BY JAMESON ALDEN AND LUNA CROCKETT

Panther’s Den  is cooking up something new. And serving it. The student-run cafe recently opened a storefront at the old bank site in the first floor hallway at Beverly High School.

There, teachers and staff can now purchase gourmet meals cooked by students training for careers in culinary arts. 

The menu theme rotates weekly with a new cuisine theme. Themes so far this year include Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, and Halloween. 

When it comes to deciding on a theme for an upcoming week, Panther’s Den member Abigail Amaroso said, the teacher “will ask for our opinion.” 

The storefront has only recently opened, but Panther’s Den is not exactly new to this food service thing. So, how did everyone get their food before the storefront?

“We used to deliver to teachers,” Amaroso said. 

Before they established themselves at their new spot, Amaroso explained, Panther’s Den schlepped food to teacher’s classrooms. 

The process for preparing the food, however, has stayed the same.

“We work in teams,” Panther’s Den member Anna-Marie Kozlowski said. Then, we “get a recipe and start cooking the meal.” 

Dozens of hungry staff members have been observed lining up at the new storefront to sample their wares in recent weeks.  What has the response been so far?

“The teachers really like it,” said Kozlowski.