See hospital meals from around the world

WASHINGTON — A hospital is probably the last place a foodie traveling abroad wants to grab a bite.

After all, hospital food here in the U.S. conjures a stereotype of mystery meat and a starchy, bland side. But around the globe, there's a lot of variety. A scan of hospital food pictures on Flickr and various blogs reveals gastronomic works of art — as well as what looks pretty close to the gruel Oliver Twist must have been fed in his workhouse. (Hat tip to Buzzfeed, which curated a collection of some of these images.)

Even within the same country, what's served from hospital to hospital can differ wildly, according to Aatul Jain, operations manager and executive chef at Saint Clare's Health Systems, a private hospital in New Jersey. Jain, who grew up in India, keeps track of the international hospital food scene, such as it is.

"In India — and in China — it's the same thing. You have these [private] hospitals that are like super, five-star deluxe hotels," he says. "It beats any of the care we get over here. It beats any of the services we get over here in the Western world. "

Meanwhile, a person who isn't wealthy might end up at a public hospital, where offerings are much more modest. So the pictures people post online, like those included in the Buzzfeed list, may not be representative of the food in a given country's hospital system.