On February 25th, 2020, The ACP program held the Wildcat Bistro. This event gave the opportunity for the students to experience what it is like to work in a real restaurant with the help from the Education Academy and teachers. 

The students spent weeks working on perfecting the meals to feed the teachers who were invited to the Bistro. They planned everything from the theme of the meal to what they were feeding the awaiting teachers.

Each student was given a job in which they had to perform to make the Bistro run smoothly. Once the day came, all the students were prepared and ready to welcome the teachers to the Bistro. 

“The day of this event, they get everything ready and they do their jobs,” Education Academy teacher Ali Bragg said. “The host will greet customers and sit them down at the table then, they receive a menu and they circle what they want to eat. After the server comes to grab the menu and give them a drink as the students prepare the food. When the food is ready, the server will bring it out for them.”

The Bistro was a fun environment for the teachers and the students involved in the event. The teachers get to enjoy a friendly environment, and the students, as a result, gained social skills that they will be able to use in the real world. 

“I’ve attended this for a couple of years now and I believe it is a great experience not only for the students putting on the Bistro but also for the teachers,” social studies teacher Alyssa Watson said. “The Bistro is a small, intimate setting where teachers and others will talk to each other with the students working. I love seeing the students fulfill their tasks at the Bistro. Some are assigned with seating teachers, while others with collecting the orders, or bringing out the food and doing the cleaning up.”

Each theme that the students pick is different. They have had a breakfast diner theme for this event and are now in the process of preparing a St.Patrick’s theme for the upcoming Bistro. Every time the Bistro is held, they decorate by putting up streamers and multiple table decor. The students even change up the menu from waffles or french toast. 

“This time they did waffles, with a new waffle recipe that they tried out,” Bragg said. “They always give many different toppings on top of the waffles, from blueberries, fruit and whip cream. The next one is St. Patrick’s theme so they are having french toast and want to dye the milk green.”

The teacher is invited based on the ACP students and teacher recommendations and invitations are sent out by google form. This made the event tight-knit and easier for the ACP students to learn and practice job skills. 

“The Wildcat Bistro began seven years ago with a vision I had to have a small realistic on-campus restaurant setting the students could practice job skills they learned in class,” ACP teacher Sara Wiese-Johnson said. “Many of our students are interested in working in the restaurant/foodservice industry so I want to make sure my students are as prepared as possible and have the skills necessary to get, keep and maintain a job.”

Overall, the Bistro is an event that is special to the students and the teachers who are invited. The students get many necessary social skills while the teachers get a free breakfast and a friendly conversation.