The future chefs and restaurateurs of Somerville High School are learning the ins and outs of the business while serving up delicious gastronomic delights for the patrons at the Highlander Café.

By Matt Carli

At the eastern end of Somerville High School, across from the intersection of Highland and Vinal Ave., the only hint that a gourmet restaurant is tucked away inside are a few tables covered with white cloth that can just be spied through the school’s large windows.

“We’re the best kept secret in town,” says Chef Instructor and Culinary Arts teacher Jeff Stuart. Walking down the halls of Somerville High School, the normal scene of lockers and classrooms gives way to an open space filled with neatly set tables, the transition from school to restaurant so sudden that you can’t help but be a little surprised when the host asks if you’d like to be seated.

The portions are normally sized, and the menu covers the gamut: appetizers, salads, entrees and dessert (the fare is traditional French cuisine at the moment). To top it all off, the food is an absolute steal. “Steak Diane for six bucks, you can’t find that anywhere else,” exclaims Stuart.

This dedication to providing a real-life fine dining experience is at the center of everything the Highlander Café does. The restaurant is almost completely run by students in the Culinary Arts Program, with their teachers providing supervision and guidance when necessary.

Back in the kitchen, these high school seniors man the pizza, salad, grill, and sauté stations, working busily to fill orders. Everything from the stock to the rolls are made in-house. The meat is broken down from the animal into restaurant-quality cuts, and the front-of-the-house hosting and waiting are manned by students.

All this is done to serve not only seated patrons, but also delivery orders that come from teachers and workers in the nearby city offices (sorry folks, no outside delivery is available, but you can order pick-up). According to Stuart, you “can’t get any more real world than this.”

For students, this focus on the real world is essential to their future employability. On Mondays, students sit for state-mandated lectures, but every other day is devoted to developing practical, hands-on skills. Tuesdays are spent doing prep work, and the restaurant is open Wednesday through Friday. The students also cater for events as afterschool activities.

Students even take care of the intellectual side of things, such as the creation of menus. They don’t have free reign though. While their teacher appreciated the enthusiasm they had for adding escargot to this week’s menu, he mandated that every student had to eat some of it as well. All of this is towards one end, says Stuart – that the students come out with “an unbelievable introduction to the industry.”

In addition to providing valuable experience, the Culinary Arts program gives students the opportunity to try cooking and see if it is right for them. According to Maya Johal, a Career Services Representative at Boston’s Le Cordon Bleu campus, the most important factor in a successful cooking career is “passion for the industry.” Discovering this passion can be surprising for some students. Shane Nunes, a ’07 graduate of Somerville High’s Culinary Program, says that “cooking wasn’t even on my radar.” Originally thinking of studying to be an electrician, he tried cooking on a whim, because he had an elective to fill and because he “loves to eat.”Nunes now works at The Foundry, a local restaurant, as executive chef. His advice to new cooks: “Stick it out and love what you do.”

Lunch is served at the Highlander Café Wednesday to Friday, from 11a.m.to 1p.m. To view the menu and order ahead visit their website: http://www.somerville.k12.ma.us/education/dept/dept.php?sectiondetailid=15779&go=&&&cms_mode=view.