LEWISTON — The culinary team from The Green Ladle restaurant at the Lewiston Regional Technical Center took first place at the 2018 Maine ProStart Invitational on Saturday at the Holiday Inn in Portland.

Chef instructor Dan Caron said the students “are so excited” about their win. They competed against four other Maine high school teams.

The six students had to prepare a three-course meal in one hour without an oven.

The team prepared an appetizer of marinated cucumber, entree of grilled pork chop with a side of sweet potatoes, and an orange-infused molten chocolate cake dessert.

In addition to the food, teams were judged on  proper uniforms, communication, setting up, plating appearance, organization, food handling, cutting styles, tasting and knife technique.

The Maine Restaurant Association Education Foundation sponsors the competition, and sends the winning team to the National ProStart Invitational, which is April 27 to 29 in Providence, Rhode Island.

The culinary team from The Green Ladle restaurant at the Lewiston Regional Technical Center poses after winning the 2018 Maine ProStart Invitational in Portland on Saturday. From the left are instuctor Dan Caron, team members Julia Chabot, Makennah Pelletier, Cheyenne Pesce, Courtney Lachapelle, Jada Tuttle, Amanda Ouellete, adviser Adrienne Boltin and instructor Rebecca Levesque. (The Green Ladle Facebook photo)