NW Missouri Times

Students at Northwest Missouri State University are preparing to host the annual Friday Night Café, an event that offers internationally inspired meals and décor. This year, the café will feature Greek cuisine on November 7 and Filipino dishes on November 14. Both events will take place at 5 p.m. on the third floor of the Administration Building.

Tickets for each evening are priced at $18, with seating limited to 50 guests per night. Attendees can expect a variety of main dishes, sides, salads, and desserts. The Greek menu includes items such as herb-roasted olives and tomatoes, fried zucchini with tzatziki, chicken souvlaki skewers, Mediterranean dream lasagna, pita with house-made hummus, and Mediterranean quinoa crunch. The Filipino night will offer adobo chicken, pork pancit, garlic fried rice, vegetable kare-kare, spring rolls, and pandesal.

The Friday Night Café is organized by students as part of their quantity foods course, which fulfills a lab requirement. Kelli Wilmes, director of the university’s dietetics program, teaches the course. “It’s something that’s unique where you take culture and quantity foods and mesh them together,” Wilmes said. “They get to do things besides just cooking food. They get to learn about a new culture. They get to try different foods. They get to decorate. They kind of get the whole experience.”

Students are divided into management committees responsible for all aspects of the event, including budgeting, marketing, grocery shopping, menu selection, pricing, and decorating. The hands-on experience allows students to develop skills in food preparation, management, teamwork, organization, budgeting, crisis response, and quality management.

Sophie Stieferman, a senior majoring in food and nutrition with an emphasis in dietetics from Jefferson City, Missouri, is part of the team organizing the Filipino-themed night. She plans to apply to a graduate program at Northwest after graduation and aims to become a registered dietitian working in clinical or dialysis settings. “This experience will help me to prepare for my future career since there are some dietitians that work hand-in-hand with the kitchen staff,” Stieferman said. “It's very important for dietitians to guide and advise the kitchen staff to make sure that everything is running smoothly.”

Hannah Thacker, another senior majoring in food and nutrition with a dietetics emphasis from Bennington, Nebraska, is working on the Greek-themed night. She intends to pursue a master’s degree after graduation. Thacker highlighted how the event provides practical experience beyond food service roles. “I am very excited to see everything come together,” Thacker said. “I think it will be a fun night, and I can’t wait to see all of our hard work come into fruition.”