Return of the munchy lunch plates

By Ella Wong

If you’ve been eating at the cafeteria for the past few days, you may have noticed a few things.

The freezer is humming with desserts and drinks; the table dividers have been spirited away; and perhaps the biggest change of all—the plates are back, with a plan to dominate lunchtime once more!

Let’s take a closer look.

Rise of the Plates

For the past few months, the cafeteria served food in plastic containers; boxes divided into three compartments. The largest one was for the main part of the lunch; typically a carbohydrate like rice, pasta or potatoes. Another was for the sauce and the toppings, though sometimes the toppings would be placed in the large compartment as well. And the last compartment was reserved for the vegetables, which usually included beans, carrots and cabbage.

The box was covered by a plastic lid to keep the food inside clean. In a way, the lunches haven’t changed at all. They’re still made of the same components; the only difference is the way that they’re served. This sudden change could be a sign that things are returning to normal. Or at least, what was considered normal before Covid-19. 

But there are some disadvantages to serving food on plates.

Once lunchtime swings around, swarms of students rush to the cafeteria; fumbling for their wallets and pressing into each other, backpacks swinging and smashing, as they scramble for food.

It’s chaos.

And in the chaos it’s a little hard to balance your plate. People might accidentally knock over your food, or their bags might brush against it. With boxes you can just hold it tight against you. 

An anonymous Year 7 student stated that they preferred “school lunch in boxes more because it’s more convenient, as the food is covered by a lid”, reducing the risk of spilling your food.

Edward Wong, a Year 6 student, also preferred boxed lunches, because he felt there was more food in the boxes than on the plates. 

This may be because the boxes have some degree of depth to them, so it looks as though there is more food than on a plate. This contributes to a greater feeling of satisfaction when you finish lunch from a box or a bowl compared to lunch from a plate.

However, there are also advantages to serving on a plate.

For instance, I think eating from a plate feels more like you’re eating at a restaurant, while a box feels more like takeaway. I have nothing against takeaway, but I’ve gotten a little too used to it during the past few years; so the feeling of eating in a restaurant (even if I’m not really) is kind of refreshing.

Andrea Chow, a Year 10 student, similarly said that “The lunch boxes are quite convenient, but when it comes to dishes with sauce, the separation of sauce and the meal itself (namely pasta) can be inconvenient.  For lunches served on plates, I feel like they are more hearty. I've been at RC for a long time, so I've always been accustomed to plated lunches and they even remind me of pre-COVID times. For these reasons, I prefer lunches on plates.”

Brendan Lee, who teaches 6BL, commented that this was a good question, and not one he had really thought about. “However,” he says, “I would probably say [I prefer] a plate because it is easier to mix and match your foods when you eat. Eating is a freedom of expression after all - perhaps it is not meant to be compartmentalised!”

In the end, it’s really up to you whether you like plates or boxes more. One thing’s for sure, though: the plates are rising to the throne again. Whether they keep their crown for good, is up to us.

Nostalgic Desserts

If you remember from your primary days, we used to have little white bowls of jiggling jelly and soft sponge cake and plastic cups of juice that I thought were free until I realised our parents paid at the beginning of the year.

Ah, the good old days. 

Well, the jellies and the cakes are back at last! After aestivating (like hibernation, but in the Summer instead of the Winter—yay, new word!) for a few years, the desserts decided to spend their days in the freezer, where it was nice and cool.

So after this long, long aestivation, what do people think? What are their favourite desserts?

An anonymous Year 7 student said that their favourite thing from the freezer was the chocolate milk, because “it tastes good since it has a rich flavour and it gives me energy. Even though there’s a lot of sugar.”

Here’s a tip: if you feel like you need more energy to get through school, maybe eating some more breakfast would help.

Another Year 7 student stated that their favourite dessert was “maybe the frozen pineapple or the jelly”, while an anonymous Year 6 student argued that the jelly wasn’t that good, adding that they (the Year 6 student) “overestimated” its quality.

Even though I didn’t buy dessert from the fridge before Covid (I was still in primary and wasn’t allowed to), seeing it buzzing again—especially with Covid restrictions now easing up—feels like the pandemic is almost over.

Which brings us to the dividers.

Disappearing Dividers

The dividers are gone! Gone! GONE!

They’ve been kidnapped! The only clues we have to follow, detective, are the sticky stains they left behind…

With the dividers gone, the tables suddenly feel a lot more spacious. No more barriers you have to speak around. No more sticking post-its on what looks like hot air. No more squinting through the plastic because it warps your view of the board. 

The dividers are well and truly gone. Without them, eating with friends seems like a more…social activity, even though we’re still keeping the same distance. It feels more together, somehow.

Research (for further reading, click here) suggests that eating together helps us feel more like we belong somewhere, and builds better relationships between people. It can help us connect with each other, reflect on our day, and make our meal more enjoyable. On top of that, if you’re in the habit of eating your food too fast or too slow, seeing how fast other people eat can help you manage your own eating habits. Some people like to sip drinks while waiting for their friends to finish eating; others prefer to wear their masks. And if you see your friends waiting for you a certain way, you’re likely to do the same.

Likewise, dividers have played a role in classrooms. If you’re doing an activity with a partner, for example, it’s much easier to talk and listen to each other without a divider between you.

So, detective, I don’t think the dividers have been kidnapped. Maybe they’ve simply decided to move on.

—

After three years living under with covid, the restrictions are finally starting to ease. 

Aside from plates, freezers, and disappearing dividers, there have also been other changes; such as the lifting of the mask mandate during moderate/strenuous exercise.

Perhaps the next step could be to re-open the noodle bar, and the pizza place. I remember being in lower primary and longing for the day I’d finally get to buy something from there. 

Hopefully that day will come soon! For now, we’ll have to wait and see.