Student chefs from Post Falls High School made history when Team Idaho won sixth place at the National ProStart Invitational last weekend in Baltimore.

"The team did something that no team in Idaho history has done, placing sixth in the entire country against 48 states," Coeur d'Alene Resort executive chef and Team Idaho coach Justin Lee said Wednesday. "We only missed the national championship by less than three points."

It was the first time in about 12 years that Idaho students competed at the National ProStart Invitational, the country's premier high school culinary and restaurant management contest. 

Post Falls High School junior Kadence Powell said placing sixth in the whole country was "honestly shocking" after Team Idaho didn't get called sooner.

"Finding out we were sixth place, it’s a mix of excitement and nerves,” Kadence said.

Student teams were judged on every aspect of restaurant meal service, from preparation and organization to communication and, of course, the food.

The appetizer Team Idaho made the Gem State shine: A kataifi-encrusted jumbo scallop on avocado puree with brûléed apples, chèvre mousse, carbonated orange and pickled Idaho huckleberries, accompanied by pea tendril, sorrel and grape tomatoes and topped with Idaho steelhead roe.

"The whole experience was super exciting," Kadence said. "Being there with so many different states, you don't feel it until you’re there."

Lee, who has been working with Team Idaho chefs for months, said their National ProStart Invitational wasn't even the best he's seen them perform.

"Their run-through at nationals was probably their worst run-through in months. They fell behind by 8-10 minutes. Their prep is what got them through," Lee said. "Eight minutes behind could have been the complete end of them. Most teams don’t rebound in that setting, but they finished on time."

Kadence said she and her teammates were definitely feeling the heat in the kitchen.

"Being on the inside and seeing how my team reacted, we just trusted our training at the end of the day," she said. "When things got stressful, we did what we practiced, staying calm as we could be, staying calm and thinking of the next step instead of the big picture.

"There were definitely things that didn’t go right; we were pretty far behind, but instead of panicking we adjusted and moved on. That’s something we worked on in practices."

What got them through was the team's tight-knit relationships.

"We're not even a team," Kadence said. "It’s a family."

Team Idaho will be back at it next school year, with No. 1 in its sights. The young chefs have such an appetite for first place that they already completed their 2027 competition menu on the airplane ride home.

"I have three girls returning next year," Lee said. "They're hungry. We got the nation watching out for Idaho now."

Info: chooserestaurants.org

    Team Idaho took sixth in the 2026 National ProStart Invitational. It was the first time in 12 years that a team represented Idaho at the competition. Post Falls High School student chefs, from left: Devanie Robert, Davien Anthony, Madison Cornett, Danica Bastedo and Kadence Powell.
  

    Danica Bastedo, right, and Kadence Powell feverishly work to plate Team Idaho menu items during the National ProStart Invitational, held April 24-26 in Baltimore.