2026 Culinary Arts Educator Development

Hosted by the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association (NCRLA), this two-day educator professional development event is designed for Culinary Arts teachers from across North Carolina. The objectives include:

• Hands-on culinary skills sessions — practical, technique-focused instruction applicable across culinary and foods programs
• Competition preparation — strategies for helping students succeed in ProStart, FCCLA, SkillsUSA, and other culinary competitions
• Assessing student culinary assignments — tools and approaches for evaluating hands-on and project-based work
• Menu costing — foundational business and math concepts relevant to culinary classroom instruction
• Networking and collaboration — opportunities to connect with fellow educators, industry professionals, and program leads
• ProStart educator celebration dinner — join fellow ProStart educators Monday evening for a dinner celebration
• ProStart program-specific session — a dedicated closing session for ProStart educators covering program requirements, competition updates, COA alignment, and best practices for the 400-hour work experience documentation

Attendance is free for ProStart educators. Other Culinary Arts teachers are welcome to attend for a registration fee.

To learn more about becoming a ProStart school, please email Courtney Hamm at chamm@ncrla.org.