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Diman students are headed to a competition at Gillette Stadium. Here's what's cooking.

Diman instructor Kevin Ouellette helps culinary arts students Arianna Chase and Ruby Garcia Carrillo work with fondant in pre
Diman instructor Kevin Ouellette helps culinary arts students Arianna Chase and Ruby Garcia Carrillo work with fondant in preparation for the 16th annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational on Feb. 27.

Diman culinary arts students Arianna Chase, Ruby Garcia-Carrillo and Maya Sousa work with fondant, with guidance from Diman i
Diman culinary arts students Arianna Chase, Ruby Garcia-Carrillo and Maya Sousa work with fondant, with guidance from Diman instructor Kevin Ouellette, in preparation for the 16th annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational on Feb. 27.

Diman students plan their cake designs for the 16th annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational at Gillette Stadium in
Diman students plan their cake designs for the 16th annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

Diman student Ruby Garcia-Carrillo works with fondant as practice ahead of the annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitati
Diman student Ruby Garcia-Carrillo works with fondant as practice ahead of the annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

Diman culinary arts student Maya Sousa makes a penguin with fondant as practice ahead of the annual Massachusetts ProStart St
Diman culinary arts student Maya Sousa makes a penguin with fondant as practice ahead of the annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

Ashley Schuler
The Herald News

FALL RIVER — Things are heating up in the Diman Voc-Tech kitchen.

Four aspiring bakers and chefs were hard at work on a recent Friday afternoon at school sculpting fondant to detail their confectionary creations — getting some practice in ahead of the big day.

This week, the Bengal crew will showcase their talents on a much larger stage, hoping to rise to the occasion at a statewide culinary arts competition at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

Diman is among at least a dozen high schools from across Massachusetts putting their skills to the test at the 16th annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational on Feb. 27.

According to chef Kevin Ouellette, Diman cafeteria instructor and advisor for the competition, this is his second year taking this trip to Gillette with his students, and Diman's third year participating overall.

Last year, Diman placed second and third in the cake decorating event and they're hoping to come home with another win this year. 

Do the culinary competition winners get a prize?

Beyond bragging rights, students have the opportunity to earn scholarships and prizes, and it allows them to explore various aspects of the culinary field.

"It's a fun event," Ouellette said. "They get to see a lot of different things, meet different people, network, and the chefs that are there are great. ... It really helps them to grow in the field and hone in what they want to do."

Judges are industry professionals "who volunteer their time and expertise to make the competition more meaningful for students," according to the Massachusetts Restaurant Association’s Educational Foundation, which sponsors the ProStart event. 

Out of the roughly 130 in Diman's culinary arts shop, four students with an eye for detail are throwing their aprons in the ring at Tuesday's contest.

Sophomore Angel Dume Baez, and juniors Maya Sousa, Arianna Chase, and Ruby Garcia Carrillo are rolling up their sleeves and mixing things up in the cake decorating portion of the competition.

What is the Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational competition?

Other young chefs from across the state will also take part in a culinary competition, in which teams have to cook an appetizer, dinner and dessert in an hour; and a hospitality management contest, where students must develop a restaurant concept.

Each Diman student is tasked with creating a birthday cake of their own design. They had to come up with their own theme, then submit a drawing of it for approval.

On the day of competition, each student — with their own decorating mediums like buttercream and fondant in tow — is provided with an 8-inch cake and are given one hour to make their cake look as professional as possible. And that one hour can fly by very quickly, especially when the pressure is on.

"It's pretty intense when you're up there and see everyone rushing around trying to get everything done," Ouellette said.

According to Ouellette, participants are judged on how well they've captured their theme, and how they've utilized at least three techniques — from spatula work to icing, piping, fondant work, sugar work, to the more complex molecular gastronomy.

How do you prepare for the ProStart Invitational?

To gear up for competition, students have been practicing after school and at home, Ouellette said, and Monday when they return from February vacation they will spend the day fine-tuning their skills.

Then it's show time.

"They're excited and nervous all at the same time," Ouellette said.

The ProStart Invitational is not unfamiliar territory for this particular Diman group. Two of the four competed in 2023, and one budding baker has years of cake design under his belt.

It's also similar to SkillsUSA competitions the school regularly takes part in, although SkillsUSA's Baking and Pastry Arts event is more involved and broader in scope, going beyond just decorating cakes. One of Ouellette's Gillette-bound students is also competing in SkillsUSA.

Ouellette hopes the competition offers some fun for his prospective chefs, and a taste of what their future could hold.

"I'm hoping they enjoy it, and they learn the different aspects of the culinary world," he said. "It's not just all preparing food, there's competitions and there's so many different avenues that they can go down ... this shows them some different ways they can express their talents."

Who are the ProStart Invitational judges this year?

Judges at this year's ProStart Invitational include former Boston Bruin Andrew Raycroft; chef Jay Hajj, who owns Mike’s City Diner and is a frequent celebrity guest on Food Network; Vinny Alia, a Season 2 Contestant on Fox’s "Next Level Chef" cooking show; Elle Simone Scott, executive editor at America’s Test Kitchen and founder of SheChef; WCVB-TV anchor Maria Stephanos; chef Andy Husbands, who owns The Smoke Shop BBQ; and celebrity chef Corey Hall. Former Patriots Matt Light and Patrick Chung will also weigh in as judges.

Participating schools include Taunton High School, Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester, South Shore Regional Vocational Technical High School in Hanover, Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton, Blue Hills Regional Technical High School, Cambridge Rindge & Latin; Carver Middle High School, Everett High School, Nashoba Valley Technical High School in Westford, and Peabody Veterans Memorial High School.

 
Diman culinary arts Maya Sousa works with fondant as practice ahead of the annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational
Diman culinary arts Maya Sousa works with fondant as practice ahead of the annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
Diman students plan their cake designs for the 16th annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational at Gillette Stadium in
Diman students plan their cake designs for the 16th annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
Arianna Chase works with fondant at Diman as practice ahead of the annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational at Gill
Arianna Chase works with fondant at Diman as practice ahead of the annual Massachusetts ProStart Student Invitational at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.