HOWELL — Did you know Howell High School has a full-service restaurant, run by students, open to the public two days a week?

The Highlander Restaurant at HHS isn’t just a place where students are trained for successful culinary careers, but also where they learn firsthand to run a business.

The restaurant is the public face of Howell High School’s Culinary Arts Program, which is open to high school and middle school students from any school in Livingston County.

Composed mostly of juniors and seniors, the one- or two-year program helps students learn all aspects of running the restaurant, including planning menus, creating recipes, preparing food, and serving as waitstaff. Second-year students get even more involved, either in marketing or other disciplines.

The program is run by Chef Eric Walker and Technical Mentor Joan Bartkowiak. This year, approximately 50 students are enrolled in the program, including students from Howell, Hartland, Brighton, Fowlerville and Pinckney.

“We enjoy having students from other districts and do everything we can to make them feel right at home,” Walker said. “Some of our students become close friends with students from (other communities).”

The program has been around for about four decades. First-year classes focusing on sanitation and ServSafe, a national food safety certification. Such knowledge is critical, given the Highlander Restaurant is subject to health department visits, like any other commercial restaurant.

“Our students really keep the kitchen clean,” Walker said. “I’d put (its level of cleanliness) up against any restaurant in the county.”

As students advance, they become more active in restaurant management, including actively designing and updating menus and wracking up real-life experience. Many local restaurants will hire current or past students of the program, Bartkowiak said.

“The experience they get is significant and it really helps when they’re ServSafe certified.”

One recent HHS grad now works at the prestigious French Laundry, a high-end restaurant in California, Walker said.

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The Highlander Restaurant is open to the public most Thursdays and Fridays for breakfast and lunch during the school year. Meals are prepared and served by students. The majority of patrons work for the school district, but the restaurant frequently holds events for area groups or organizations. Catering services are also available.

The menu typically includes a handful of breakfast and lunch favorites, like eggs and hamburgers. Walker said students this year are making their own pasta from scratch, and fettuccine alfredo has become one of the restaurant’s more popular lunch dishes.

Meal service typically runs 8 a.m.-12:15 p.m. on Thursdays and 8 a.m.-9 a.m. and 10:40 a.m.-2 p.m. on Fridays, with seating available for up to 50 guests.

“The rest of the week, we work on projects like cooking and knife skills,” Walker said. “(The restaurant) offers a nice, quiet atmosphere and is a great opportunity for staff members and students to connect outside of the typical classroom.”

Reservations are recommended and interested patrons should call 517-234-6456 to confirm hours of operation, given the potential for inclement weather days and school holidays.

— M. Alan Scott is a freelance writer for The Livingston Daily. Contact the newsroom at newsroom@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Did you know? Howell High School has a restaurant open two days a week