The video showcases the preparation of school lunches, known as Kyushoku, in Japan. The narrator visits the Musashino City School Lunch and Dietary Education Promotion Foundation, a massive kitchen that produces food for 18 schools and 2,700 students. The kitchen follows strict government sanitary guidelines and uses local ingredients to prepare a balanced and varied menu planned by a certified nutritionist.
The video takes the viewer through the food preparation process, from washing and cutting vegetables to cooking rice, making dashi (a traditional Japanese broth), and grilling fish. The kitchen staff works efficiently to prepare a different menu every day, with one to two new menu items introduced every month.
The narrator notes that the Japanese government supports the school lunch system, with parents paying a monthly fee of around 4,300 to 4,900 yen (approximately $33 to $38 USD). The video concludes with the narrator trying a school lunch and expressing amazement at the quality and taste of the food.
1. Japanese school food is called kyushoku.
2. Kyushoku is served in all Japanese elementary schools and most junior high schools.
3. Kyushoku is known for its well-balanced and varied menus, all planned by a certified nutritionist.
4. The Musashino City School Lunch and Dietary Education Promotion Foundation services 18 schools with 181 staff.
5. The kitchen produces food for eight different schools every day.
6. Deliveries to the kitchen start at 7:30 a.m.
7. Food must be prepared, cooked, and shipped out before lunchtime for 2,700 students.
8. Workers use a special docking room to receive food, with only one door opened at a time to minimize outside debris.
9. Workers thoroughly inspect the food by taking its temperature and following strict government sanitary guidelines.
10. Vegetables are sourced from local farmers to provide fresh produce.
11. The kitchen uses specialized machines to wash vegetables, but most are prepared by hand.
12. Japan has a food education system, with lunchtime considered part of this system.
13. The system aims to teach children good eating habits and what they should eat outside of school, regardless of family income.
14. Every student is guaranteed one healthy and balanced meal per day.
15. The kitchen cooks rice in giant rice cookers, each capable of cooking up to 700 servings at a time.
16. Rice is cooked with a specific process to maintain a high temperature.
17. The kitchen prepares dashi for the soup called tonjiri, using kombu and katsuobushi.
18. Tonjiri is a traditional Japanese soup with vegetables, tofu, and pork.
19. The kitchen creates one to two new menu items every month to prevent children from getting tired of the food.
20. The most popular dish among school kids is curry rice.
21. Metal containers used to transfer food are thick, keeping the food hot when served to children at school.
22. The Japanese government supports the food education system.
23. The average monthly school lunch fee paid by parents is about 4,300 yen at elementary schools and 4,900 yen at junior high schools.
24. The monthly school lunch fee is equivalent to about $33 to $38 USD.