Jeff,
Interesting prompt. Food and visuals just go together, especially on a menu. If I were your student, in response to your prompt, first, I would want to have fun designing a food item that reflected my choice of diet by finding online and/or developing a visual+description that could be displayed in a "ready-to-use in a restaurant" menu. Second, I would need to research and write about why I chose this food item. This would appeal to the "foodie" in me first and the "student" in me second: a good compromise to get me researching and writing.
When I look at a menu in a restaurant, the first things I see are the pictures; then, I read the description of ingredients. With so many people now being dairy and gluten-free, written info is critical independent of which diet you choose.
Out of confusion comes clarity.
Leonne