For the eighth year in a row, the restaurant staff at Relish in West Oak Lane opened their doors and their kitchen to students in Abington Junior High School’s VIBE and IMAGINE groups for a special etiquette luncheon. The etiquette luncheon has been held annually for more than a decade, and Relish has served as the gracious hosts for the majority of that time. It is always a highly anticipated event for students, and a nice celebration leading up to the holidays.
The goal of the luncheon is to teach the students in seventh through ninth grades appropriate dining etiquette expectations for business meetings— such as how to place your napkin on your lap and the designated use of different formal dining utensils—as well as, concepts related to entrepreneurship and networking skills. Relish, as an independently owned restaurant and jazz café, serves as the perfect backdrop to teach some of these lessons about running a small business. Students also learned about working in the hospitality industry, how to appropriately make reservations at a dining establishment and other best practices as a customer, and appropriate ways to engage in dining conversations.
V.I.B.E., Voices Invoking a Brotherhood of Excellence, is a leadership program for male students across Abington School District, while I.M.A.G.I.N.E., I’m A Girl, Intelligent, Noble, and Educated, is a sister program to V.I.B.E. The members participate in discussion groups, attend events, and have opportunities to be exposed to positive role models and to become ones as well.