- For Whom is the bento for?
- When is it meant to be consumed?
- Where is it meant to be consumed?
- How is it meant to be consumed?
- What balance between nutrition and aesthetics projects the image, feelings, and other intangible aspects transmitted in the preparation of food and how is this achieved?
I believe as a basic rule, that with the more color you have not only is it more beautiful and appetizing but it really is more nutritious as well.
- Red Food: Apples, Grapes
- Orange Food: Carrots
- Yellow Food: Banana
- Green Food: Edamame, Takana (pickled mustard greens, fried in sesame oil with sesame seeds), Spinach, Asparagus
- Black Food: olives
Then there is protein in the sausage, eggs, ham rolls and, soy beans. There are the carbohydrates from the onigiri along with minerals from the nori.
Now that we have a beautiful array of colors and nutritional values in the food, we can see the variety in shapes. I think
anything that takes food to a decorative level is going to be recognized as food that is made with a lot of care. Also, I think most children would be able to see something fun at least in this and even if they are not actively appreciating it, they will mostly likely be excited by the unusual food forms. I think the intangible aspects such as appreciation, love, memory making etc... will happen later when these bentos/picnics become cherished memories of childhood. This is achieved by, in a way, running the show as bento maker. I know from my experience what my great childhood memories are, so taking from what I know, I try to recreate that through this bento in hopes they will come to appreciate this good food and all the other values that it encourages.