Students turn school into restaurant

For a few hours on a recent Friday, a Whitefish school was transformed into an upscale restaurant.

With black walls draped in tulle and white icicle lights and tables for two covered in gold cloth, Whitefish Independent High School looked nothing like its usual scholastic self.

Students clad in black pants or skirts and button-down shirts served as wait staff, and the tantalizing aromas wafting from the kitchen were nothing like typical school meal smells.

This is the second straight year the alternative school has hosted a Spring Feast fundraiser.

Students plan the meal from start to finish, from determining the guest list and designing invitations to planning the menu and doing price comparisons on all the groceries.

“It gave them a real educational experience, along with being a fundraiser,” English teacher Beth Hansen said. “They put a business together in their fundraising process.”

The more than 20 students who created the feast gained more than just business skills, however. The money the restaurant brought in will pay for their school yearbook’s publication and buy one album for each student.

“They worked their copy off,” Hansen said. “It allows all of the kids to have a yearbook” without having to pay for one.

Their goal was a $1,200 profit, Hansen said. After expenses, the restaurant raised $1,197.97.

They were helped by donations from several Whitefish businesses, she said.

The Buffalo Cafe donated leather server books, creamer and water glasses. The O’Shaughnessy Center loaned a coat rack so patrons could check their coats at the door. Safeway gave students a discount on tulips and daffodils for table arrangements.

Most of the other decorations were recycled from past proms.

Super 1 Foods gave the students a discount on meats and a gift certificate. Montana Coffee Traders donated coffee and McDonald’s donated other beverages.

Tyler Ferguson, a 2009 Whitefish Independent High School graduate and a cook at McGarry’s Roadhouse and Ciao Mambo, helped the students prepare the menu.

He was the school restaurant’s chef during last year’s project. His girlfriend, Jessica Johnson, is a senior at the school and headed up the restaurant’s foods committee.

Ferguson helped them plan the menu and figure out what groceries they would need, Johnson said.

“We looked through a bunch of cookbooks,” she said. “We definitely wanted beef, chicken and seafood — the standard one of each.”

Those invited to the meal — Whitefish school staff, police and parents — placed their orders when they accepted the invitation, so students had a better idea of what food they would need. But they still wanted meals that were quick to prepare and serve, “something we can get out of that kitchen,” Johnson said.

The final menu included a choice of prime rib, Cornish game hen or seared scallops, with various side dishes. Lemon Napoleon or chocolate decadence with raspberry sauce rounded out the meal.

Everything, even the dressings, was made from scratch, Hansen said. Ferguson handled most of the cooking, but Hansen helped with desserts and Todd Mowbray baked the bread.

Guests had a choice of a 6 or 8 p.m. meal. When they arrived at the school-turned-eatery, they checked their coats with students and were escorted to their seats by a student hostess.

Tenth-grader Cody Hill played several roles throughout the evening. He started checking coats, then took a turn washing dishes. When a server spot opened up, he pounced on it, despite his lack of serving experience.

“I didn’t want to do more dishwashing,” he said.

Students and staff agreed that the night went smoothly — much more so than last year, when they set up the entire restaurant in one day. This year they did more prep work in the weeks leading up to the feast, which made for a less stressful and more successful event.

The best part of the night was the end, before cleanup began, junior Jessica Gutierrez said.

“Everyone comes up and tells you what a good job you did,” she said.

Students said their guests seemed to enjoy themselves and their meals. Johnson said events like the feast do a lot of good for the alternative school, which sometimes gets a negative reputation as a school for slackers.

“People have that [negative] view of our school,” she said. “But we do work hard. We’re a close little family.”

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.