A big trolley consisting of all the food and utensils is delivered to each class with exactly the right amount of food for a lunch set per person.
The students don hair nets and gloves and dish out the plates in an orderly fashion until everyone has their tray.
They all sit down together and say 'itadakimasu' (lit. thanks for the life) in unison before eating.
The trays usually consist of a soup, a salad/veggies, rice or bread, a meat, and a carton of milk, usually to the cost of about $3 included in the students school fees.
The students are expected to finish everything. Everything. They get in peer-delivered trouble if there's like a grain of rice leftover.
The lunches themselves? Well, I can honestly say, I don't think up until this point in my life, I've ever eaten bulk-cooked food that tasted that good. I am not sure how they actually do it here, but so far every lunch has been phenomenally delicious. Meats are tender and juicy, the soups are rich, chunky and surprisingly full of meat sometimes too. The bread is fresh and the occasional dessert they throw in is usually tasty too. If not for my tendencies to liking Japanese food in itself, the kyūshoku is a great way to try some foods I haven't tried before and I am looking forward to seeing what each day holds.
Chicken and corn soup and hamburg patty
Teriyaki marinated chillen fillet with chunky beef & vegetable soup.
Egg-in-rissole served with beef, bacon and vegetable stew in a tomato and beef based stock
Chicken Karaage (pron: kar-ah-get.-t) served with Mushroom miso soup and An-bean rice.
Sweet&sour marinated fish fillet, with chicken, potato and vegetable miso based soup.
Peach jelly and a hearty Japanese -style beef curry. Honestly, for as many curries as I've eaten whilst travelling in Japan this rates as one of the highest haha.
Fish medallions with a creamy chicken and vegetable soup.
