Recommended Foods for High School Cultural Festivals! A Collection of Ideas from Instagrammable Menus to Easy Options
When it comes to running a food stall at a school festival, it’s easy to agonize over what kind of food will draw a crowd.
In this article, we’ll introduce plenty of great food ideas perfect for high school festivals! We’ve picked out not only classic festival favorites, but also options that require minimal prep and eye-catching treats that will shine on Instagram—menus that we especially want high schoolers to try.
Enjoy the school festival to the fullest, including the fun of making everything together with your friends!
Recommended Foods for High School Cultural Festivals! A Collection of Ideas from Instagrammable Dishes to Easy Options (1–10)
Hashimaki OkonomiyakiNEW!
https://www.tiktok.com/@morioskitchen/video/7284913938939055362Easy to eat even while walking! Chopstick-rolled okonomiyaki, perfect for food stalls! Mix okonomiyaki flour, water, eggs, and tiny shrimp to make the batter, then cook it on a griddle in a long oval shape.
Top with shredded cabbage and grilled pork belly, pour a tablespoon of batter over, and flip it.
Once the surface is cooked, flip it back, roll it tightly around chopsticks from one end, and finish with sauce, mayonnaise, and aonori.
By pre-cooking the batter and pork belly, you can almost skip cooking on the day of the event!
Burrito made with cotton candyNEW!
https://www.tiktok.com/@tastemadejapan/video/7041496239002651906Burritos—dishes where thin wheat-flour wraps are rolled around meat and vegetables! They’re tasty and easy to eat, so they’re great for food stalls, too.
Here we’re introducing a burrito-style sweet that uses cotton candy.
Flatten the cotton candy on a sheet of parchment paper to make a “wrap,” then just add ice cream, marshmallows, dried fruit, and mixed chocolates, and roll it up! If you cut it in half to serve, the colorful cross-section looks great in photos, and you can eat it with a spoon as well.
It’s a perfect menu item for summer!
Simple French ToastNEW!
https://www.tiktok.com/@yuuun.s2/video/7284935155213552898Let me show you how to make French toast in the microwave without using a stove.
Mix milk and eggs in a heatproof container.
Add pieces of sliced bread and let them soak, then microwave at 600W for 3 minutes.
Finish with your favorite toppings like honey, and it’s ready! If you want a browned surface, a kitchen torch works well.
With simple ingredients and just a microwave, it’s a safe, easy recipe even for beginners.
If you’re undecided about a food stall menu, give this a try for inspiration!
tofu doughnutNEW!
https://www.tiktok.com/@rako_yarikuri/video/7082349387430546690When you think of donuts, you probably imagine it’s a hassle—mixing and resting the dough, cutting out shapes, then deep-frying.
But with this idea, no cutters needed! You don’t even use oil! Just put three ingredients—pancake mix, silken tofu, and soy milk—into a resealable bag and mix.
Once combined, snip off one corner of the bag and, like piping whipped cream, draw circles onto a sheet of parchment paper.
Then bake at 180°C (356°F) for 15 minutes, and you’re done! It’s an easy, healthy, and delicious menu item that’s perfect for food stalls.
Whole pickled cucumberNEW!
Cucumber on a stick, a common sight at food stalls, is actually easy to make.
First, take a cucumber and peel three strips with a peeler.
Rub it all over with salt, rinse with water, and pat dry with paper towels.
Then soak it for half a day in a seasoning mixture made by combining shiro-dashi, salt, and chili peppers.
After marinating, the cucumbers become soft and it can be hard to insert chopsticks, so it helps to first run a bamboo skewer through to make a path, then insert the chopsticks.
corn dog
“American dog” is a Japanese-made English term; in the United States it’s called a corn dog.
That’s because, unlike Japan’s wheat-flour-based batter, Americans use cornmeal in the batter.
I’d love to try a cornmeal-style American dog, too.
The aroma of the frying oil really whets the appetite—if you’re on the fence, an American dog is exactly what I recommend! It’s just a matter of coating a fish sausage in batter and deep-frying it, so even beginners can handle it.
And if you swap the fish sausage for cheese, you can make a cheese dog.
tapioca drink
How about making tapioca drinks with that irresistibly chewy texture? If you prepare a large batch of tapioca pearls in advance, all you need to do later is pour the ordered drink over them.
They’re easy to make, offer quick turnover, and are popular among younger generations—perfect for a school festival booth.
This time we’ll use black tapioca pearls.
They need to be soaked in water for 8–10 hours, so be sure to prep with plenty of time.
After soaking, add sugar to taste, then boil them until they reach your preferred firmness.
After cooling them in cold water, wrap single servings in plastic wrap for convenient use later.
Give it a try and create your own original tapioca drinks!