North Montco Senior Wins Bronze Medal at SkillsUSA National Championships

Morgan McClain, North Montco Culinary Arts Class of 2021, recently won a bronze medal at the SkillsUSA National Championships. Morgan competed in the Restaurant Service Competition. After earning first place in both the district and state-wide competitions, Morgan moved on to the national competition where she competed virtually against her peers from across the country.

In the Restaurant Service competition, contestants are tested on skills required in the "front of the house" of a fine restaurant. The focus is on guest service and guest relations in the dining room including table set up, greeting guests, reservations procedures, presentation of menus, description of food, drinks, soups and specials of the day, taking orders, serving each course and clearing the table after each course, and preparation and presentation of the check and closing remarks.

Contestants are judged on personal appearance, tableside manner, professionalism, ease with guests, courtesy, general knowledge, and technical and verbal skills. This year, the virtual contest consisted of three different tasks:

• Task 1 - (20 minutes) Competitors had to create eight unique napkin folds and set three formal place settings.
• Task 2 - (20 minutes) Competitors had to serve two courses to a "guest." The student had to use the correct dishware while serving the guest and had to answer the guest's questions regarding the menu. SkillsUSA provided the questions for the guest. Students were not aware of the questions ahead of time. After serving the guest, students calculated the check and included tax and gratuity.
• Task 3 - (15 minutes) Competitors chose from either a Tableside Guacamole or Tableside Caesar Salad demonstration. Morgan completed a Tableside Guacamole demonstration.

While the Restaurant at North Montco was not open to the public for in-person dining during the past school year, Morgan did have experience in prior years working in the student-run restaurant. She continued to work with her teacher, Mrs. Mitchell, to perfect her skills. Morgan plans to further her education in the Culinary Arts/Restaurant Service field.

Although the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference was held virtually this year, students from high school and college technical education programs had the opportunity to win the nation's highest awards. Over 3,700 career and technical education students competed virtually in different trade, technical and leadership categories. All contests are designed, run and judged by industry professionals using industry standards.

Top student winners received gold, silver and bronze medallions. Many also received prizes such as tools of their trade and/or scholarships to further their careers and education. 

The SkillsUSA Championships is for high school and college-level students who are members of SkillsUSA.

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