Daytona State College offers multiple opportunities in which students are granted an opportunity to serve the public, one of that being Café 101. It’s an opportunity DSC offers to culinary students to get real world experience in the industry, consistently prepping and serving quality meals to their guests.
Students in the Hospitality and Culinary Pastry programs are required to take the “practical classes” which is Café 101, an opportunity not often presented in colleges. Daytona State students gain real-world experience of the industry before stepping foot in it.
“The real-world, hands-on lab experiences like this I believe is what makes a successful person in their career,” current student Mina Tabers says. “Café 101 prepares you with the real dining experience, and that would be the same with other colleges if they presented similar classes.”
DSC offers Café 101 as a vital stepping stone for students who want to pursue the culinary and hospitality industry.
“Students serve the customers, and they also cook the food, so they get both sides,” the Dean of Hospitality, Chef Costa Magoulas, continues “We do not offer internships in our Culinary Pastry programs because we do the training here.”
It was established sixteen years ago, and the name came from Café Street, the location of the original culinary school, before it was relocated to the Hosseini building in 2007.
As for the guests, only 30- 40 seats are available depending on the class size. The guest number is split up so that only a certain amount comes in at 11:30 to be seated and the other at 12:00. It’s limited so that students can learn how to interact with guests without the chaos of attending to so many at once.
Guests must call to get a reservation and hope to be one out of the 100 people calling in who score a seat. There is a reputation that Café 101 has made in the community so much so that reservations are booked two months in advance.
It is not only popular to locals but to people out of state as well. People often call from up north who are planning a trip to the area and want to experience Café 101. The idea of students running a restaurant in a learning manner really excites people.
The menu changes weekly based off of the lessons they are giving to the students that week. Despite the cost being only $11, the food being made and served is all top quality.
The set up of two of the kitchens are partially a classroom so students can easily move from cooking to learning. The kitchens consist of students cooking and communicating to produce quality meals for their guests in an organized manner.
The kitchen has everything a high-quality restaurant, like ones at Disney parks, would consist of, giving students every opportunity to learn everything they can.
“Cafe 101 has given me the opportunity to freely use my gifts and doesn’t limit me in what I love to do,” Tabers continues “The cafe encourages you to push through the tough moments and challenges you when you need to be challenged.”
Café 101 is an idea that interest guests so much that they book months ahead and even travel to get a taste of it.
Daytona State students will graduate and leave truly knowing what they will be diving into next because of the opportunity Café 101 presented.