In order to give you a taste of prison life, restauranters in Japan created the 'Prison Cafeteria.' The only food served at the cafeteria is what real prisoners would eat. Based off grub from the Abashirishi prison, the food at Prison Cafeteria uses genuine recipes. The only exception is the addition of miso soup, which replaces the tea served in prison.
The restaurant is nested in Abashiri, Hokkaido and is open to everyone. Full meal sets are offered which mimic an entire prisoner lunch. Surprisingly, the meals look pretty good. One set comes with rice, fried mackerel pike, radish, a noodle salad and miso soup.
Each meal was also constructed to be nutritious. Since the Japanase government has on obligation to keep its prisoners healthy, the meals contain dietary fibers and necessary daily nutrients.
Prison-Mimicking Meals
The 'Prison Cafeteria' Serves Up Food That Inmates Eat Every Day
Trend Themes
1. Authentic Prison Meals - Opportunities for creating more authentic prison meals for institutional foodservice operations.
2. Prison Experience Restaurants - Opportunities for creating unique dining experiences for adventurous diners, themed like prison cafeterias and offering prison meals from different countries.
3. Incarceration Influences - Opportunities for exploring how incarceration and prison culture can influence food trends and culinary innovations.
Industry Implications
1. Foodservice - Foodservice providers can explore opportunities for offering more authentic prison meals and creating unique dining experiences based around the theme of prison culture.
2. Hospitality - Hotels and resorts can explore opportunities for offering guests unique dining experiences based around the theme of prison culture, creating novel revenue streams and entertainment options that appeal to specialized audiences.
3. Culinary Education - Culinary educators can explore opportunities for exposing students to prison culinary traditions, potentially leading to innovations in institutional cooking and future culinary trends.