The last school lunch I ate was pasta Portofino, a pesto sauce made with sundried tomatoes - and that was just for starters. 

This was accompanied by wholegrain rolls, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and followed by insalata caprese made with mozzarella and fresh tomatoes. 

A three-course meal is par for the course here in Italy and risottos, pesto, bresaola, prosciutto and brie regularly find their way on to the school lunch menu.

This is one of the hidden perks of international teaching - lunches are often freshly prepared, tasty and based on local cuisine. 

Dining delights at international schools

OK, maybe it’s no surprise that Italy provides extraordinary school lunches - it’s famed worldwide for its fabulous cuisine.

But, in my international teaching experience, the same holds true for staff meals the world over. 

Fancy freshly baked empanadas (meat pasties) with dipping sauce? Or some warm cheese bread cooked in the on-site kitchen? Perhaps it is a bit chilly in the rainy season so you would like to warm up with sancocho - a chicken, potato and sweetcorn stew?

These delicious meals, along with rice, beans, tamales and plantain fritters, can all be found in schools in Colombia, where I had the pleasure to teach for four years. 

You can also accompany your meal with fresh juice made from tropical fruits - the passion fruit is particularly tasty, but there is guava or soursop, if you are feeling adventurous.

You can eat the avocados straight from the branches; they are so creamy and rich that when they fall on to the pavement and break open, they become a slipping hazard.

Fresh ice creams

In short, I had it made - gastronomically speaking - and so leaving that school for one in Ecuador was a tough decision. But I need not have worried.

It turned out the school kitchen at my new setting was managed by a Michelin-starred chef who had tired of using her talents on expensive clients and instead wanted to feed teachers and pupils.

I couldn’t believe my luck.

Each day, there was a fish dish, something with chicken, quiche, a beef or pork dish (even a lamb crown roast,) as well as options for vegetarians and vegans - and these options were plentiful, too. 

Three or four side vegetables, grains, several salad options and homemade potato wedges as accompaniments. 

On Fridays, you can add to the menu ceviche and fresh ice cream in tropical flavours.

Whether it is freshly made hummus and grilled flatbread in Dubai, bowls of noodles in Thailand, spicy lentil curries in India or kimbap (a near cousin of sushi) in Korea, many international teachers get to enjoy lunches that the world’s best-paid business executives would envy.

So if you’re ever tempted by international teaching, make sure you add school lunches to the pros column.

Bon appetit.

Jennie Devine is the principal of St Louis International School in Milan, Italy