Student-run Grass Roots Café a delicious eating experience
Students work closely with professional chefs learning to plan and prepare menu items, create gourmet foods and baked goods and artistically present them, and operate the restaurant.
Among the array of area restaurants lies a hidden gem tucked away inside a school. The Grass Roots Café has long been operated by the culinary arts program of the Wayne County Schools Career Center.
The full-service restaurant offers an abundance of menu options at reasonable prices. For breakfast patrons might order a custom omelet or tailor their meal at the buffet. Lunchtime selections include salads, soups, sandwiches, pasta dishes, pizza and another buffet. Beverages include teas, coffees including cappuccinos and fruit smoothies. Guests also are enticed with a selection of dessert items.
All this is accomplished by the career center students, who work closely with professional chefs learning to plan and prepare menu items, create gourmet foods and baked goods and artistically present them, and operate the restaurant.
Along the way they learn food safety, kitchen/workplace safety, knife skills, culinary and food service history, culinary math/measurements, cooking methods, baking and pastry arts fundamentals, and marketing.
Open from mid-January to mid-March, the restaurant’s limited schedule allows for the students’ extensive study of the art, as well as their regular curriculum. Students also provide catering and banquets throughout the academic year, both in-house and off-site.
It's a program where students like Hallie, a senior, get prepared for just about anything they might face in the future. “We each have many responsibilities, and I have learned a lot from working both in the front and the back of the house,” she said.
Although Shirley Alexander of Wooster only recently discovered the Grass Roots Café, it has become one of her favorite dining destinations. “The food is delicious,” she said. “It’s a lovely place, and the students do a wonderful job operating it.”
Her companion Finis Buck of Wooster agreed. “Very impressive, and the prices are amazingly affordable,” Buck said.
The restaurant also offers a take-and-bake option, with various frozen entrees ready for pickup to be reheated or cooked at home. Also available are whole cakes and pies, baked and ready for at-home thawing.
Following the two-year program for high school juniors and seniors, graduates are poised for further education or for such chef roles as executive, garde manger, saucier, pastry or sous. Or they may apply their education to professions such as restaurant manager, host, line cook, baker, caterer or health inspector.
After graduation Hallie plans to major in dietetics at Ashland University, with the hope of becoming a registered dietitian at a hospital, while junior Gianna has different plans. “I will be furthering my culinary arts education, then hopefully soon be working in a restaurant.”
The 19-25 students in the program come away with credentials such as certifications, internships and scholarships. Students also belong to SkillsUSA, a partnership of students, teachers and industry working to ensure America has a skilled workforce. The organization also provides students with opportunities for competition, leadership and community service.
All this happens under the watchful eye of chef Peter Kerling, now in his sixth year as culinary arts instructor. “I decided in my first year of high school that I wanted to be a chef,” Kerling said. “So I studied culinary arts at the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center while working at McDonald’s and Pizza Hut.”
After graduation Kerling, a Broadview Heights native, attended Pennsylvania Culinary, where he obtained his degree in culinary arts. Following an externship at a Fripp Island, South Carolina restaurant, he returned to Cleveland and landed a position at Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse. Having worked his way up to kitchen manager there, he went on to serve as sous chef at XO Prime Steaks in Cleveland’s Warehouse District, where he helped rebrand the restaurant from modern American cuisine to a prime steakhouse. His next role was co-head chef at Osteria Italian Restaurant. Then he saw an ad for a culinary instructor in Smithville.
“I jumped at the opportunity,” Kerling said. “After 22 years in the business, I realized that educating guests and training employees had become my passion.”
Kerling also is responsible for the name of the restaurant. “In thinking about what I see from my students day one versus graduation versus their future careers,” he said, “I realized that what we’re providing is fertile soil for the development of strong foundational roots for successful careers.”
Hence, the name was changed from Heritage Room to Grass Roots Café.
Lorraine, a senior, strives to make sure customers get great service. “I always hope they leave happy and satisfied,” she said.
Gianna also takes satisfaction in the results of her work. “In everything we do,” she said, “we try to leave a good impression in terms of food, service and hospitality.”
The Grass Roots Café is located in the Wayne County Schools Career Center at 518 W. Prospect St., Smithville. Open for breakfast and lunch Wednesday through Friday from 9:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., the restaurant accepts cash and checks — no credit or debit cards. While not necessary for smaller parties, reservations for eight or more are suggested and may be made by calling 330-669-7000 ext. 6200 or via the event request form at https://sites.google.com/wcscc.net/culinaryartswcscc/home?authuser=0.