NORWICH — Last Thursday, Laura Szczygiel, culinary instructor for Norwich Free Academy (NFA), was “a little nervous,” but “feeling good.”

“We’ve got a good group of students,” she said.

NFA’s Brickview Inn opened for its first day of service for this school year. Brickview has been operating at NFA since 1990. The restaurant has moved more than once, but is currently in the basement of the Cranston Building.

According to NFA’s website, Brickview is a student-managed restaurant that gives students the opportunity to plan the menu, order food and cook and serve the dishes.

On the first day, students made Polish food, including bigos (a hunter’s stew), pierogis and paczki. Szczygiel said that the pierogi dough was her grandmother’s recipe.

However, the students aren’t limited to one style of cooking.

“In general, we like to make all kinds of stuff,” she said. “Pastas, Asian food; anything they really want is what we try to make.”

However, NFA isn’t the only school in town with a culinary program. Norwich Technical High School has its public dining room, which has been open for 12 years. It started for the year back in September.

On Thursday, the students were preparing a meal for a catered event, featuring sole francese, pasta primavera and minestrone.

Jason Bentley, the culinary department head for Norwich Tech, keeps his students busy.

“The kids are moving the moment they get in,” he said.

In terms of the student experience, there are similarities between the two programs, such as students being able to take on multiple roles throughout their time in the restaurant, cooking one day and serving the next. Also, both programs have classroom portions for all four years, and students go on relevant field trips.

However, there are differences. One is how the classes work. Sarah Ramos, a culinary instructor for Norwich Tech, said her students will be in the public dining room for two weeks, and then take traditional classes for two weeks.

As for NFA, Szczygiel said the culinary program is an elective, rather than a concentrate, so the students are only in class an hour a day. Each day, a different group of students run the Brickview, so they prep the meals before the day they cook.

Another important difference is that only juniors and seniors get to work Brickview, whereas Norwich Tech’s dining room is run by all four grades, with seniors working with freshmen, and juniors with sophomores.

Ramos went through NFA’s culinary program when she was in high school. She prefers Norwich Tech’s arrangement.

“Our kids are in here all day long,” she said. “They’re certified by the time they leave.”

Even though students cook in these restaurants, they are not allowed to serve the food to their peers. This is because NFA and Norwich Tech are both public schools, and Bentley said there are restrictions placed on serving food to students in public schools due to the National School Lunch Program.

“They all make this really nice food,“ he said. “And then they go out and eat school lunch.”

Both restaurants are open to the public, but they mostly serve the faculty and staff at their respective schools. Szczygiel wants Brickview to be recognized by the community.

“The kids work really hard [and] they put out a great product,” she said.

Bentley, who has been at Norwich Tech for seven years, said that he had only learned of Brickview about a year ago. Similarly to Szczygiel, he said that Norwich Tech’s public dining room should be better known, saying “it’s a hidden gem.”

Christopher Gill, a junior, is one of Norwich Tech’s students. He became interested in cooking because of his grandma. Since starting at Norwich Tech and getting a job at a local restaurant, Gill got a “deeper love” for cooking.

After graduating, Gill wants to go to culinary school, or join the Coast Guard as a culinary specialist. He said Norwich Tech’s culinary program is the best shop in the school.

“I think they have the best teachers,” he said. “I love everything about it.”

Brickview’s first customer this year was Maria Vicente, mother of Mike Reynosa, one of the Brickview students. That day, she ate her first bite of Brickview food, being a slice of cheesecake.

Vicente recommends the restaurant. She said that the public should come and support the students.

“It’s really good, and the syrup is really delicious,” she said about the cheesecake and its topping.

Reynosa, a senior, said it was interesting that his mother was the first customer. He got into cooking when he started a NFA, and stayed in the program all four years.

“It’s a class where we can be creative and put down what we want for our own menu,” he said.

Reynosa wants to become a chef after he graduates.

Szczygiel wants her students to leave NFA ready to work in the culinary industry, but also liking what they do.

“I’m just hoping they get a lot of enjoyment out of it,” she said.