Friday Night Café students serving New Zealand culture Nov. 13

Northwest Missouri State University students studying foods and nutrition have returned this fall to serve guests internationally inspired meals and décor – with a new lab and venue as their backdrop. 

Students will host their Friday Night Café from 5 to 6 p.m. Nov. 13 in the Martindale Hall Gymnasium, giving guests a taste of New Zealand culture.

Tickets are $15 and available to purchase online by clicking here. Seating is limited to 75 guests.  

The Friday Night Café satisfies a lab requirement for students enrolled in Northwest’s quantity foods course, taught by Kelli Wilmes, who is the director of the University’s dietetics program. 

“Community members are able to experience a taste of culture that may not be available anywhere else in town,” Wilmes said. “I have noticed through the years the wonderful participation from community members and their interactions with the students. These are real-life interactions that I cannot simulate in a lab or in a class reading a textbook. This is what makes the experience great for all who are involved.”

This fall’s menu will feature two entrées – a pork belly with a honey glaze and a roast lamb with mint sauce. As bread products, students will serve hot cross buns and garlic butter flat bread.

Plates also will include two hot vegetables – an asparagus crumble and carrots with spiced orange butter – with a cultural kumara (sweet potato) bake. The menu also features four salad options with fruit and protein.

Guests will have three dessert choices – a coconut berry lamington, Afghan chocolate biscuits or a pavlova.

Giving a different flair to the Friday Night Café this fall, guests will dine in Martindale Gymnasium, which has been refreshed as part of Northwest’s expansion and remodel of the building. The new Martindale Hall includes a state-of-the-art, fully-equipped foods and nutrition lab that replaced a lab formerly housed in the Administration Building.

“The new foods lab and dining area in Martindale Gymnasium will enhance Friday Night Café by giving us a more functional space to prepare, organize and serve our meal,” said Jadyn Barnes, a senior foods and nutrition major from Holt, Missouri, who is coordinating the marketing for this year’s event. “When you’re preparing food for 90 people, having an efficient workspace is especially important for coordinating tasks, maintaining food safety, and making sure everything is prepared and served at the right time.”

To plan and execute the event, students separate into management committees that are responsible for budgeting, marketing, grocery shopping and decorating. All aspects of the evening – including the theme, menu selection, pricing and décor – are prepared by management teams of students, who gain valuable profession-based experience.

“It gives us the opportunity to take what we’ve learned in the classroom and apply it in a real-world setting,” Barnes said. “We gain hands-on experience with large-scale food preparation, menu planning, food safety, time management, teamwork, and preparing and serving a meal for a large number of people. These are all valuable skills that we can carry into our future careers.”

Each year, students look forward to putting their own spin on the event.

“The experience the students get from the Friday Night Café project is invaluable,” Wilmes said. “They are able to learn the basics of preparing food for a large group of people in a real-life situation. Through this project, they apply the concepts that can sometimes be hard to understand and actually practice. Students enjoy creating a unique experience each year.”

For more information about Northwest’s foods, nutrition and dietetics programs, click here.