Scholarships available in 2025 will include:

2025 Joe DaCosta Memorial Scholarship $2,000 nonrenewable
2025 CHEF Scholarship up to $1,000
​2025 Chef Matt Balga Memorial Scholarship up to $2,000 nonrenewable

--

Seniors graduating and pursuing a degree in the Culinary Arts or a related field and continuing students currently enrolled in a Culinary Arts or related program are encouraged to apply. Deadline for application is April 15, 2025. All scholarships use the same application. Applications will be reviewed after the deadline. Recipients of scholarships will be notified by May 15, 2025.

Requirements for scholarship recipients include:
    1. Be a student who has been accepted into an accredited culinary school, college or university.
    2. Retain a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 on a scale of 4.0 (or equivalent.) for high school.
    3. Retain a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 (or equivalent.) for a continuing student.
    4. Recommendations from 1 person, which should be related to the culinary or hospitality field (teacher or industry professional).
    5. Graduated from a Connecticut high school.
Preference will be given to the following:
    1. Participation in the Connecticut ProStart Program
    2. Pursuing a career in the Culinary Arts, Culinary Management or related hospitality field
    3. Financial need/have had no other scholarships awarded
    4. Prior academic achievement
    5. Participation in extra-curricular activities
    6. Employment while attending school
Applicants may be asked to participate in a phone and/or zoom interview.

Question Title

* 1. Student Name

Question Title

* 2. Student Address

Question Title

* 4. Phone number

Country Code
Phone number

Question Title

* 5. College Attending & Planned Major

Question Title

* 6. High School Graduation Year

Question Title

* 7. Current School

Question Title

* 8. GPA

Question Title

* 9. Previous School

Question Title

* 10. Did you participate in the ProStart Program?

Question Title

* 11. Did you pass ProStart 1 & 2?

Question Title

* 12. Did you work towards or receive the ProStart Certificate of Achievement?

Question Title

* 13. Have you received any academic recognitions? If yes, what?

Question Title

* 14. Have you received any other scholarships? If yes, which?

Question Title

* 15. Essay -- In 300 words or less, please tell us why you wish to pursue a career in the culinary arts, any relevant experience you have, and if you have financial need.

Question Title

* 16. Employment -- Please provide name of employer, dates of employment and duties.

Question Title

* 17. Extracurricular Activities -- Please let us know what activities in which you have been involved.

Question Title

* 18. Please provide name and email of 1 reference. This should be your culinary educator or a reference from the industry. This is required to be considered for the scholarship.

Question Title

* 19. Reference Letter

PDF, DOC, DOCX, PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF file types only.

Question Title

* 20. Does your school have a Scholarship Awards Ceremony? Please provide the date and location.

Question Title

* 21. By selecting "Yes", you are agreeing that all information in this application is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge.