IMS students prepare monte cristo sandwiches for the Culinary Arts Class restaurant February 28. Photos by Sam McIntosh.

Lit candles and background music set the mood as servers in white jackets and chef’s hats served a three-course meal to patrons.

This isn’t a five-star restaurant though, it’s happening at Iowa Mennonite School. The IMS Culinary Arts Class had their first restaurant, or IMS Café, for this school year on Wednesday. This is an annual tradition in which the class picks out the menu, prepares and serves a breakfast for community members.

Attendee Carolyn Hochstetler shares why she likes to attend this annual tradition, “Every class adds their own and that’s exciting. And I like that I get to eat what I don’t make at home.”

Wednesday’s menu featured a strawberry citrus salad with a mint syrup, a monte cristo sandwich, hashbrowns, and a baked custard. The head cook for this week senior Payton Hart tells why she enjoys the culinary arts class, “I like that it’s more challenging than a regular foods class, because we are serving people other than ourselves. We also have the opportunity to make things on a larger scale, which is interesting to see how we were frying 32 sandwiches in a relatively small kitchen on two ranges. So that was an interesting challenge, as well as trying new recipes that normal foods classes don’t have the opportunity to [prepare].”

The cost to eat at the IMS Café is $8 per person, and the proceeds go to purchase ingredients and new equipment for the class. There are two more dates scheduled on March 14 and 28, and reservations must be made by calling the school office.

IMS students serve a three-course breakfast to patrons February 28.