Cookeville High Culinary Class Partners With Non-Profit Coffee Shop

A downtown Cookeville coffee shop will now begin serving options from the Cookeville High School Culinary Department.

The collaboration will showcase food created by students including breakfast and lunch options. Exceptional Bean General Manager Michaël England said the collaboration came at a great time as his restaurant did not have the ability to expand its kitchen and outsourcing options fell through.

“As we were scrambling everyone kept coming up with ideas and it just seemed like we hit dead end, after dead end, after dead end,” England said. “And then Blake Sheerer, he got in touch with Faith and I think they started a conversation about how they would love to help the Exceptional Bean because they knew what we did.”

England said students began with products like chicken wraps and breakfast muffins. The Exceptional Bean gives individuals with disabilities a place to work and learn skills.

England said he has been friends with Cookeville’s Culinary Instructor Faith Johnson since the two attended college together at Tennessee Tech. England said that he heard that Johnson’s students were also excited to contribute to the Exceptional Bean.

“We’re starting out small we wanted to make sure this was gonna work logistically for both sides,” England said. “But from what Faith has told me the culinary arts class is very advanced. These folks have catered large events and so I was surprised and impressed.

England said he’s been happy with how smooth of a transition the partnership has been thus far.