Café Kids – St Bernadettes Primary School, The Basin

A novel experience this week, with a visit to St Bernadette’s Catholic Primary in The Basin, to experience the wonder that is “Café Kids”.

Staffed by students from prep to grade six, Café Kids runs each Friday lunchtime and seats up to 28 guests. Each Wednesday at assembly, fingers and toes are crossed as staff read out 11 names to work in the kitchen, 11 front of house members, and 10 guests who each get to eat at the café and bring a friend.

The hard work starts Thursday at 12.15, when the 11 budding cooks arrive at the upstairs café area to have a look at the recipes and the food that goes into them. Then it’s “chop chop”, “boom boom shake the room”, and time to prepare everything that can be done in advance for Friday’s lunch.

So the menu this term is a very enticing Chicken & Vegie burger with salad; Spaghetti Bolognaise; Berry Jelly Delight with Icecream; and Fruit Chocolate Tart with thick custard. Mmmmmmm.

But we guests don’t get to see the menu until Friday, after the cooks have finished off their last touches, the “platers” have the completed dishes looking just right, and the 2ft maitre’d from prep class is ready, clipboard in hand, at the front door to greet you and show you to your table. It is quite a sight to behold, a pint-sized, angelic looking creature, working her way through a list of names, many of which are tough to read, and making sure everyone’s seated and accounted for.

First impressions are great – workers in slick uniforms, with pressed stripey aprons, and very official looking hats. We’re greeted quickly by our waiter Jack, who welcomes us to Café Kids and presents us with the aforementioned menu. It’s an easy choice for me, the $4.50 burger, the $3 scrumptious sounding fruit chocolate tarts, and a $1 Orange juice.

Students are buzzing around the room, taking orders, delivering drinks, filling water glasses – and it’s all done in such a professional efficient manner, it’s hard to remember where you are. These are children, you must remind yourself, some as young as six, and they’re confident, they’re cheerful, and they’re very, very capable.

The mains arrive, and it’s a tasty, healthy burger I bite into. Lots of veggies, nice and moist, with fresh bun and a good side salad. The bolognaise looks divine, nice and hearty and I can see kids left right and centre digging into that. Service is quick as the kids’ lunchtime doesn’t last long, and I’m very pleased to see that tart arrive promptly behind the burger. It’s as good as it sounds, I know the cooks have made the custard fresh that morning, and saw the fruit being cut up as well, it’s a gorgeous home- made pastry tart, not too sweet, but just guilt-inducing enough.

It’s a phenomenal operation. We’re asked confidently once it looks like we’ve had our fill, “can I clear that for you, ladies?”. Could have come from a cocky uni student in an inner city eatery.

Watching over proceedings throughout are the two Wonder Women who’ve run the café from day one, taking it from an idea, to a raging success. Yvonne is the school secretary, Liz the literacy co-ordinator. Every single Wednesday night, they head off to the supermarket and buy all the supplies needed for that week’s service. They’re at pains to insist that these kids can do anything they put their mind to, regardless of their perceived academic ability or any challenges they may face. St Bernadettes is attended by 281 students, 12 of those have anaphylactic food allergies, there’s 4 vegetarians, 28 other food allergies, 1 paraplegic, 5 autistic kids, and 6 special needs students – every single one of them has participated in Café Kids.

It’s an amazing school environment – staff, emergency teachers, parents and students all dine at the café from time to time, the Wonder Women say they’re lucky the principal had faith in them to begin with, then increased support (including the purchase of permanent tables to furnish the café). Without a doubt the biggest measure of its success is the students swiftly working the “floor”, pouring drinks, plating meals, the delicious food prepared by young, inexperienced, but ever-competent chefs, and the gaggle of diners, happily munching on healthy, tasty dishes and doing it with impeccable manners and pride.

I’m sad to say not everyone can experience a lunch service at St Bernadettes but it would be fabulous to know of other schools that run similar programs, or are considering developing them as well; and it’s good to know in this age of lectures on childhood obesity, there are schools out there doing there bit to help bring healthy, confident, adaptable kids into adulthood and the outside world.

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