On Friday mornings, students have a chance to start the day with something hot — or even a quick, healthy drink — at the “Cougar Cafe.”

Julie Tague has been the Family and Consumer Sciences instructor at Manson Northwest Webster Junior and Senior High School since 1997. Her Advanced Foods class runs the cafe.

“The Cougar Cafe is a coffee shop/bake shop that is operated as a fundraiser for the student organization Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA),” Tague said. “Advanced Foods students prepare a different item each week to be featured at the Cougar Cafe.”

Tague added students may purchase smoothies, hot chocolate or hot apple cider. Breakfast burritos, breakfast pizza and a variety of muffins are also prepared for the cafe, which is located in the Media Center of the high school.

-Submitted photo
The winning food truck from the Advanced Foods class at Manson Northwest Webster High School is shown after “Food Truck Wars.” The class is taught by Julie Tague.

The Cougar Cafe is open to students, faculty and community members every Friday morning from 7:30 a.m. until 8:10 a.m.

The Advanced Foods class also runs a school-based, student-operated restaurant in the spring and fall called the Autumn Grill and the Springtime Grill, where students prepare meals for faculty, classmates and the community.

“The class also works on a project, culminating with ‘Food Truck Wars,'” Tague said. “After researching what it takes to start up a food truck business, the students create a food truck. A five-item menu and a sample of one of the items is on their menu.

“During the Food Truck Wars competition at the end of the trimester, teachers and students judge the best truck, menu and food. The winner this year was ‘Spooky Smoothies.'”

When the students aren’t busy running the Grills or the Cougar Cafe, they’re also preparing for special events. This fall, the class added a hydroponic garden to the classroom. Tague said this allows the students to incorporate fresh produce into their meals.

—Submitted photo
Students in Julie Tague’s Advanced Foods class work in the kitchen at Manson Northwest Webster High School in Manson.

“Advanced Foods class is a great hands-on learning experience for students,” Tague said. “The food service industry continues to offer countless world-wide job opportunities that are in great demand.

“This class gives students experience in many aspects of the industry, as well as building skills like organization, time management, planning, communication, teamwork and food preparation that will be used throughout their lives.”

Tague said there are also other family and consumer sciences classes offered at MNW, including Family and Consumer Sciences Foundations, Food Fundamentals, Child Development, Design, Iowa Central Community College Introduction to the Hospitality Industry, and exploratory seventh- and eighth-grade Family and Consumer Science.

-Submitted photo
Students in one of Julie Tague’s Advanced Foods classes gather for a picture in the kitchen.