Like many aspiring cooks, Chef Patrick Phelan grew up cooking at home and dreamt of being a chef someday. After working in various restaurant roles in college, he worked his way up to pastry chef at a top New Orleans restaurant. But his culinary career took an unexpected turn into education after Hurricane Katrina closed his restaurant. With a reopening uncertain, Patrick went looking for a new job and landed one as a ProStart educator for a school in the area. Nearly two decades later, he’s still teaching and was recently named 2023 ProStart Teacher of the Year. Listen in to hear more about Patrick’s commitment to educating tomorrow’s restaurant leaders.
- (01:49) - Patrick's journey from the kitchen to the classroom
- (05:14) - Explaining the ProStart Educator role
- (07:57) - Building career paths for students
- (10:25) - Helping students expand their culinary horizons
- (13:36) - Inspiring career paths of ProStart graduates
- (16:08) - Advice for students curious about the ProStart program
ProStart is a two-year industry-backed culinary arts and restaurant management program for high school students. The program reaches approximately 165,000 students in over 1,850 schools in all 50 states, Washington, dc, and the territory of Guam. Over the past 23 years, more than 1 million students have participated in ProStart.
Patrick Phelan is a certified ProStart and ServSafe educator based in Louisiana. Patrick has worked in the restaurant industry for over 20 years in a number of capacities and has been educating the next generation of restaurant workers for 17 years.
The ProStart Teacher of the Year Award, sponsored by Golden Corral in honor of founder James Maynard, honors one individual for their tireless dedication to providing remarkable experiences to their ProStart students.
The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the National Restaurant Association (Association) and its affiliates. The Association does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or suitability of any information offered. Listeners are encouraged to do their own research and consider the applicability and suitability of the information provided for their own individual circumstances.
