Huntsville City Schools announced on Tuesday that high school students in the district's culinary arts program earned the top spot this week at the Alabama ProStart Invitational.

The district says the winning students will receive $30,000 in college scholarships, textbooks and other amenities. They will travel to Washington D.C. in May to compete at the National ProStart Invitational against approximately 400 other students from schools around the country.

According to Keith Ward, a spokesperson with the school district, the team members are Jose Juan Fuentes, Reagan Hall, Emma Mitchell, Fabian Reyes and Paige Volkert. Ward says, at the competition, they were judged on their ability to prepare a three-course meal in sixty minutes using only two propane burners. They did not have access to electricity or running water.

The Huntsville students' meal consisted of salade lyonnaise, pan seared scallops, lemony orzo with steamed asparagus and carrots and a brownie with candied orange slice and syrup, Ward says. At the competition, students are judged on taste, skill, teamwork, safety and sanitation.

Ward says the top five teams at the national competition will be awarded scholarships from culinary and restaurant programs around the country, and last year, more than $200,000 in scholarships were awarded.