PIERRE, S.D.(DRGNews)- Eight high school teams competed in a cooking show, of sorts, in Pierre Thursday during the South Dakota ProStart Invitational

Mobridge-Pollock High School junior Dakota Micheel (mi-keel) was a member of their team competing in the cake decorating category. Teams brought their already-baked cake with them, then did the decorating at the contest. Micheel says they spent a lot of time practicing.

For the culinary contest, each team had to bring their ingredients, do the food preparation and cook the meal using only portable, tabletop stoves.

Mobridge-Pollock junior Tony Wollman was selected as the recipient of the President’s Award for showing outstanding leadership and knowledge of cooking. He says they chose a menu reflecting the German and Russian population in their part of the state.

Lizzy Lehrkamp from Rochester, MN, is a Sous chef with Pinnacle Catering and was one of the judges. She says preparation, sanitation and communication are key components of the ProStart contest.

Teams could also compete in a restaurant management category. The team from Mitchell won that contest, as well as the culinary competition so they get to compete at the national ProStart Contest which will be held in Washington, DC.