preparing students for competition – management events national restaurant association

Preparing Students for Competition – Management Events

National Restaurant Association

Management Competition Overview


Why Participate?• Marketing your program

• Gain industry support

• Enhance student experience


Why Participate?• Scholarship opportunities

In 2009, $1.1 million were awarded to the top 5 teams in both the management and culinary competitions at the National ProStart Invitational™

• Networking for students and educators


• The Management Competition is divided into four events: written proposal, verbal presentation, visual display and critical thinking • The events are weighted as follows:

– 30% verbal presentation– 30% critical thinking– 25% written proposal– 15% visual display


• Each year, the NRA will release a description of the fictitious city the restaurant must be located in

• In response, students will develop:– Defined restaurant concept– Menu– Marketing launch


Team members • Only current high school students enrolled in

ProStart are eligible• Teams will have a maximum of 4 students• 1 alternate is allowed to be used in case of

injury/illness• Students may only compete for two years (may

compete on both culinary and management over those two years)


Assistance • Mentors and educators may only assist teams in

preparing for the competition• They may not prepare any of the materials

themselves – expertise is limited to acting as a sounding board and critiquing practice presentations• The proposal should be a unique work each year,

and should not be built off the prior year’s work

Written Proposal

Written Proposal

Preparation • When the competition rules are released by the

NRA in the September prior to competition, it will include a description of a fictitious city, including:

– Population– Major attractions– Prominent businesses

• Students will develop a written proposal for their restaurant concept, menu and marketing launch

Written Proposal

Defined Restaurant Concept• Restaurant concept description - basic information on the concept

such as type of establishment, type of cuisine served, hours of operation, etc.

• Description of interior and décor – designed to ensure students understand how the concept identity touches every aspect of the restaurant

• Interior diagram – identify flow/features of the FOH (host stand, bus stations, etc.) and BOH (safety features, equipment to cook the items on the menu, etc.)

• Organizational chart – measuring whether students have captured all the personnel essential to running the restaurant (from managers to janitorial staff)

Written Proposal

Menu Development• Descriptions of 9 menu items• For 3 of the menu items, must include recipes and costing,

using the culinary templates

– Can be done in conjunction with culinary team• Teams must prepare and submit photos of the same 3 items• Teams must submit a sample of the menu presentation

– For example, drawing of menu board for quickservice, or sample menu design

• Teams are restricted to only 9 menu items – there is a penalty if they submit more

Written Proposal

Marketing Launch• Teams will develop 2 marketing tactics to launch the restaurant

– Will include description, goal and budget• One tactic will be determined by NRA each year and one will

be at the team’s discretion

– For example, all teams will prepare a newspaper ad or an email campaign

• Teams will submit a sample of their tactics

– Such as layout of ad, slogan for t-shirt, etc.• Teams may only submit 2 tactics, there is a penalty for

submitting more

Written Proposal

Scoring Judges will be looking for creativity of the concept, how

well the team thought through their concept, and how well they executed on the requirements

The written proposal will be evaluated by verbal presentation judges

The only exception is the recipe & costing judge, who will judge only that portion of the competition (similar to culinary)

Accounts for 25% of total management score

Verbal Presentation

Verbal Presentation

Preparation• Teams will prepare a 10-minute presentation based on their

written proposal• Teams should treat the judges like a panel of potential

investors

– The presentation should pull out the relevant information that audience would be interested in

• To level the technology playing field, teams may only use PowerPoint and may not embed any bells and whistles (such as video, sound, etc.)

– May only use the “no transition” option for slide transitions

– May use a custom design template

Verbal Presentation

Delivery• Teams will have 10 minutes to present their concept,

menu and marketing launch to a panel of judges– There is a 1-point penalty per minute over the 10-

minute limit, with disqualification after 4 minutes over– Event organizers will have a visible clock to help

teams keep track of their time• Judges will then have 5 additional minutes to ask the

team questions about their presentation– Will help judges determine that the students have

done all the work on the project

Verbal Presentation

Delivery• Each member of the team must have a substantial

speaking role during the presentation – 5-point penalty per student without a substantial

speaking role• Will use a projector and screen during the presentation• Teams will “check-in” their presentation during

registration on a CD or flash drive– They will work off this copy on the event organizer’s

computer• The verbal presentation is open to the public

Verbal Presentation

Scoring Judges will be looking for public speaking skills,

how well the team works together and how well they pulled out the pertinent information from their written proposal

Q & A will focus solely on their presentation and proposal


Visual Display

Visual Display

Preparation• Teams will build a visual display that tells the story of their

concept• Must include relevant information (and samples) from the

concept, menu and marketing • To level the playing field, teams will be restricted in the size of

their display and the material it may be constructed from• All materials to support the display must be attached to the

display board

– Attached materials cannot exceed dimensions of the display board, or hang over the edges

– Only exception is a display copy of the written proposal

Visual Display

Visual Display

Delivery• Teams may use the visual display during their

verbal presentation

• After their verbal presentation, teams will set up their display in a common visual display area

• Teams will then spend 45 minutes at their display answering questions from attendees and judges

Visual Display

Scoring Judges will be evaluating whether the visual

display accurately and creatively conveys the concept

2 judges will evaluate the visual display


Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking

Scenarios• Teams will be evaluated on critical thinking skills (similar to

current case study)• A set of judges will present the teams with mini-scenarios from

four categories, such as safety & sanitation, customer relations, human resources & staffing, marketing, menu development & design, concept knowledge

– Categories to be determined each year by the SRA and NRA (announced at Orientation)

– all teams will be evaluated on the same four categories (but with unique scenarios)

Critical Thinking

Delivery• Scenarios will be presented while students are

manning their visual display table• Teams must work together to come up with

solutions on the spot • The answers must relate to their restaurant

concept• Critical thinking is open to the public

Critical Thinking

Scoring Judges will be evaluating the team’s

understanding of management concepts, ability to problem solve, and teamwork

4 judges total Each judge will specialize in the type of question

they ask (one judge per category), but all will evaluate each question


Case Study

Workplace Safety • How do teams address chemical and physical

hazards?• Do students follow the proper protocol to prevent

or mitigate legal action?• Is safety a component of every decision they

make?• Example: We see that you have a line cook

position - while the line cook is carrying your signature soup, he slips in a puddle of water by the dish area. What do you do?

Case Study

Food Safety & Sanitation • Is there a HACCP plan in place? • Do students follow the proper protocol to prevent

or mitigate legal action?• Is sanitation a component of every decision they

make?

• Example: While pulling out the beef for your signature ribeye, your prep cook notices that the walk-in seems a bit warm. What do you do?

Case Study

Customer Relations • Is the customer always first and foremost in the

teams’ minds?• Is the Rule of 10 taken into consideration when

the team interacts with customers?• Does the team follow up with guests?• Example: We see that mashed potatoes are the

star item on your menu, how will you handle customer relations if your supplier does not deliver potatoes?

Case Study

Human Resources & Staffing• Does any disciplinary action follow standard protocol and

legal procedures?• How are policies communicated to employees?• How do students balance the need to properly staff the

restaurant vs. cost efficiency?• Do they look for creative solutions to staffing problems?• Does cross-training factor into their solutions?• Example: You have a party booked in your kid’s party

room, and your lead party server calls off – what do you do?

Case Study

Marketing • Do teams consider the impact of all

communications on sales, staffing and public perception?• Is there a crisis communications plan in place?• Is the whole organization a part of the marketing

plan?• Example: In the coupon you printed in the

newspaper, you forgot to put an expiration date. Two months later, a table tries to redeem it – what do you do?

Case Study

Menu Development and Design • How do all parts of the menu work together?• How does the menu design represent the

concept and menu?• How do the prices on the menu relate to each

other?• Example: You don’t sell as much of the filet as

you anticipated on Friday night, what will you do with the extra filets?

Case Study

Concept Knowledge • How does a quickservice restaurant operate vs.

fine dining?• How does the location of the restaurant impact all

other areas?• Example: Concept Knowledge: Due to your

location you serve a high volume during lunch. However, dinner tickets are down. What can you do to increase dinner volume?

Case Study

Critical Thinking Tips

• Don’t dissect what led to the current problems, address how you will solve them

– Instead of playing the blame game, deal with the situation as it is and put plans in place to prevent repeats

• Work as a team to solve the challenges– If a teammate stumbles, jump in and help him/her out

Resources

Resources

When the rules are released, we will provide resources to help teach and prepare for the management competition Map to curriculum Listing of online resources Samples Training presentations

Strategies for Success


Know the Rules • Make sure you and your students fully

understand the rules

• You’ve worked too hard to lose on a technicality

• National rules are released in late summer/early fall


Teaching Techniques • Apply textbook learning to real-life scenarios

• Have students help teach each other to increase their confidence in their knowledge


The management competition is not just about knowledge, it’s also about teamwork!


Team Members• Build the team

Team membership is competitive

Team membership based on knowledge, skills, and fit – not popularity

Team building exercises

Team identity

Team participation in planning

Team contribution to development/improvement


Confidence • Develop public speaking skills

Have students practice presenting solutions to anyone who will listen, including other educators, school administrators, etc.


Practice Scenarios • Ask mentors to provide you with challenges they

face on a daily basis and doomsday challenges– Have students present mini-case studies on

these challenges to the mentors for their feedback

• Industry people love to tell horror stories – use it to your advantage!


Practice Scenarios • Use your own observations – what have you

witnessed happen in a restaurant?

• Industry publicationsNation’s Restaurant News, etc.


Practice is Crucial • Schedule practices and study sessions

• Strictly enforce practice and study session schedules

• Have students “interview” for the team and treat it like a job


Practice is Crucial • Run effective, organized practices

– Simulates actual competition– Stresses time limits– Places pressure on team and individuals– Builds team and individuals– Provides exposure to external moderators and judges– Provides opportunities to practice against other teams


#1 – Obtain a mentor

#2 – Practice...Practice…Practice

#3 – Be creative

#4 – Create an atmosphere of professionalism

#5 – Ask questions

#6 – Above all, have fun!

Keys to Success

Good luck to you and your students!

preparing students for competition – management events national restaurant association

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