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The Media Center at Vestavia Hills Elementary Central was transformed Monday, Feb. 26, into several boutique restaurants, all run by Lisa Gaskill's gifted program students.
Special guest Frank Stitt, who owns James Beard Award-nominated restaurants like Highlands Bar & Grill and Chez Fon Fon, joined parents and teachers as students presented the culmination of weeks of work.
As part of the gifted program curriculum, Gaskill explained, students were introduced to the restaurant industry and tasked with creating their own. The process included everything from creating and writing a business plan to designing menus and serving the food.
Student chefs created a wide-variety of restaurant options for Stitt and other guests, with menus including French cheese plates, seafood salads and even Latvian-Asian fusion dishes. Students also presented models of what they'd like their restaurants to look like.
Gaskill said it is her belief that working in a restaurant or other service-industry job can teach young people many skills they will need for the rest of their lives, and she tried to replicate the experience in the classroom.
Students were asked to write resumes and interview for their "jobs," and learn etiquette and customer service skills throughout the process.
"There are a lot of business skills built into the unit," she said. "I call them my young professionals, not just my kids."
Fifth-grader Ridley Tate Box, who helped run a French-themed crepe restaurant table, said that while her favorite part was getting to cook the food, she learned about more than following a recipe.
"I've learned that teamwork is very important in the restaurant business, and I've also learned that you have to be very prepared," she said.
Stitt spoke to students and the guests after the three-course meals were presented, and took questions from students about his career.
He said that he was taken with the thorough jobs the students did on their projects, and the way the unit was run.
"It was impressive to see their creativity, and that they came up with these concepts themselves," Stitt said. "They took a lot of initiative that was really impressive."