'Cafe Thursday' provides learning opportunity for students

Reed Shackelford
The Advocate

At Mt. Hood Community College, Thursdays have a whole new meaning.
The hospitality and tourism management program, in conjunction with Chartwell’s food services, offers an affordable restaurant experience in the Jazz Café.

“It happens every other Thursday during spring term,” said Court Carrier, hospitality and tourism management program coordinator. “People can come and have a really great meal for a very reasonable price. The prices range from $4 to $10 (maximum), and $10 will get them a three-course meal with a beverage. Which is a steal.”

“Café Thursday” offers an affordable dining bi-weekly experience for diners, as well as an educational experience for the students involved.

“This experience is great because it gives us experience with how a restaurant works from the back of the house to the front of the house,” said Freshman Lisa Meyers, who managed the first event of the term. “It shows us how to communicate with employees, how the guests see you, how to serve them, and give them the best customer service. It’s really like working in a restaurant.”

According to Carrier, the goal of each event is to accommodate 100 restaurant patrons between the lunch-hour seatings of 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. 

“Our first one was this last week, and we had a really nice turn out for the first time out, about 85 people, and that was pretty close to what we wanted,” said Carrier.

The hands-on series of Café Thursdays are made possible through collaboration between three programs, according to Carrier. “My culinary arts program and our chef instructor who is running the food side of it, my class in catering, restaurant and food service management, where the students learn how to run a restaurant and serve food and manage the operation, and then the Chartwell’s folks who allow us to take over their kitchen and be able to use their facilities while we cook this particular event.”

Each event scheduled has a specific theme, which is decided by the chef instructor.

“The next Café Thursday on the 23rd of April will be Mexican cuisine, keeping with the advent of Cinco De Mayo coming up very shortly,” said Carrier.

To make reservations for a Café Thursday, contact Court Carrier at 503-491-7486, or visit the Café Thursday table in Vista Dining Center starting the Tuesday before the event.

“I think anyone in our program would love anyone and everyone to come. It supports our school, our program, and it is great to network with other students and experience what Mt. Hood has to offer,” said Meyers.