Chefs prepare "bento" boxed meals for medical workers battling the new coronavirus pandemic. (Ryo Kato)

Photo/Illutration Chefs throw their hearts into preparing free boxed meals to show their appreciation to medical workers battling the coronavirus outbreak. (Ryo Kato)

The owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant teamed with other chefs of repute in Tokyo to provide free “bento” boxed lunches to medical workers battling the new coronavirus pandemic.

The Smile Food Project is spearheaded by Shinsuke Ishii, 44, who operates the highly regarded Sincere restaurant in the capital’s Shibuya Ward.

After learning in early April that Japanese chefs provided meals to a medical institution in France, Ishii took to social media to call on fellow culinary artists to join the cause.

In only a matter of days, nine people signed up, including entrepreneur Satoru Ishida, 53, who manages restaurants and other establishments in Tokyo.

A set of basic principles was established. These included serving bento meals, maintaining social distancing as much as possible while performing tasks in and outside the kitchen and meeting requests from medical institutions with regard to content and time of delivery.

As a starter, the chefs provided 100 meals to a Tokyo hospital on April 13.

On April 15, eight members gathered at Ishida’s kitchen in Tokyo’s Koto Ward to cook a bento meal with an ethnic twist. The main dish was mint-flavored deep-fried spring rolls with fillings kneaded with sakura shrimps. The bento was served with a yoghurt salad boasting vegetables in seasonal colors from the provinces.

"I wanted to lift their spirits even if only slightly, so I cooked a dish whose aroma would make them feel energetic," said Yuya Okuda, 41, who was in charge of the main dish.

A total of 120 bento boxed lunches were delivered to the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Medical Hospital.

“Our front-line workers are burning out,” said Katsuhiro Shimizu, head of the novel coronavirus response section at the hospital. “We appreciate (the bento) as we have been eating just to fill our stomachs. We can go on again after this meal.”

For Ishii, the project is more than a labor of love.

“We continue to put our hearts into making each meal for medical workers who have been battling to save lives,” he said.

The chefs plan to provide bento meals upon request from government-designated medical institutions for infectious diseases and other health organizations that are battling the coronavirus outbreak in Tokyo.

For inquiries (in Japanese), contact Hiroko Sasaki, a member of the secretariat for the project, at (h.sasaki@chefsfortheblue.jp).