More than a country on the menu
Source A: A new theme for school lunches — an original canteen proposal
The canteen proposes occasional themed lunch days featuring dishes associated with different places. The ordinary menu can become familiar, and a focused event might encourage pupils to try an option they usually overlook. Staff would choose a manageable number of recipes, explain the ingredients and keep familiar alternatives available. Nobody would be required to eat an unfamiliar dish to demonstrate enthusiasm.
The theme could give pupils something to discuss beyond whether they liked the meal. A display might explain why a dish was chosen, how the recipe was adapted for our kitchen and which ingredients contribute to its character. We would welcome suggestions from families, while recognising that no single household can speak for everybody connected with a place. The aim is curiosity, not an examination of who knows the correct answer about a country's food.
The kitchen also needs a practical plan. Ingredients, preparation time and serving arrangements affect what can be offered. A recipe made for one family may not transfer directly into a lunchtime service for many pupils. We should be open about necessary changes rather than present a school version as an exact reproduction of every home meal. Staff would need time to test it before making promises on a poster.
We suggest beginning with a small event and asking pupils and catering staff how it worked. A popular first day would not prove that every future theme will succeed, but it could reveal useful questions about information, choice and preparation. Please help us design an approach which makes lunchtime more interesting without leaving the kitchen responsible for representing an entire place through three trays of food. Feedback should include pupils who kept their usual choice, not only enthusiastic tasters.
Source B: A label can be too large for a plate — an original pupil response
I would enjoy trying different meals at school. My hesitation concerns calling one lunch a country's day. That label can make a few selected dishes appear to stand for everyone who lives there or has family connections with it. Food changes between regions, households and occasions. A clear explanation of a particular recipe could invite more curiosity than a large flag beside an apparently complete answer.
Family contributions could help, but the invitation needs care. A pupil should not suddenly become the classroom authority because their surname or family history seems to match the poster. They may know a recipe, dislike it, never have eaten it or simply prefer not to discuss their home life over lunch. Asking for volunteers is different from deciding in advance who should explain the food to everybody else.
I also want the information to distinguish ingredients from decoration. An attractive display is not enough if pupils cannot discover what a dish contains or whether it suits their needs. Familiar alternatives should remain ordinary choices, rather than food reserved for people judged unwilling to participate. Trying something is more enjoyable when declining it does not require a speech.
Could we organise the event around named dishes and their stories instead of pretending to summarise whole countries? Explain who suggested a recipe, with their agreement, and how the kitchen adapted it. Invite different accounts where people know different versions. The result might be less simple to fit on a poster, but more interesting to talk about. A small lunch can open a question. It does not have to carry a whole place inside its name.
Write a report for the canteen committee evaluating the themed-lunch proposal and recommending how it should be organised.
Use your own words and base your response on both sources. In your response:
Write about 250 to 350 words. Up to 10 marks are available for reading and up to 25 marks for writing.
60 exam-style questions on CIE IGCSE English Language 5.2.3 Question 1(b) directed writing task. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.