MIDDLESEX TWP — Residents can eat German food next week, and help support a high school club at the same time.

The Mars High School German Club is accepting reservations for its “Oktoberfest” fundraiser, which is a dinner at Hoover’s restaurant on Route 8.

Closed to the public on Monday nights, the restaurant will be open from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 12 to serve a classical German dinner to those with reservations.

Shawna Peters, the Mars teacher who leads the club, said those who are interested should make their reservations soon.

“One year, we had 125 people,” Peters said of the 14-year-old event. “There were people standing there with full plates.”

This year, two exchange students from Germany will test the fare.

“I haven’t been (to the restaurant), so I am excited to see, with the other German student, how German food is in America,” said Marlene Rietz, a sophomore who is staying with Jason and Jennifer Safreed during her stint at Mars.

Marlene said she sometimes misses the grainy bread in Germany, compared to the white bread here.

“I like American food, but it’s different,” Marlene said. “I think German food is a little healthier.”

Her favorite German dish is spaetzle, and she pointed out that American pretzels are vastly different from the German variety.

“They’re more crusty, and they taste different,” Marlene said of her country’s pretzels.

Peters said while the Oktoberfest is technically a fundraiser, the club makes little from the event.

“It’s not the reason for the Oktoberfest,” she said. “It’s basically that they try these German foods and have little conversations in German.”

Brady Knox, a Mars sophomore, fondly remembered the sauerbraten and a red cabbage dish from last year’s Oktoberfest.

“There was a lot of good food I’d never had before,” Knox said.

For information on reservations and cost, visit the district’s website, www.marsk12.org.