On Fri., Oct. 28, La Brigade Restaurant hosted their annual Halloween themed Luncheon.

During lunch periods five and six students and teachers attended the festive La “Boogade” lunch, which cost $10.

“I love to come down to La Brigade because it’s like a little world inside York with amazing food,” said Dominic Gatti, senior and loyal attendee of the luncheons. “I’m super excited to eat some deliciously spooky food.”

The spooky dishes were selected by the student managers and arranged by the York Chefs.

“Their task is to build a cohesive menu that will appeal to a broad range of customers,” said Wendy Albert, teacher of the La Brigade class. “The students also have to consider cost, ease of preparation and final plate presentation appearance when putting together menus.”

The appetizer was Eerie Eyeball Arancini consisting of crispy cheesy rice balls with a green olive garnish and served with a side of marinara sauce.

“They came up with the appetizer recipe first and built the rest of the menu around that,” said Albert. “The challenge with the Halloween luncheon is sometimes finding food that will taste and look delicious, but that we can put a spooky twist on.”

The class approached this by dressing each dish up in culinary costumes. The main course was Sickening Spaghetti with Petrified Chicken Strips consisting of dyed pasta with marinara sauce topped with crunchy Parmesan breaded chicken strips.

“I think these were a big hit, perfectly flavorful and delicious,” said Nick Fasano, a chef and senior. “They were truly petrifying.”

The chefs have been preparing for this meal since Tuesday to make sure things run smoothly and efficiently. With each luncheon, they take on the challenge of cooking, plating, and serving the meal in one class period.

“Making and serving a three course meal to 40 people in 50 minute class periods gets a bit complex,” said Albert. “The students are learning how to work quickly and respond to the needs of the guests. Sometimes the menu dishes themselves will make the event challenging. Especially if they require a lot of last minute cooking. It can also be a challenge when people request special meals such as vegan or dairy free.”

But the class works together with an organized system to ensure an

enjoyable dining experience for all of their guests. The students had to fry all the Arancini right before the event began, but will balance the last minute cooking with dishes like chicken, that just have to be put in the oven and baked.

“Because of our time constraints we sometimes have to compromise and can’t do everything exactly like a real restaurant would,” said Albert. “We do our best to deliver a great experience given that this is a team of high school students learning as they work.”

Albert is not the only one with an authority role when it comes to ensuring a successful luncheon. Students are assigned to the manager position and oversee the whole process.

“A lot of time and work goes into each luncheon. Other than prepping the food, the managers have a huge role in what happens,“ said Kenna Bays,

senior and manager. “As managers, you have to type out the recipes and scale them. You have to plan job roles for the other students and have to make sure the luncheon runs smoothly.”

Managers are field tripped out all day long and are given the opportunity to experience what it is like to run the restaurant from open to close. They are responsible for everything from they are responsible for everything from turning on and preparing equipment to the final cooking and preparation of dishes before the guests arrive.

The Luncheon was wrapped up as dessert was served: a Gruesome Graveyard Cheesecake consisting of vanilla chocolate chip cheesecake with an Oreo crust, garnished with a raspberry sauce.

“The cheesecake was the perfect compliment to our Halloween meal,” said Mia Borkovec, a chef and junior. “They were a sweet Halloween treat.”

The icing on top of the cake was a dining room with Halloween themed decorations, music, and servers dressed in costumes.

“The Halloween luncheon was spooky, exciting, delicious, and fun,” said Principal Erin DeLuga.  “It definitely put the whole room in the holiday spirit as we head into the weekend leading up to Halloween. The students did an extraordinary job.”