Tr photo of Lana Bradstream Marshalltown High School Junior Kinsley Bowie takes a drink order to a customer of the new Cafe Bobcat located at the Orpheum. The coffee opened its doors on Thursday morning and is led by MHS students.
A new coffee opened its doors on Main Street Thursday morning.
Located in the BA Noblock MCSD Welcome Center, the Bobcat Cafe gives the possibility of practical learning, because it is led by students from Marshalltown High School (MHS).
The professor of family sciences and consumer sciences MHS, Jules McGrew, said that students greeted not only customers, take their orders and take the drinks, but that they get their hands in the entrepreneurial side of things.
“They make appointments for the fire service and the distributors and the health inspector,” she said. “It’s really cool to obtain these entrepreneurship skills in a real framework.”
Every day, there are three -quarters of three to six working students. Hearing students talking, McGrew said they’ve been having fun and already said they wanted to work at the Bobcat Cafe next year.
“I think the best learning is when we have fun,” she said. “I hope they take the skills, but look back and say it was so fun to make and they started coffee managed by students. I think they get out of it.
McGrew stressed that coffee only accepts credit or debit cards. Customers can choose from a variety of drinks such as Espressos Americano, Latte, Chai Latte, Frappuccino, Cappuccino, Mochaccino, Milk Tea and Chocolate. However, during the first days, people will limit themselves to drip coffee, cold infusion, hot chocolate and iced slat. McGrew said they were waiting for a pump for the espresso machine.
“It was to be delivered yesterday, but the weather,” she said. “I hope the pump will come today and that it will take place next week. We have a little school machine on which they train. They know how to make drinks. »»
With the limited machine, McGrew recommends people to try a French press coffee.
Customers can also get food to accompany their drinks. MHS culinary students spend time in class in the afternoon cooking products such as cookies, donuts and muffins. Inside the coffee, students also prepare waffles and burritos from breakfast – bacon or sausage.
McGrew certainly suggests that hungry customers are trying the burritos.
“Students have developed a sweet Aioli Chile Thai who is there,” she said. “It’s not spicy, but it’s enough (for people to ask)” Wow. What is this sauce? »»
McGrew also recommends bites in Bobby, which are small pieces of waffles with vanilla frosting and cinnamon and sugar.
Although people do not get anything that they could not find in other cafes, they will give students something unique.
“They can learn the skills of communication, hospitality and the culinary aspect of the safe food service,” she said. “This is really what they can give us rather than what we can give them. (Although) to ensure that students make bakery products distinguish us and simply have this younger perspective from what is trendy, which is new and the food flavors that the youngest would like. Then, having the management of an instructor who says: “This is what an average age might want or what the market might want,” distinguishes us. »»
Lessons and experience in the aspects of communication, hospitality and customer service are what McGrew hopes that most students learn and understand.
“Getting visual contact and engaging in a conversation are general skills that, when we go around and ask companies what they need young generation, many of them say general skills,” she said. “This is something on which we want to focus here.”
Coffee information:
Name: Bobcat Cafe
Location: Ba Noblock MCSD Welcome Center (Orpheum)
Address: 220 E. Main St.
Days: Monday to Friday
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
——-
Contact Lana Bradstream
at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or
lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.