Sometimes it's a good thing to have too many cooks in the kitchen.
The Bulldog Cafe, a long-standing tradition at OHS, will begin serving weekly starting January 20.
The menus are planned for the entire semester, and all the work delegated. The team of chefs have one veteran among their ranks. Sarahi Bahena, a senior, took the course last year. She was asked to take it again to provide leadership to the students during teacher Heather Crandall's first year.
Students take the course for a variety of reasons. The most obvious is wanting to pursue a career in the food industry. "I want to be a baker making desserts somewhere," said Amity Plate, a senior. Taking the sequence of courses, Foods I, Foods II and the Bulldog Cafe course, will provide her with 12 credits at Indian Hills.
Other students just like to cook or recognize it as an important life skill. "Cooking is a skill you'll need your whole life," said Saivontre Lunsford, a senior. He is undecided on a career path at this time.
Senior Marvin Moreira likes to help his mom in the kitchen. While he has learned to prepare many traditional dishes from El Salvador, he feels he can still learn more by taking food courses.
Students have a weekly budget of $120 to prepare approximately 50 meals. Menu ideas came from past course offerings, Pinterest, or family recipes. A vegetarian option is offered weekly and the majority of the recipes are made from scratch. Students get to take home the leftovers.
Chicken was a favorite menu option this semester, showing up 10 times on the menus for spring semester. With the planning done, students spend Monday and Tuesday completing the SafServe certification. On Wednesdays, they shop for items needed to prepare their menu. Prep begins on Thursdays with everything that can be made ahead, according to Bahena. On Friday, they have 45 minutes to get everything ready. They serve meals at 11, 11:30, and noon. Reservations are required.
"The first week will determine who can handle what kind of pressure," Bahena said. Job duties will be based on individual strengths.
"I'm nervous about doing it the first week," confessed Plate.
Alex Fesler is so nervous about dropping plates on customers that she will start the semester only carrying one plate at a time. The plates filled with food are heavy, she shared. "I hope not to burn the kitchen down," she joked.
The class also partners with an Interior Design class who will create table centerpieces and help with table settings.
Crandall hopes to link the class to the community more through field trips. She will also take her students to a food show in Iowa City and to Kirkwood Community College's culinary department. Students will also compete in the Indian Hills Iron Chef competition in March, giving up a day of their spring break.
The strength of the group, students shared, is "we all know each other so we get along," said Plate. "I hope the food is good enough that people keep coming back."
