Participating high school seniors from throughout Butler County — more than 50 this school year — learn and perform all aspects of running a small restaurant as they train for careers in culinary industries.
“It’s the best kept restaurant secret in Butler County,” said newly appointed superintendent William Sprankles, who recently dined at Café Lee with fellow staffers.
The smallish café, which is open to the public Wednesdays and Thursdays, is an unusual mix of delicious smells, hearty meals, tasty desserts all intermingled with a learning atmosphere as supervising instructors oversee the students’ work and performance.
“The program has been built to help students who are serious about becoming chefs and pastry chefs get a head start on their culinary journey,” said Butler Tech Spokeswoman A.J. Huff.
“The culinary arts program is now CCP certified and has partnered with Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State University so the students can earn college credit while at Butler Tech,” said Huff.
Tyler Simpson, the program’s culinary instructor who expanded the café's public availability in 2016, said the reality based learning space introduces students to many aspects of the culinary industry while also providing invaluable experiences of improving on their burgeoning skills.
“Everything they (students) learn comes together … in the senior capstone project where we actually work together to open a restaurant that is ala carte service,” said Simpson during a quick break in a typically busy lunch time.
“The program is built for students who are serious about becoming chefs or pastry chefs and we do everything from scratch including all of our dressings, all of our breads, rolls and deserts.”
“They get a very good, base line knowledge of cooking and baking techniques as well as how to greet a table of customers and how to serve a table and working as a cashier,” he said.
“It’s top to bottom learning for many different jobs in the industry.”
Senior Zeppelin Absher from Lakota East High School was working a lunch shift as head chef and said he loves the opportunities offered by the program.
Absher plans to further his culinary education at Cincinnati State or at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York city.
“This a really good opportunity to get a jump start in the field. You learn stuff here that the average 16 or 17-year-old working in a kitchen isn’t going to know.”
Customer Lora Barnes went through the online lunch reservation process required for the public to dine at the café and was glad she did.
“This is my first time and it was amazing,” said Barnes, a mother of one of the students in the program.
“It’s fun and it’s fun to see the growth in all the students and they executed all of this really well.”
MORE DETAILS
For more information on the program see the Butler Tech Culinary Arts website. Reservations to dine at Café Lee — cash, credit and checks are accepted — are recommended but not required and can be made at the program’s Butler Tech Culinary Arts Facebook page.
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