PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) – Culinary high school students at Woodruff Career and Technical Center in Peoria fed more than 100 people at the re-opening of Warrior Way Café on Thursday.
Warrior Way Café started 11 years ago, but was on hiatus for three years due to the pandemic. Students prepped, cooked and served a three-course meal from start to finish. The $8 meals were also available to-go.
Opening day’s menu featured soup and salad, fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans, and lemon meringue tarts for dessert.
“It’s amazing for them to have an opportunity to actually serve customers. They feel so proud people are actually paying money for the food they made, so it’s an amazing opportunity,” said Jetty Miedema, culinary arts teacher and program director at Woodruff Career and Technical Center.
Miedema said the lunch service is a way for students to gain real world experience at school.
“Normally when a student enters the business, they may do fast food or maybe they get to wash dishes or bus tables but having this opportunity to actually host, handle the money, work the line, serve the guests, so its really helping them get ready for the workforce,” she said.
Warrior Way Café is open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every other Thursday.
