Congratulations to all of the incredible ProStart student competitors for burning bright at this year’s National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore, Maryland. We applaud your hard work and dedication and thank the educators, parents, judges, volunteers, and our supporters for making NPSI 2026 the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s best NPSI ever!
Get Your Company Involved!
Below is our recap of the winning teams in Management and Culinary, video highlights, photos, and more.
NPSI 2026 Award Winners
Out of a field of 48 Culinary teams and 48 Restaurant Management teams from across the nation, the 1st to 5th place teams ranking in each category are listed below.
First Place – Culinary
Educator: Mike Christowski
Team Members: MaKayla Williams, Kyra Hofhines, Hannah Franklin, Cooper Preston, Claire Burrows
First Place – Management
Educator: Danielle May
Team Members: Charlie Holoch, Maya McQuivey, Lauren Parkin
Second Place – Culinary
Educator: Chris Moree
Team Members: Jacob Williamson, Kolbie Stephens, Amy Stewart, Jamie Meyer, Johnny Crincoli
Second Place – Management
Educators: Elena Hodges, Katie Nettles
Team Members: Adyson Doty, Mikaila Campbell, Analeigh Serigne, Destiny Bullock, Joemily Rivera Torres
Third Place – Culinary
Educator: Chris Olszewski
Team Members: Esther Wilkinson, Logan Zawie, Ricardo Martinez, Stephen Gillespie, Teagan Leske
Third Place – Management
Educator: Candace Wilson
Team Members: Parker Jentzsch, Brianna Goodrick, Kameron Hughes, Wang Hey Ho, Rhett Goodman
Fourth Place – Culinary
Educator: Nick Brandler
Team Members: Kyle Yamate, Salvador Renteria, Julian Rozier, Gabriella Carranza, Alexa Aguilera
Fourth Place – Management
Educator: Paola Costa
Team Members: Kayleen Chae, Jongyoon Lee, Alexis Lee
Fifth Place – Culinary
Educators: Phillip Shaw, Erica McIntyre
Team Members: Michael Perez Franco, Bennett Ward, Sara Reynolds, James Wright, Matthew Santos
Fifth Place – Management
Team Members: Pooja Gopinthrao, Toby Highsmith, Dayana Hernandez, Abilgail Emin, Macey Riley
Onsite Activations at #NPSI2026
During this year’s NPSI, we partnered with sponsors and exhibitors to offer fun on-site activations for our ProStart students, educators, and other attendees who traveled to Baltimore, Maryland from across the country.
Onsite activations at NPSI included:
- The Coca-Cola ProStart Lounge
- American Express Business Lounge
- Kellanova’s Snack Wall
- MARS Candy Station
- NPSI Merch Store
- Career Zone expo with ProStart Scholarship schools and NPSI sponsors
See NPSI photos and videos below and on NRAEF’s social channels by searching the #NPSI2026 hashtag on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
NPSI Recap Video
Thank You NPSI 2026 Sponsors & Exhibitors
Almond Board of California
American Express
Areas USA
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts
Cameron Mitchell Restaurants
Charley’s Kids Foundation
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
The Coca-Cola Company
Culinary Institute of America
Darden Foundation
Delaware State University – Hospitality & Tourism Management
Denny’s
DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS National Accounts
Doordash
Ecolab
Five Guys
Forge to Table
Golden Corral
Great Lakes Culinary Institute
Hilton
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Academy of Culinary Arts
Inspire Brands Foundation
Institute for Culinary Education
Johnson & Wales University
J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation
Kellanova
Linfield University – The Center for Wine Education
Lyons Magnus
MARS Foodservices
McCormick & Company
Morgan State University
Nation’s Restaurant News
Nestlé Professional Solutions
Penn State, College of Health and Human Development, School of Hospitality Management
Rachael Ray Foundation
RATIONAL
Rich’s
Sterno
Sullivan University
Temple University, School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management
University of Central Florida, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
University of Houston, Conrad N. Hilton College
U.S. Coast Guard
Virginia State University
YUM! Brands Foundation
Zwilling
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Save The Date! #NPSI2027
In 2027, the National ProStart Invitational will return April 23-25 at the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront, Baltimore, Maryland.
See you there!
Have Questions?
If you are an educator, mentor, chaperone, parent or school administrator, please contact your ProStart® State Coordinator with questions.
View ProStart Coordinators Page
If you are a judge, development guest, board member, exhibitor, post-secondary school, or SRA rep, please direct questions to your NRAEF contact or prostart@nraef.org.
