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On the Menu at The Hilltopper Restaurant

February 19, 2014

The juniors and seniors at St. Johnsbury Academy learn chemistry, ecology, math, art, business, customer service, and teambuilding--all in their chef whites! Chef David Hale takes the students through every aspect of running a restaurant, from prep and baking to budgeting and waiting tables. The Hilltopper Restaurant is the students main classroom and every year it progresses from a diner theme, where the students learn and serve the basics, to an upscale restaurant with a student-designed, fine dining menu. “Our students have diverse backgrounds and perceptions of life, but over the two of years, they really pull together and grow as professionals and people,” remarks Chef Hale on his pupils.

What’s hot on the menu at The Hilltopper?
The extra indulgent, #30 Burger.

Boyden beef, Vermont Smoke and Cure bacon, Cabot cheddar, local onions and a Pete and Gerry’s egg all comprise the current top seller on the students classic menu. Those looking for a more exotic culinary adventure might be enticed by options like the Barcelona Braised Rabbit Stew found on their Mediterranean menu. The students work with local ingredients, and one of Chef Hale’s favorite lessons is introducing them to Vermont blue cheese. Hale says, “The students are always blown away by the Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Blue: first, how it looks before we cut into it and then once they taste it. For most of my students it is the first time they have ever had a blue cheese-might as well start them with the best, right?”

You can dine at the Hilltopper Restaurant in downtown St. Johnsbury Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 11:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. during the school calendar.

 

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