Houston ISD students are set to participate in the inaugural Texas Restaurant & Foodservice Management (TRFM) CTSO Invitational. The event, organized by the Texas Restaurant Foundation in collaboration with Houston ISD, will take place on April 22, 2025, at The Ballroom at Tanglewood. Students from various HISD schools will showcase their skills in culinary arts, hospitality, business, and audio-visual arts.

Heather Pickett, Executive Director of the Texas Restaurant Foundation, emphasized the importance of this event: "We believe in the talent brewing in our high school classrooms, and this invitational is where it all comes to life—creativity, collaboration, and career readiness in action."

The TRFM CTSO is a statewide organization that supports high school students interested in culinary and hospitality careers through competitions and networking opportunities. It aims to prepare students for future roles in Texas' foodservice industry.

The event will feature several competitions. Culinary events include an individual challenge where students create healthy snacks without using heat or knives and a team challenge called "Amuse Me," where senior teams craft hors d’oeuvres with surprise ingredients. In management and business events, teams will develop prom proposals and create commercials for restaurant concepts.

Participating schools include Milby, Wheatley, Northside, Barbara Jordan, Lamar, Westside, Sharpstown, and Worthing High Schools. The event concludes with an awards ceremony recognizing top performers and offering scholarships to support further education.

For those interested in starting a TRFM CTSO chapter or getting involved with the foundation's initiatives such as Texas ProStart or Second Chances programs can contact Heather Pickett or Stacy Hammond for more information.

Information from this article can be found here.