Addison Trail senior wins state-level invitational as member of TCD Culinary Team

Addison Trail is proud to share senior Janelle Medrano Villanueva (pictured at right) was recently part of the Technology Center of DuPage (TCD) Culinary Team that earned 1^st place at the 2026 Illinois ProStart® Invitational.

That event took place on March 7 in Des Plaines and was hosted by the Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The ProStart® Invitational challenges students to demonstrate professional-level culinary techniques, menu development, costing, knife skills, teamwork and time management.

Medrano Villanueva and her teammates will now advance to represent Illinois during the 2026 National ProStart® Invitational, which takes place from April 24 to 26 in Baltimore. That competition is hosted by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and brings together the top high school culinary and restaurant management teams from throughout the country.

TCD offers DuPage County-area high school juniors and seniors a variety of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs as part of their high school curriculum. Students earn College of DuPage (COD) Dual Credit as well. To read more, view the press release from TCD at www.dupage88.net/TCDCulinaryPressRelease2026.