WYLIE ISD

by Ian Halperin

Wylie ISD Students Create Delicious Homework

Need some extra treats for your family and friends during the upcoming holiday season? The 544 Café Bakeshop is a full-service bakery operated by Wylie ISD culinary students and offers several dessert favorites including handdecorated cookies and homemade pies. All items are made fresh at the district kitchen located in The 544 Café adjacent to Wylie High School.

“We started baking cookies and pies as a way to get more students involved and to help raise funds for scholarships,” says Chef Emily Guynes, Wylie ISD culinary arts teacher. “We received such positive feedback from the community that we have expanded our menu.”

For the past several years the bakeshop has offered cookies and pies for holidays and special events like graduation. The current menu now includes muffins, two sizes of cookies, bar cookies (brownies, blondies,s’more bars, lemon bars, and other seasonal favorites), pies, cheesecakes, sheet cakes, and layer cakes.

Some items, like cookies and pastries, are prepared as part of the baking practicum class and are available during normal restaurant hours but most of the items are made fresh as customers place their orders.

“The items available each day in the café are based on what the students are learning to prepare in the classroom,” adds Guynes. “You get to eat their homework.”

The full menu is available online: www.wylieisd.net/ Page/15110

Special events like holiday cookies are posted on The 544 Café’s Facebook page and generally require preordering.

Because students do the baking and decorating, there are some guidelines for ordering:

• Please plan orders a minimum of one week in advance, not including school holidays.

• Pickup for orders will be in The 544 Cafe at Wylie High School, Tuesday-Friday between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.

• Payment is due at pickup. The 544 Cafe accepts cash and credit cards.

• Due to the school schedule, we have a limited number of orders we can complete each week.

• We may not be able to recreate exact decorations on orders. We will happily work with you to create a design that our employees can achieve.

• Please note we are not able to guarantee a nut, dairy, egg or gluten-free environment.

Money raised from the sales of these items goes toward the baking class, cooking contest entry fees, scholarships, and ingredients for future recipes.

The kitchen and prep areas are run like a commercial facility. All students working in The 544 Cafe and the bakery have at least one year of safety and sanitation training and must have a valid Texas Food Handler's Certification. In addition, all food is prepared under the direct supervision of a Chef Instructor or Restaurant Manager who all hold a Texas Food Manager Certification. The café is visited twice a year by the Wylie Health Department and must pass inspection like any other restaurant. •

Photos by Ian Halperin.

Wylie ISD culinary students prepare homemade holiday baked goods for customers to preorder.