The twists of lemon are elegantly placed in the water glasses. Final touches are put on the tables, festively decorated with pumpkins, indian corn and gourds for the upcoming holidays.

An employee notices that it is already 11:30 a.m. and hurries to turn on the stereo. Soft, comforting music eases out of the speakers and the door to the Chandelier East opens to begin seating its first customers of the day.

The Chandelier East isn’t your average eating establishment. Located in room 143 of Adams Hall, the Chandelier East is a restaurant run completely by students.

The students run the restaurant as part of their requirements for one of their classes, HFR 320, Quantity Food Production. The course is one of many requirements needed to become a registered dietician.

FR 320 is part of a special curriculum called the “plan four program” which has been approved by the American Dietetic Association (ADA).

The goal of HFR 320 is to learn all aspects of quantity food production. Duties include baking, cooking, salad making, serving and cleaning just to name a few. The duties constantly rotate so every student gets a chance to work in each area.

FR 320 instructor Lucy Robinson stressed that the students are not necessarily learning how to cook. They are simply learning all the aspects involved in quantity food production.

Robinson works very closely with fellow HFR instructor Dr. Beverly Benes who taught HFR 320 last year. Benes presently teaches the HFR class that plans the menu for the Chandelier East.

Both Benes and Robinson are registered dieticians and work as what they call “a team” in coordinating and supervising the restaurant.

The restaurant is only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30-12:45. Benes said she would love to be able to keep the restaurant open longer, and include more days. However, enrollment in the corresponding classes determines how often and how long the restaurant can remain open.

The food at the Chandelier East is served buffet style and features foods “that are homemade completely from scratch,” Benes said.

The Chandelier East serves many taste tempting entrees that keep their customers coming back for more. In the past, the restaurant has served such favorites as sweet and sour pork, spinach lasagne, beef stew, stir fry combinations and many scrumptious fish dishes. With delicious dishes like this in the past, who knows what delicacies the future may hold.

The price of a meal at the Chandelier East is $4. However, in addition to your choice of entrees you get to choose from assorted salads, vegetables, potatoes and breads.

The homemade bread at the Chandelier East has become its house specialty. Every buffet they have includes their famous yeast rolls which, although they can be difficult to prepare, are served fresh each day.

Of course the meal wouldn’t be complete without a mouth- watering dessert and a good beverage to wash it down. Both are available and are included in the price of the meal.

Benes said that the restaurant stresses the “good, well-prepared meal that’s also healthy.” She said the goal is to add more vegetables and cut down on fat, sodium and cholesterol while continuing to keep the foods delicious.

In order to keep in tune with this idea Benes said that they often find themselves modifying standard recipes as well as creating their own personal recipe file.

Robinson added that what makes the food at the Chandelier East so unique is that very few of the foods they serve are pre-prepared. Robinson contrasted this with regular food services who “buy quite a lot of their menu frozen and already made.”

According to Benes the food service industry is growing at a phenomenal rate. As a response to the rapidly growing industry, the Chandelier East was created to give its students the “hands-on” experience they will need in the future.

The tremendous efforts put forth by the Chandelier East staff are evident in the amount of business they receive. The restaurant is booked solid nearly every Thursday.

Limited seating is one of the reasons that Robinson says reservations are strongly recommended. She added that reservations are the key to the staff’s advanced planning. Since everything is homemade the staff needs to know how much food to prepare for the day.

Robinson said that the Chandelier East offers the public “fantastic meals at a reasonable price.” Benes added that the meals, including the homemade cookies, are a real comfort when you “miss mom.”

The restaurant does some catering also. However, at the present time, the majority of catering work they do is limited to university functions.

Robinson said she hopes to expand their catering capabilities as the major itself expands. For reservations or additional information on the Chandelier East call 753-1895.