Did someone say katsu curry?
Every outlet in South Ken forced to sell katsu in Imperial's newest initiative to boost the student lunch experience
Katsu, a Japanese curry served with rice and panko-coated deep-fried fish, chicken or tofu, will become the new default meal at Imperial College's South Kensington campus, replacing all other options. The decision came out after Kimiko and Kokoro's katsu curry became the highest selling menu items with a margin of 720% compared to the second highest selling item on campus, The katsu coffee.
"Data shows, students want katsu curry, and the demand shows no sign of plateauing", reported Hamin Ju, Head of the Cultural Diversity department at CrabFew, Imperial's catering service. "It started with the closing of Peo Nizza and Chao Hu, due to a lack of demand. The SCR Cafeteria is barely surviving, and we cannot continue to depend on the salad bar as our only source of income." Ju continued. Renovations to convert Peo Nizza and Chao Hu into Katsu Curry Outlets "Katsu Outlet 75" and "Curry Don't Worry", will start the on 14th December and are planned to finish the 32nd, giving a week buffer before term starts again in 2025.
Some students were particularly outraged by the news that the Library Café in its current form would be closing, scared of the possibility of being unable to get their afternoon procrastination caffeine fix. However, the café released an Instagram post on Monday announcing the new caffeine infused katsu curry options, served both hot and iced, served in the familiar takeaway cups. They assured that the option to add oat milk to the new beverage would remain in line with the College's environmental goals.
When Felix asked if the outlets would serve similar items or if students will be given some sort of variety, Rina Taka, assistant to Ju, was quick to state that "providers of produce will significantly vary between Katsu Outlet 7 and Curry Don't Worry since one will use roux from Golden Curry, the other from Kokumaru. The cooking methods will also vary significantly. Inspired by Katsu Outlet 18 and Katsu Outlet 61, Katsu Outlet 75 will cook their jasmin rice for 17 minutes, while Curry Don't Worry, has their recipe set to 17.5 minutes.
"It is about time", avid student Manny Dercadona shared with Felix. "I always have to wait three to four minutes outside Katsu Outlet 23 before I get my food and it's just way too long."
