Prepare the omelet special. Take the chicken fingers off of the steam table. Listen for the next order. These are just a few commands going through a chef’s head during the lunchtime rush.
Some students end up choosing to attend culinary school after high school, and Restaurant 108 provides necessary skills toward a career in the service industry. Restaurant 108 is the student and teacher lunch and breakfast alternative to the cafeteria, run by teacher Paul Carpenter.
According to senior Fabio Di Fabbrizio, who worked there last year, all jobs at Restaurant 108 require time management skills and prepare students for a real position in the service industry. These jobs include line cooks, coffee makers, cashiers, dishwashers and other smaller positions.
“I can see myself working at restaurants in the future, but maybe not as a main career choice,” Di Fabbrizio said. “That’s why I really value this class.”
Di Fabbrizio said that Restaurant 108 was both a challenging and rewarding experience for him.
“We’ve had a lot of times where the cooking came out bad, or someone botched up something, or the chicken came out burned, or it was too greasy,” Di Fabbrizio said. “Most of all, when good food is really good, you know when it’s good and you really appreciate it.”
Senior James Pronovost said that while he took cooking classes over the summer, he did not learn as much about cooking as he did in Restaurant 108.
“Restaurant is something that is more vocational, that I believe you can learn more from,” Pronovost said. “It’s more supportive when you’re looking for a job.”
According to Pronovost, it is highly recommended that future chefs get ServSafe certified. ServSafe is a program administered by the National Restaurant Association that allows chefs to become certified in food and beverage safety. The material that is covered in class is largely inspired by ServSafe’s standards Pronovost said.
“On the wall you can see pictures of two or three other people who actually have been certified,” Pronovost said. “I think because I want to be a chef, it’s good if I’m certified. It will push me further in the direction I want to go in.”
Senior Gillian Orlando-Milbauer is one of three students who are currently ServSafe certified. She first worked at Restaurant 108 when she was a sophomore and is continuing through her senior year.
“In class everyone learns details of ServSafe stuff, but only certain people really want to go with Paul and take the test,” Orlando-Milbauer said. “You have to actually study because there is a lot more than just what you learn in class.”
Orlando-Milbauer said that she would not have been interested in cooking at all if she had not taken a cooking class at the high school her freshman year. She said that Restaurant 108 helped give her the experience she would need for future opportunities.
“I’m planning on going to culinary school. I really like cooking, and I really want to work in a real restaurant,” Orlando-Milbauer said. “For the culinary schools I’m looking at, part of the learning experience is working in the on-campus restaurant.”
According to Di Fabbrizio, the Restaurant 108 experience can be compared to that of a job in the real world.
“Of course it’s going to feel mitigated a bit, since it’s a school and such,” Di Fabbrizio said. “But I feel like it’s a first step, and it’s really efficient for kids to learn how to do these jobs.”
Conor Amrien can be contacted at [email protected].
