Richmond, Va. – The Virginia Restaurant Lodging and Travel Association Foundation (VRLTAF) is pleased to announce that Lee DeMatteo of Spotsylvania Career and Technical Center in Spotsylvania is the winner of the 2023 Virginia ProStart Educator Excellence Award.
“Chef DeMatteo has been an instrumental piece of the Virginia ProStart program for the past 16 years,” said Jim Wilson, Vice President of Education & Workforce Development for the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging, and Travel Association. “Spend any time in Chef DeMatteo’s classroom and you can see the connection he makes with his students every day.”
The annual award recognizes a teacher in the Commonwealth who has demonstrated a strong commitment to their students and to Virginia ProStart, a career and technical education program that unites the foodservice industry and the classroom to teach high school students' culinary skills and restaurant management principles across the state.
I’m honored to receive this award and to be involved in guiding the chefs of tomorrow through the ProStart program" says DeMatteo. “The wonder of teaching culinary is watching students put ingredients together to make their own creations a reality.
DeMatteo’s dedication to his students and his passion the culinary industry is contagious. As two students commented on DeMatteo’s nomination, “He has always been selfless with his own time and has always put his students first. Our awareness of the culinary industry has only grown because of the outstanding knowledge Chef pours into his students.”
DeMatteo is now eligible for a James H. Maynard Teacher of the Year Award, presented by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and Golden Corral, which will be announced during the 2023 Educators of Excellence event in Dallas, TX scheduled to be held July 12-14.