The school’s culinary team, led by teacher Ms. Delafuente, known to students as Ms. Dela, earned second place out of 26 teams at the recent ProStart competition. The team, composed of seniors Sofie Guananja and Angelina Salvador and junior Greta Martinez, competed in the Waiters’ Relay, a high-stakes race to correctly set formal dining tables.
As first-year competitors, the Makos entered the event simply hoping to have fun, but they returned with an impressive win.
ProStart is a program connected to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Working with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, the program introduces students to careers in tourism, hospitality, and the culinary arts.
“ProStart is to kind of gear kids towards tourism and hospitality… working in hotels, being chefs, and things like that,” Ms. Dela explained.
Because this was MAST’s first time participating in ProStart, the team entered the arena without knowing what to expect. Ms. Dela said her primary goal was for students to enjoy the experience and learn from it.
“I really told the kids, ‘Let’s just have a good time. Let’s see how this works,’ because we had never competed with them before,” she said.
The Waiters’ Relay tests both speed and accuracy. Teams of three must quickly set a table with proper linens, plates, silverware, glassware, and folded napkins. Each team member is assigned a specific task. One student places the tablecloth and plates, another adds the glassware and flatware, and the final student folds and positions the napkins. The challenge is intensified by the requirement to set tables in various international styles.
“We have the American, which is the simplest. Then we have the French, which is a little more complicated. And then the Russian, which is the most complicated,” Ms. Dela said. “I think there’s about eight forks and knives and spoons that you use with their place settings alone.”
To bring energy to the competition, students often dress in costumes. The MAST team leaned into their school mascot for inspiration.“We went dressed as Mako sharks,” Ms. Dela shared. “They had onesies on, and my T-shirt said, ‘Go ahead and Mako my day.’”
The team spent about a week practicing during class, honing their individual roles and improving their speed. Martinez, who was responsible for the tablecloth and plates, noted the physical difficulty of the task. “The hardest part was being able to put the tablecloth on correctly and fast,” Martinez said. While the competition is a race, it requires immense focus. Martinez said staying calm was the key to their success. “Nothing was really going through my mind. I just had to stay focused so I could put everything correctly,” she said.
Guananja handled the final step: folding and placing the napkins. She noted that the preparation required significant patience. “It took me weeks and weeks of just folding that over and over,” Guananja said. She also noted that the team had to stay adaptable. “We had some napkins that did not fold, so it was kind of like in the moment; I had to figure it out there.”
Despite the pressure, the students were stunned by the results. “I told Greta and Angie, ‘Guys, try not to take last place,’” Guananja admitted. “So it was so unexpected.”
Beyond the competition outcome, the experience provided the students with lasting lessons. Martinez said the event encouraged her to try new things, while Guananja pointed to the value of dedication. Both students now encourage others at MAST to join the program. “Just do it,” Guananja said. “Don’t think about it. Just join. It’s so fun.”
For Ms. Dela, the second-place finish is a testament to her students’ hard work. “The girls did such an amazing job. They really knew their task, and they had it down,” she said. Looking ahead, Ms. Dela hopes to expand MAST’s involvement in ProStart and eventually enter the culinary cooking competitions. “I’m not afraid. I think our kids can handle that without an issue,” she said.
In their ProStart debut, the culinary team proved they can compete at a high level, bringing home a win defined by skill, teamwork, and plenty of school spirit.