created a memory my students and I will cherish forever.”
Along with coach Senn, who teaches culinary classes, the team is made up of students Melia Stamper, Shannon Powell, Ralph Figueroa, Carys Raber, Zoe Rowe and Grey Bendel.
RELATED: Caesar Rodney’s 5x state culinary winners win national title
All the competing students are part of the three-year culinary pathway that will lead them all into a career within the field.
This is the first time a ProStart Champion Culinary team has been recognized at the White House for their achievements and excellence in culinary arts.
The team, educator, mentor and Delaware Restaurants Association President Carrie Leishman toured the White House and met its executive chef, Cristeta Comerford.
Comerford, the first female to serve in this role, has led the kitchen and staff since being appointed by First Lady Laura Bush in 2005.
“Meeting Chef Cris was an amazing experience, her passion for her field was incredibly inspiring,” Rowe said. “Being invited to the White House was a great honor and I’m so proud of everything we’ve been able to accomplish in just this short year.”
The national competition is the capstone annual event for ProStart, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s nationwide career and technical education program that has equipped more than a million high school students with career-ready culinary and restaurant management skills.
The program involves nearly 165,000 students at just under 1,850 schools. In Delaware, it involves more than 5,400 students in 22 public high schools and two correctional facilities.
During the national competition, held in the spring, the Caesar Rodney team prepared hand-rolled pork dumplings, pepper-crusted steak Diane and a lemon meringue tart.
To make it a real challenge, teams had to make a three-course meal in 60 minutes, using only two butane burners and no electricity or water.
“I feel incredibly honored that our team was able to have this experience and especially the opportunity to meet Chef Chris,” Raber said. “She is incredibly inspirational to us as young chefs who have aspirations to be involved and influential in the industry as much as she is.”
Stamper said meeting with Comerford and going to the White House was one of the best experiences she’s ever had.
“Getting to see how each room was decorated and getting to hear the different stories and the history behind them all made me feel so honored,” she said. “All I could think the whole time was, this is what happens when you work your butt off to reach your goals.”
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
Jarek can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz and on LinkedIn.
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