The round tables are covered by white linen cloths accented with mauve napkins and silk flower arrangements. The staff stands ready to handle the expected lunch crowd of 150 to 200, and the chefs busy themselves preparing the day’s fare.
As the lunch hour approaches, customers trickle in. But the Silver Spoon Restaurant is not your typical dining establishment. It is run by food service students at Streamwood High School.
The not-for-profit restaurant is open most Tuesdays and Thursdays from October through May. While the Silver Spoon has a steady clientele from the school’s faculty, the majority of customers come from the community, said teacher Murna Hansemann, who oversees the restaurant operation. (Students are not allowed to eat in the restaurant.)
“The students benefit from the Silver Spoon by addressing (food) problems in a real-life situation,” Hansemann said. “They have to come up with creative solutions when they don’t have enough food. When we run out of desserts, what can we use to substitute that is in the freezer?”
It’s not surprising the 50-seat Silver Spoon attracts such a large audience because meals cost $2.50 per person. There’s no tax, and tipping is not permitted. The price includes an entree, fresh bread, dessert and a drink.
Each of the 18 students spends 10 hours a week preparing for the two days when the restaurant is open.
Hansemann said her student-run restaurant was inspired by the one offered at Elgin High School. Silver Spoon opened in fall 1979.
During the first month of the food service class, Hansemann goes over menu planning with the students, but it is Hansemann who puts the menus together each month, choosing many recipes that are favorites of students’ families.
She tries to offer a variety of balanced meals, including beef, chicken, salad and soup. “Men look forward to meatloaf; women enjoy the salads,” Hansemann said.
The restaurant is self-supporting, so Hansemann needs to stay within a budget.
The juniors and seniors enrolled in the daily two-hour food service class start their preparations with a trip to the grocery store.
Hansemann compiles the grocery list; students check newspaper ads for the best prices, then head for different stores. In preparing for a taco salad and almond bars, Hansemann might send several students to Aldi’s for 50 pounds of hamburger and 40 pounds of cheddar cheese. Another group might head to a Jewel Food Store to buy two cases of tomatoes and 40 heads of lettuce. Hansemann may then take some students to Sam’s Club to purchase 30 pounds of sugar, 40 pounds of flour and 10 pounds of butter.
On Monday, the students tie on their aprons. They begin pulling out the recipe cards they will use to create the next day’s menu.
In preparing for a Tuesday menu of Cobb salad and pound cake topped with blueberries, the students begin on Monday by mixing the ingredients for 12 pound cakes. They cream butter, sugar, eggs, flour and almond extract and pop the cakes in the oven. While the pound cakes are cooling, they go to work on homemade salad dressings: blue cheese, ranch, Caesar and Italian. For the Cobb salad, 12 dozen eggs are hard boiled, 40 pounds of cooked chicken breast are cut into bite-sized chunks, and 40 heads of lettuce are washed.
When the students arrive at food service class at 11 a.m. Tuesday, they immediately go to their posts. Hansemann has student and adult volunteers help her set up the restaurant in a home economics room just off the school’s main student cafeteria, since the students don’t have enough time.
The students work together to get lunch on the table. Waiters may help the cook prepare the entrees. The dish washer may help remove plates and reset the tables while the waiters are serving meals.
The students constantly work with uncertainties. If they make enough food for 150 customers and 200 arrive, they might have to adjust portion sizes, Hansemann said.
“They are working under stress. Teachers want to be served fast,” Hansemann said. “There can’t be any mistakes. There are no second chances in the food business.”
Students are well prepared when they are chosen by Hansemann to work in the Silver Spoon. They must have taken a variety of food classes, including an introduction to basic food preparation, a class on foods popular to regions of the United States and an overview on catering.
Senior Robert Druschitz, 17, said the food service class is well worth the effort. He plans to study culinary arts in college, and he believes this class will help him.
“I love to cook. I picked it up from my grandparents,” Druschitz said. “When I graduate (from) college, I’d like to work with a chef with a major hotel or restaurant.”
Senior Kelly Lietzau, 17, is also a food service student. “I’m finding out how much I enjoy preparing the food and making sure it is presented well,” Lietzau said. “It’s a great feeling to know we’re capable of serving 150 people for lunch. . . . When we first started out, we seemed so slow at what we were doing. Now we help each other out, and together we know what needs to get done properly.”
Lorraine von Helms of Elgin has been coming to the Silver Spoon with her son Ronald and mother, Marie Luck of Bartlett, twice a week for eight years. For the last three years, they have been sitting with Bob and Emily Salvesen of Streamwood, whom they met at the restaurant.
“The food tastes good. The prices are reasonable, and the service is excellent,” said Emily Salvesen, explaining why she returns so often.
The Rotary Club of Bartlett has been holding occasional meetings at the Silver Spoon for the last 15 years, said Jerry Dixon of Bartlett, a past president.
“The food is healthy. And I love the uncertainty,” Dixon said. “It’s like being at home. You take what you get.” The Rotary Club recently donated $200 to the Silver Spoon for the purchase of kitchen equipment.
Veterinarian Patrick Baker of Bartlett likes the Silver Spoon for another reason. “I enjoy the variety of people who dine here. I sit wherever there is an open seat. People ask me questions about their cat’s or dog’s ailment. And they always (seem) grateful for the information I give them,” said Baker, who has been frequenting the Silver Spoon twice a month for six years.
Hansemann will mail menus to customers and has 350 people on the mailing list. The restaurant also takes carryout orders and regularly prepares 15 to 25 meals for the Poplar Creek Library in Streamwood.
Jeffrey Goings, 27, of Streamwood, a chef at Redwood’s Steak & Pasta in Mundelein, began his cooking career at Silver Spoon. “It got me excited about cooking,” he said. “The Silver Spoon helped me to see the creativity in cooking. I became a chef because I like the payoff. I like the (feeling) I get for a well-cooked meal.”
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The Silver Spoon Restaurant is located in Streamwood High School, 701 W. Schaumburg Rd., Streamwood. It’s first come, first served. Hansemann will mail menus to customers; call 630-213-5500, ext. 129. The last day of operation this school year is May 29.
