Two Bonita High School ProStart culinary students were named co-grand prize winners at the EcoLab Sunday Night Spotlight Bites & Beats competition, which challenged students from across the United States to develop unique takes on food truck cuisine and marketing.

Charli Padilla, a 2025 Bonita High School graduate, and rising junior Abby Brandler won for their food truck concept The Flip Side, a mobile restaurant with separate menus for day and night, serving twists on classic American breakfast staples paired with new breakfast-themed dishes, according to a news release from the Bonita Unified School District.

Padilla and Brandler envision The Flip Side as a way to remake breakfast to satisfy the tastes and preferences of today’s on-the-go consumers, as detailed in their video submission. The Flip Side was one of two food trucks featured as part of the National Restaurant Association’s annual industry gala, held in Chicago in May, allowing Padilla and Brandler to put their vision to the test.

“I am in absolute disbelief. Out of everyone in the entire nation, the company selected our video,” Padilla said in the news release.

“I didn’t expect to win. This was our first time working together. I entered thinking the competition is tough and this is a solid once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s not every day you get to build a food truck with your best friend. I am eternally grateful to EcoLab and our ProStart instructors, the Brandlers, for making this possible.”

Padilla and Brandler sought to recast breakfast, with entrees such as pancake tacos stacked with bacon, eggs and avocado; a fresh fruit and brown butter combo; and their signature dish, the Toasted Temptation — toast bites served in a cone, drizzled in chocolate, topped with bananas foster sauce, chai whipped cream, pecans and banana chips.

The Flip Side also markets to two consumer types in two shifts — 7 a.m.-noon for early birds who want a quick breakfast and 6-11 p.m. for night owls looking for something more exciting.

Padilla and Brandler learned they had been selected for the EcoLab Spotlight event at the 2025 ProStart National Invitational, and they connected with EcoLab designers to help bring The Flip Side to life. Brightly lit in orange and yellow with blue and white stripes, the truck has a retro 1970s feel, with an animated mascot, Sunny the Dog, preparing to bite a waffle cone.

“I think we make a great team,” Brandler said in the news release. “Charli is very driven when it comes to back of the house and I’m knowledgable on the front of the house, management side. This concept was fully our vision from every idea and detail. The truck reflects who we are, what we’re passionate about and what we’re capable of doing. To see this concept come to life on a national stage is a dream come true.”

The EcoLab recognition completes a historic year for the Bonita Unified School District’s ProStart culinary program. San Dimas High School’s culinary team earned its first national championship at the ProStart National Invitational in May, one year after Bonita High School, led by team captain Padilla, netted the district its first ProStart state culinary championship and trip to nationals, according to the news release.

For husband-and-wife ProStart culinary instructors Nick and Laurie Brandler, who teach at San Dimas and Bonita high schools, respectively, the food truck competition was a personal triumph and an opportunity to support their daughter, Abby, as she and Padilla brought The Flip Side to life during their Sunday Night Spotlight food truck soft opening.