BYU dietetics students are cooking up success at the student-run Pendulum Court Cafe in the Eyring Science Center.
The Pendulum Court Cafe is a restaurant that doubles as an experiential lab for students in the dietetics program. Students spend ten hours a week in the lab and help to provide another lunch option for those on campus. BYU dietetics professor Ana Mitchell has worked with these students in the lab for more than 20 years.
“Our own students have positions as bakers, in salads, as cooks and as managers,” she said.
The cafe has a long history at BYU. The original iteration of the cafe began in 1962 when one of the faculty decided the students needed a lab experience, Mitchell said.
She advertised for the new restaurant by putting fliers on people’s windshields. She paid two adult women $1 an hour to help in the kitchen.
It was originally called the Elizabeth Dining Room, but the name was changed to the Pendulum Court Cafe in 1998 after they held a contest to decide the new name, Mitchell said.
Because they’re only open for nine weeks a semester, Mitchell said they depend on Pendulum Court superfans to pass on the word to other students. The cafe has a very loyal customer base, she said.
“It’s fun to see a clean kitchen every morning turn into good smells, awesome tastes, happy customers. There’s a good energy about it,” Mitchell said.
The Pendulum Court Cafe is open around lunchtime every day of the school week except Friday.
