4
Spring 2015 Issue
The Ohio Restaurant Association
Education Foundation (ORAEF) is the
nonprofit education arm of the Ohio
Restaurant Association (ORA). ORAEF
has been in existence since 2000 and
was established to provide a career path
for high school students who want to enter
the restaurant industry.
One of ORAEF’s primary functions is to
administer the Ohio ProStart
®
program.
ProStart is a two-year career technical
education program designed for high
school juniors and seniors. Students learn
from an industry derived, competency-
based curriculum. Culinary skills
and techniques along with restaurant
management skills are coupled with real
life experiences to provide a well-rounded
indoctrination to the food service industry
and hopefully launch the students on their
chosen career path.
The mission of ORAEF is to prepare high
schools students for top-wage, high-
skilled careers in the food service and
restaurant industries. As the sole provider
of the ProStart program in the state,
the ORAEF is committed to focusing on
education, workforce development and
employee retention.
ProStart students learn industry specific,
transferrable
employability
skills.
These skills include communications,
marketing, safety and sanitation,
nutrition, purchasing, inventory and cost
control. Most of the students complete the
ServSafe Food Handler course and receive
Education is Our Foundation
Did You Know That ORAEF Helps
Educate Your Future Employees?
ORAEF & Ohio ProStart
®
are the best kept industry secrets
Ohio ProStart students at the Ohio GFS ProStart Invitational in January of this year. The students presented a new restaurant concept that combines Asian and Italian cuisine from a double decker food truck.
