Students at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School learn many useful job skills during their four years on campus, but only one shop has skills good enough to eat.

The Culinary Arts Department teaches students the ins and outs of restuarants, from bussing tables to cooking up the signature buffalo chicken mac and cheese.

“Even if they don’t choose this as their life career, it gives them the background knowledge so if they want to work in the restaurant industry while they go through college or as an other option,” said culinary arts instructor Samantha Clarke.

Clarke started her own culinary career at Old Colony. After graduation, she went got an associate’s degree in baking and pastries from Bristol County Community College. Clarke has worked at Old Colony for six years and said she enjoys training students at the Cougar’s Den, the school’s café.

“I like it when they understand something, and they have that light bulb go off,” she said.

Clarke teaches students how to work in a restaurant dining area. On all regular school days, the Cougar’s Den is open to the public Tuesday to Friday for breakfast walk-ins and Wednesday to Friday for lunch reservations.

Students also get a chance to work in the bakery where they make everything from scratch. In the kitchen, they work the line, making a variety of entrees for customers.

“Our four years is kind of an overview of the first and second year of a four-year degree in culinary,” Clarke said.

Many students do go on to Bristol County or Johnson and Wales, where Old Colony has partnerships that allow them to get credit for their work in high school.

Courtney Cunha, a senior from Rochester, hopes to study baking and pastry at Bristol County and then transfer to another school. She has appreciated the foundation she received at Old Colony.

“I enjoy it because you get to know where the food comes from and you get to serve people and see the smiles on everyone’s faces,” she said.

Lance Labonte, a senior from Freetown, grew up with a chef for a mom and said, “I’m in this program because I enjoy cooking. I’ve learned so many things. I can chop with the best of them.”

The kitchen is where Labonte most enjoys working, and he said it’s come in handy at his restauarnt job.

“Even if I don’t end up studying in culinary arts, it’s just a good life skill,” he said. “I’ll never go hungry.”

Students said the staff and their peers make the program an enjoyable one.

“If you really need someone to be there to help you, [the instructors] will be there to help you all day long,” said Labonte.

Sophomore Paige Milosek of Freetown enjoys working with the other students as a team. The students not only work together each week to feed the public and Old Colony staff who frequent the Cougar’s Den, but they also cater functions around town, including the annual Thanksgiving meal at the Rochester Senior Center.

“We all come together and get it done,” said Milosek.

The students also get to eat the fruits of their labor. The best dish, according to many, is the “buffalo mac.”

“It’s the perfect mixture of spicy buffalo and alfredo sauce, and I think we make a pretty good alfredo sauce,” said Labonte.

The public can try that and a variety of other dishes, all made from scratch, at the Cougar’s Den. The entrees change each week and reservations for dining in or take out at lunch are required. Check out the menu and hours at www.oldcolony.us.