When Santa arrived at a school hosting children who fled
Japan's nuclear disaster, he brought the usual presents, but he
also bore something a little less ordinary -- gourmet Christmas
dinner.
The "Caravan Bon Appetite" is an initiative of French chefs in
Japan who originally rushed to help provide basic food to survivors
of the huge earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 18,000 and
wrecked whole towns.
"The idea came very quickly after the tragedy, and we started in
April 2011," said Frederic Madelaine, a pastry chef who works in
Tokyo.
"The first week we travelled every day with a different chef to
provide hot meals to hundreds of evacuees. The conditions were
tough, but we had to do something," he said.
Now, 12,000 meals later, the Caravan Bon Appetite continues to make
monthly journeys from Tokyo, last week delivering an extra-special
menu to the schoolchildren in Koriyama -- with a little help from
Father Christmas.
There was also a clown, some jugglers and a group of singers, all
helping to dish out scalloped potatoes, buttered vegetables and
roast meat, followed by a Christmas log dessert topped with a
strawberry.
Around 360 full meals and 200 snacks were prepared in the kitchens
of the French embassy in Tokyo, before being loaded up and driven a
few hours north, to be reheated and served.
"In this school, we were lucky to have ovens and other
quasi-professional equipment, but this is not always the case, for
example when we serve in barracks or gymnasiums," said
Madelaine.
More than just providing hot meals -- facilities and supplies have
long been back to normal in places like Koriyama that were largely
untouched by the earthquake and tsunami -- the Caravan also helps
to introduce a little something of the exotic.
"It's a different flavour for their palates," said chef Christophe
Paucod. "For many it is the first time they have tasted French
cuisine."
Tens of thousands of people were made homeless by the natural
disaster and the nuclear catastrophe that it spawned.
A large tract around Fukushima remains either off-limits or
somewhere people are only permitted to make brief day visits.
Scientists say some areas may have to be abandoned, but politicians
are reluctant to formalise that step.
Other people have fled areas that are officially declared safe,
unwilling to trust government pronouncements.
Many communities are now scattered throughout the northeast, living
with relatives or in rented apartments, while some remain in the
flimsy pre-fabricated homes that were thrown up in the months after
the disaster.
Campaigners say the sense of impermanence and the fracturing of
families and communities has led to a marked increase in medical
problems among evacuees, especially mental illnesses like
depression.
For Patrick Hochster, one of the organisers of the gourmet
delivery, the initiative is part of an effort to help people in
such dire straits.
"It's the third time that we have done it at this time of year
since the disaster," he said.
"It's a special Caravan Bon Appetite because it is Christmas."