WORCESTER—The student-staffed Skyline Bistro has been serving lunch to the public at Worcester Technical High School since the school opened in August of 2006, but many people still have no idea that it exists.
“We used to say we were the best kept secret in the city,” Culinary Arts department head Kevin Layton said. “People would come in and say, ‘We never knew this existed. We never knew this was here.’”
“We don’t really advertise, so it’s all word of mouth,” said Doug Lemire, hospitality management shop instructor and acting department head.
Nevertheless, the bistro is still popular.
“I love the food,” Ed Lucey, 73, of Auburn said Wednesday while dining with seven friends who usually get together at McDonald’s in Auburn. “You can’t beat it for the price.”
The bistro serves soup, salads, burgers, sandwiches, wraps and such entrees as baked haddock, all under $10, and desserts for $3 each.
“I’ve had some people say they were at a restaurant the night before or earlier in the week,” Layton said, “and our clam chowder or French onion soup is so much better.”
Only cash is accepted. Prices are kept low because the bistro is a nonprofit organization and all income is used to purchase food and equipment. Tips help fund field trips for the students. Last year, for instance, the Hospitality Management seniors traveled to Boston to dine at a hot pot restaurant and attend a Blue Man Group performance.
During the week of April vacation, Layton will take 15 culinary arts students to Blois in central France to participate with the French students in their culinary program and restaurant. They will also visit a mushroom cave, a chocolate factory and a couple of castles.
Layton is one of five chef instructors and this is his 25th year in the department. He worked at Worcester Vocational High School for seven years before it closed and Worcester Tech opened. Hospitality Management department head Tabitha Rennie, currently on maternity leave, was one of his students at Voke.
The 65 culinary arts students and 72 hospitality students prepare and serve meals, desserts, pastries and birthday cakes for the downstairs bistro and the first-floor cafe, two conference rooms and 150-seat multi-purpose room, all of which are open to the public. Layton expects 15-25 freshmen to join the staff in January.
On Wednesday, the students also took care of lunch for 80 Worcester Public Schools teachers and administrators in the multi-purpose room.
The bistro is open from 10:30 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. Tuesday-Friday when school is in session and reservations are recommended by calling 508-799-1964 after 9:30 a.m. The bistro can’t remain open later because the students need time to clean the kitchen and bistro before school closes at 1:43 p.m.
The bistro can accommodate 60-80 people at its 16 tables and another nine at the counter. Lemire said occasionally there can be a wait to be seated on Fridays.
When the weather is warm enough in the early fall or late spring, the patio can accommodate up to eight more people at each of the six outdoor tables.
Specials cost a few dollars more. A four-course meal of salad, appetizer buffet, turkey and dessert for the three days prior to Thanksgiving cost $13.95. The meal is so popular people began calling at the start of the school year for reservations, but they weren’t accepted until Nov. 1. A record 350 people dined those three days.
On most Wednesdays, there is a king-cut prime rib special with a baked potato and vegetable for $12.95.
“That’s really popular,” Lemire said. “We usually do two roasts and sell out.”
This Wednesday instead featured a Cajun grilled ribeye special for $10.95.
Lemire said more than half of the Hospitality Management graduates move on to careers at hotels or restaurants. Tim Russo, executive chef at Russo Italian Restaurant and Lock 50, was one of Layton’s Culinary Arts students at the former Worcester Vocational High School. Tech banquet instructor Kim Youkstetter was also a Culinary Arts student at Voke in the 1980s.
Students at Worcester Voke not only staffed a restaurant that was open to the public, they also prepared the meals for the students, according to Lemire. Worcester Tech has about 1,400 students, too many for the culinary arts and hospitality students to prepare meals for them, Lemire said.
The bistro closes after its holiday buffet on Friday, Dec. 15, and reopens after the Christmas break on Jan. 9. The holiday buffet will have a ham carving station, bistro steaks, baked stuffed haddock, vegetables, sides and dessert for $13.95.
Culinary arts students wear white mushroom caps or black baseball caps, white cook shirts or chef coats, white aprons and black and white checked pants. Hospitality students wear white long sleeve shirts and black bow ties, aprons and pants.
Each student pays $150-$160 by the time they graduate for three uniforms. Tip money helps defray the costs for students who can’t afford them.
Students rotate every other week between attending classes and working in the bistro, cafe and convention rooms.
Brandon Nguyen, 17, is a senior who majors in Hospitality Management and who serves as manager of the bistro this week. He admitted it took him a while to get used to working with customers because they are older than him, but now he’s comfortable with it.
“So it prepares them with a small dose of what that real life is going to be like,” Lemire said, “and I think that’s incredibly helpful and it gives them that interaction with people, which I feel sometimes the students are lacking in this technological age. They learn how to interact with people who are not necessarily their age and I think that’s really good for them.”
So why should people eat at the bistro?
“Mostly low prices and they get to help the students build their experience and knowledge about the Hospitality Management field,” Nguyen said, “and to have a more casual environment to eat out in and have fun in.”
On Wednesday, Culinary Arts senior Fianna McGinn supervised her fellow students to ensure they prepared the meals in a timely manner. During other weeks, she cooks.
“It’s a pretty good experience,” she said. “You’re always working and doing something so you’re never bored or standing around. You’re always on your toes, always busy, but it’s a fun busy. You’re not dreading coming the next day.”
McGinn plans to attend Johnson & Wales University in Providence and hopes to become a private or personal chef.
On most Mondays, a professional chef talks to the students about his or her experiences.
Tech English teachers Sarah Cutter and Chris Brennan lunched Wednesday with Mikayla Vargus, a student teacher from Worcester State University. Brennan teaches some of the bistro students in his English classes.
“It’s nice to see them from a different perspective,” he said. “They’re very professional and they’re learning skills that will help them in the future.”
“It’s incredible,” said George Fournier, 83, one of the eight diners from Auburn. “The students work really hard to put a nice meal together and serve you. They’re polite. The atmosphere is great. It’s a super place.”
Bill Doyle has been a professional journalist for 47 years, most of them as a sports writer for the Telegram & Gazette. He covered the Boston Celtics for 25 years and has written extensively about golf, boxing and local high school and college sports. He also worked for the campus newspaper when he attended UMass-Amherst. He can be reached at billdoyle1515@gmail.com
