Viking Grind Brews Success at Bertrand School

Students in Bertrand High School’s culinary arts classes are learning valuable job skills as they brew delicious lattes and specialty drinks in a new school business called Viking Grind.

It’s all part of a hands-on experience created by teacher Shelby Forster to help students learn business and job skills, along with cooking skills.

Growing up, Forster said cooking was a big part of her life. Her family operated a catering business when she was young. In high school, she worked at Shirley K’s Coffee Shop in Cambridge, where she learned more about business and how to craft specialty drinks.

Forster has been teaching in Bertrand for four years in various roles, including special education. She was searching for meaningful ways to blend cooking skills with job training when she thought of the coffee shop idea.

The Viking Grind, paired with the slogan “Fuel Your Voyage,” aligns well with the Bertrand school’s focus on Career Technical Education (CTE).

Viking Grind debuted at the Bertrand Craft Fair in October and has served at other community events, including Hollidazzle and sporting events. It’s also open for students after school on Wednesdays and serves drinks to teachers throughout the week. Forster is entertaining the idea of a drive-thru at the school.

The business serves coffee, shakes and smoothies. Their most popular drink has been Caramel Crusade Latte, served hot, iced or blended; and the Vanilla Voyage. For Christmas, students enjoyed inventing new drinks and naming them – like Santa Cookie Cup and Merry Mints peppermint mocha.

Their best seller has been smoothies, which are made from fruit puree and ice. As of December, they had sold over 300 smoothies with strawberry being the most popular flavor.

Profits from Viking Grind are returned to the culinary arts program to purchase ingredients and supplies. For now, students volunteer their time to “work” at the business, but Forster is hopeful that students would someday be paid for their work or be able to earn scholarships.

Forster said the program is helping students build real customer service skills, everything from difficult conversations when a drink isn’t quite right to greeting customers confidently. They’re also learning the business side, such as how to make drinks more efficiently and how to decide which products to keep based on sales data.

“A lot of students have never had a job,” Forster said. “This gives them that experience. They are navigating conversations, learning how to manage time and work as a team.”

Anyone interested in securing the Viking Grind for an event, please contact Forster at the Bertrand school at (308) 472-3427 or email Forster at shelby.forster@bertrandvikings.org.

From the PCDC Business Journal, Winter 2026