It's about opportunity; that's the 2008 Boyd Coffee ProStart Invitational in one word. Last week, 10 West Seattle High School students took advantage of that.

The Invitational is a culinary competition that consists of a team of four high school juniors and seniors creating a three-course meal-including a starter, entrée and dessert - in a hour using only two butane burners. If that seems hard it's because it is.

Although that's the main goal, the kids have their own ideas. "I just like cooking as a hobby," says 11th grader Verena Chung.

The rest of the group chimes in with agreement.

"I like to cook, but I never do it at home," says Rhiannan Basil, a 12th grader who will also be competing in the event.

Entering its eighth year, this event has also gained a wide reputation as a hotbed of recruitment. Not only do many top resorts and restaurants seek potential celebrity chefs, but culinary institutes as well. This huge reward undoubtedly increases the pressure on students, but it also increases the quality of work presented.

On this particular afternoon there is a controlled disaster in the back of ProStart teacher Sarah Orton's classroom. Someone forgot to pull the legs off the shrimp, one of the students doesn't know how to peel asparagus, and another is cutting butter where moments ago there was raw chicken. It looks like fun, and it's a long way from where the group will be in a week.

Spokane, where the event will be held for the first time this year, will be a step toward professional placement for many of the 200 plus participants from across Washington state. The competition is broken down into two phases - culinary and hospitality. The winning team from each phase will be awarded scholarships to pursue a career in the restaurant and food-service industry and gold, silver, and bronze medals.

"ProStart is a program for anyone interested in a career in culinary arts," said Joanne Lazo, director of marketing at the Western Culinary Institute.

"It's there to help students pursue a career in the hospitality industry, to gain skills, and learn new skills."

Back in the classroom, things are much more laid back.

"I'm just hungry," says senior Eric Nguyen when asked how he feels about the upcoming competition.

"It's a good thing to have on students' resumes because they can get college credit for it if they go to a cooking school, but I think a lot of people take the class because they like it," says Orton.

In the hour that it takes to prepare the food, the team will be judged on sanitation and their floor behavior. These areas involve things like the ability to work as a team, the cleanliness of the work stations, and proper food handling techniques (is food kept outside of the temperature danger zone?).

The kids have to use ingenuity and teamwork in order to put together complicated dishes in such a short period of time and with limited resources. This leads to things like steaming shrimp over the pan that they're cooking orzo in. Making ice cream with a Ziploc bag full of ice.

Chung hums a song from the musical "Aladdin" while Hall frets over the size of his towels.

"You try to make it fun because then you don't have problems," says Alex Hall, an 11th grader responsible for the main dish: chicken spiced apples with asparagus.

"Students have enough skills from this program to immediately get an entry-level job," said Libby McDonald, Washington Restaurant Association Educational Foundation ProStart Coordinator for the state.

They'll also walk away with some French. "Mise en place," translated by the Culinary Institute of America, means "everything in its place." This refers to the setup that the students have for themselves before they start cooking - chopping, placing utensils where needed, etc.

Don't forget everyone's favorite and most satisfying French word, "voila!" Lo! There it is! Although at this stage in the game there are still some quirks that need to be worked out.

"We don't have the final presentation ready yet," says Orton as she smiles at the dessert.

The Mango Banana Foster looks, as one student put it, like soup. But with a few changes - possibly using dry ice to make the ice cream, and a fanned strawberry - the kinks should have been worked out before Spokane last week.

Winners at the state level will move on to compete in the National competition in San Diego April 24-26.

Elizabeth Mortenson is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory and may be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com