Recommended foods for a high school cultural festival: from Instagrammable items to easy, casual bites.
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!
- Festival booth menu items that can be served without cooking and without using fire
- Instagrammable cultural festival foods: featuring trendy sweets and Korean eats
- Roundup of classic and popular festival foods, plus trending menu items
- Summary of unusual foods we’d like to offer at the school festival’s food stall
- A catalog of recommended festival booths for school culture festivals, with ideas that will shine on social media.
- Recommended for school cultural festivals! Stall ideas that let you enjoy a traditional fair atmosphere
- [For High School Students] A roundup of recommended attractions for the school festival
- Attraction Ideas for School Festivals That Only High Schoolers Can Pull Off?
- Games that rival street festivals and variety shows!? Crowd-pleasers for school cultural festivals
- Instagram-worthy ideas for a high school cultural festival: photo spots everyone will love
- [Cultural Festival / School Festival Theme] Carefully Selected High-Impact Recommended Phrases!
- [Moe Moe Kyun!] Maid Café Ideas for the School Cultural Festival
- Stylish, cute, and attention-grabbing! Signboard ideas that will stand out at school festivals and culture festivals
Recommended foods for a high school cultural festival: from Instagrammable items to easy bites (1–10)
shaved ice
When it’s hot, you can’t help but crave something cold, right? If your school festival is held from early summer to early autumn, shaved ice could be a surefire winner! Even serving regular shaved ice would probably make you a very popular booth, but how about putting in a bit of extra effort to offer truly exceptional shaved ice? Comprehensive rental shops often have machines that can make authentic, fluffy shaved ice.
Bring that shop-quality fluffiness to liven up your festival! Taiwanese-style shaved ice, which is trending now, and Korean-style shaved ice with lots of toppings are also highly recommended!
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!
Churros
Churros are a type of snack sold at places like theme parks and movie theaters.
The ones sold at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea are especially famous, and it even seems like their popularity grew from there.
Being able to hold them in your hand and eat while walking is a key point—the casual convenience really adds to the fun atmosphere.
You can buy ones that are ready to finish by simply frying, or you can enjoy making artisanal churros from the dough.
Disney’s official recipe has also been published, so using that as a reference is recommended.
Recommended foods for a high school cultural festival: from Instagrammable items to easy bites (11–20)
warabi mochi (bracken-starch jelly dessert)
Cold treats are hugely popular in warm and hot seasons.
How about warabi mochi as a slightly unusual option that’s neither shaved ice nor ice cream? Basically, warabi mochi is made just by heating warabi starch, sugar, and water—simple enough even for people who don’t usually cook.
If you sell it in cups, it’s great for eating on the go.
Creating a warabi mochi drink in the style of bubble tea could also become a hit.
Try the trendy “drinkable warabi mochi,” too.
Selling it as a set with chilled, robust tea might be a great idea!
Crepe
In Harajuku, there are lots of crepe shops lined up, and each one really has its own unique selling point.
There are chic, upscale, grown-up crepes; fluffy crepes that pride themselves on their cream; fruit crepes that go all-in on the fruit, and so on.
If you’re going to open a shop, it seems smart to start by nailing down your concept.
For a cultural festival or school festival staple, maybe the theme would be “a bit smaller, cheap, and easy to eat.” You could put them in cups or offer free toppings—brainstorm ideas that will draw a crowd together with your classmates.
karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken)
With local-style karaage from places like Oita and Niigata evolving from a boom into a staple, many of you probably have your own favorite flavors.
Whether it’s fail-safe tatsuta-age style, classic soy sauce, or Taiwanese-style with a spicy kick, it’s fun for the whole class to come up with seasonings together.
Try taking inspiration from famous chefs’ recipes and popular shops’ flavorings you can find on websites and video platforms.
yakisoba (fried noodles)
When it comes to festival food stalls, yakisoba is a classic, right? Many of you have probably made it for a school festival.
If you’re aiming to cook delicious yakisoba with a touch of originality that stands out from the rest, this is a must-see! The key is to use store-bought bagged noodles and thinly sliced shabu-shabu pork.
If you want the vegetables to stay crisp, the basic rule is to stir-fry the harder ones first.
Personally, I find that referring to a professional recipe really elevates the flavor, so be sure to check out the videos for guidance!
