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With snow covered windows, sparkly garland draping the doorway, a Christmas tree complete with presents around it and high school students in elf costumes serving breakfast, the Woodland cafeteria could have easily been mistaken for Santa’s workshop on the morning of December 1st.
The aroma of maple syrup and coffee filled the air, as young children and their parents munched on homemade pancakes and colored pages from holiday coloring books.
All this Christmas cheer was brought to Woodland by the Culinary Department.
After receiving a grant from the Board of Education, chef Sandra Heinz and her culinary students decided to hold a free Pancake Breakfast with Santa for children 12 and under.
“I asked my students what they wanted to do with the funding,” Heinz said. “They decided on [Breakfast with Santa] and I thought it was a great idea.”
Arriving at 7 a.m., culinary students prepared pancakes and various breakfast meats to serve to families in the Prospect and Beacon Falls community. The culinary staff also decorated the cafeteria and dressed up in Christmas-themed costumes to serve the children.
After being served a hearty, holiday breakfast, children were able to color, have their face painted by an elf and even have their picture taken with Santa; seniors Kenny Koch and Tristan Anderson took shifts as St. Nick for the morning.
“I think the breakfast was a great way to reach out to the community during the holiday season,” said senior Maria Carranza. “And I think we all had a lot of fun doing it.”
Heinz said that next year she hopes that Culinary Students will take the initiative to expand Breakfast with Santa.
“I’m hoping next year that someone picks it up as a senior project,” said Heinz. Heinz also said that she would like to charge a small fee for the breakfast next year and donate the funds to a charity like Toys for Tots.
“This year was kind of a test run to see how the community responded to the idea,” said Heinz. “Hopefully next year we can gather an even bigger crowd for a good cause.”
