Airlines offer increasingly extravagant food as competition to provide the best heats up
WITH competition in the skies fiercer than ever, airlines are increasingly upping the ante when it comes to food served on-board.
FOOD on planes has always had a bad rap. Soggy, reheated frozen meals were the norm for way too long. But with competition in the skies fiercer than ever, airlines are increasingly upping the ante when it comes to food served on-board with a new focus on using fresh, seasonal local produce, showcasing local ingredients before a traveller even arrives at their destination.
Many recruit celebrity chefs to design their business class menus.
Virgin Australia has Luke Mangan, Qantas has Neil Perry. Matt Moran is part of Singapore Airlines’ culinary panel, while Malaysian Airlines recently recruited former MasterChef contestant and TV presenter Poh Ling Yeow to create a limited time only signature dish for their flights.
There’s a lot to consider when preparing meals for planes, and airlines have entire teams working year-round to develop dishes and keep menus fresh.
They also have to be culturally sensitive. For example, Qantas removed pork on flights to Europe when it inked a codeshare agreement with Middle Eastern airline Emirates and began flying via Dubai because it is strictly forbidden in Islam, as it had previously done on the route to Jakarta, Indonesia. It also does not use alcohol in meals served en route.
It’s also important to consider the clientele on each leg, as one Qantas flight attendant discovered when they offered rose on a flight from Western Australia and was promptly informed by a miner: “Mate, I don’t drink pink.”
“My experience with airline food in the past is that it’s always been a bit heavy and stodgy and overworked,” Mangan says. “What we’re trying to achieve is the lightening of the food.”
Some airlines spend a lot of time doing research about how food tastes different at 35,000ft.
“You lose about 30 per cent of your tastebuds in the air,” Mangan says. “I try to make up for that, not through more salt, but through more vinegar in salad dressing, for example, or more fragrant spices with fish or chicken dishes.”
Perry says passengers expect fresh, contemporary dishes, with the chicken schnitzel sandwich the most popular in business class and a steak sandwich preferred in first class.
“Customers want the flexibility to dine when they want and mix and match the menu options,” he says.
Qantas
Qantas aims to showcase Australian products to the world, with a focus on seasonal produce wherever possible. It has boosted the size of meals in international economy by 50 per cent and doubled the number of choices from two to four. It is also now offering Wagyu beef when you order online and has introduced bread rolls infused with butter to save on packaging.
Tim Tam biscuits are also available as snacks in economy. Rockpool chef Neil Perry works with a team of chefs to design the menus for business and first class, which change every season. It reintroduced caviar, the tiny black Yasa farmed in Abu Dhabi, in first class on flights out of Australia this month, and offers seasonal dishes in addition to what is on the menu, such as Fraser Isle spanner crab and Cape Grim beef. It also serves Taittinger champagne on board.
Virgin Australia
Mangan is constantly on the lookout for local producers he can work with and uses Australian wines where possible. The economy offering is all about providing fresh, simple options to suit the time of day. Meals in domestic economy include everything from toasted sandwiches to Moroccan chicken with pearl couscous, while long-haul flights might include a smoked salmon and potato salad for a starter, braised beef in red wine sauce with mashed potato, broccoli and carrots for main and a white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake for dessert. Mangan’s meals in international business class can include barramundi fillet with bok choy, ginger, soy and sesame dressing; Tasmanian salmon fillet with potato, spinach, horseradish yoghurt and herbs, or lamb cutlets on baba ganoush, coriander and parsley tabouleh with pomegranate and pistachio. In December, Virgin introduced The Pantry in business class, where passengers can have snacks such as sushi and finger sandwiches, anytime throughout their flight. The number of business class menu options also rose from two to three. It also introduced new sandwich and wrap options in economy, including a chicken Waldorf sandwich on multigrain bread and a spicy falafel and hummus wrap.
Garuda Indonesia
After revamping its first and business class menus over the past two years, Indonesia’s national carrier has switched its focus to economy. It offers local dishes such as nasi goreng with chicken sambal as well as other Asian and western meals. It is also one of the few airlines in the world to serve soup in flight, including sop buntut (an Indonesian spiced oxtail soup) and semur daging (a braised beef stew in sweet soy). The airline scoured five-star hotels around the world to recruit Indonesian chefs, finding more than 120 working in top hotels in Dubai alone.
British Airways
The British flag carrier serves modern British cuisine, ethically sourced from local suppliers. For example the beef used in first class is grass-fed and sourced from along the Murrumbidgee River in NSW’s Riverina District, salmon is sourced from Tasmania and chicken is sourced from Mangrove Mountain in Cordina, near Gosford.
Singapore Airlines
Meals are designed by an international culinary panel made up of nine award-winning chefs, including Australia’s Matt Moran, French master chef Georges Blanc and Singapore’s Sam Leong. Economy class passengers are offered two main meal types, usually one Western and one Asian option, such as beef rendang. Menus across all classes are changed monthly. In suites, first and business meals are served on linen using Givenchy-designed tableware and passengers can pre-book their meal up to 24 hours before departure. Resident chef and food and beverage manager, Hermann Freidanck, has identified foods and ingredients that help with digestion at altitude and jet lag on landing, such as turmeric and pineapple, which are included in its lamb shank curry. Options vary by route, but in first class and suites up to eight courses are provided, including Singapore roti prata for breakfast and Moran’s choice of beef fillet, braised brisket, mushroom ravioli, celeriac puree and braised shallots for lunch.
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines is the only carrier serving Hawai’i to offer complementary meals in economy class. Meals are designed by Thailand-born executive chef Chai Chaowasaree, whose Honolulu restaurants Singha Thai Cuisine and Chai’s Island Bistro have a pan-Asian twist. They include Lomi Lomi salmon omelet, chicken in Lilikoi (a local variety of passionfruit), lychee sauce with carrots and rice. In business class you can order grilled chicken with pineapple curry and brown rice or grilled Ahi tuna with caper cream sauce, mashed potatoes, shimeji mushrooms and snow peas. The airline has also just introduced a gluten-free snack box, which includes hummus dip, multi-seed crackers and a turkey snack stick, available for US$7.
Air New Zealand
Consultant chef Peter Gordon, who has restaurants in Auckland and London, has developed a menu combined with New Zealand wines. In business class they include seared venison fillet with kumara crisps and lamb shank with golden kumara mash, green bean, spinach and pea medley with mint apple jelly.
Malaysian Airlines
The airline is known for its award-winning traditional chicken and beef satay sticks, which are marinated in a mix of shallots, turmeric, garlic, lemongrass and galangal and served in business and first class.
It also offers Asian dishes such as beef rendang tok in economy as well as Western cuisine. Late last year it recruited former MasterChef contestant Poh Ling Yeow to create a signature dish, nonya chicken curry, served for a limited period.
LAN Airlines
A team of top South American chefs and advisers has created the menu for LAN that showcase flavours and ingredients from across South America, paired with fine wines from the region. They include grilled steak with sauteed mushroom and pumpkin with a garden salad in business class. The lamb is from Patagonia, trout from Argentina’s south, shrimp from Ecuador and salmon from the Chilean fjords.
Emirates
In economy a chickpea and sweet corn salad is served with tuna flakes. Main courses include peri chicken with a sun-dried tomato sauce, fried herbed potato cubes, sauteed spinach and baby carrots, or beef cannelloni pasta served with grilled vegetables. In business class Traditional local Arabic flavours are also presented as a mezze spread including hummus, muhammara, tabouleh, aubergine moussaka, labneh with sun-dried tomato pesto, stuffed vine leaves, marinated chickpeas and olives, complemented by local garnishes or a Green Thai seafood curry.
Air India
India’s national carrier has launched a special menu on flights between India and Australia during the ICC World Cup cricket tournament.
Indian-style chicken served with fragrant onion pilaf has been renamed as Dhoni’s Swashbuckling Super Sixer, fish of the day called Captain Smith’s Catch of the Season, and a traditional ras malai designated as Sachin’s Sweet Drive.
Fiji Airways
Fiji’s national carrier has replaced its cardboard box and burger and wrap selections in economy with a reintroduced tray service with hot meals on flights to Australia. Its signature dish in business class has been designed by Fiji-based chef and the airline’s culinary ambassador Lance Seeto. Mains include charred beef fillet with masala chai tea rub, herb buttered prawns with a side of sweet potato, Fijian organic vegetables and tempered cardamom jus. There is also a wild fish poached in coconut herb buttered prawns, coriander and pineapple rice pilaf, organic vegetables and red papaya curry sauce.
Etihad
Dishes in economy include chicken biryani and pumpkin, carrot, and chickpea salad with vinaigrette dressing and caramel mousse. Passengers in business and first class can dine at any time and can choose a Mezoon Grill, a choice of grilled meat, fish and chicken combined with a wide range of side dishes. First class passengers are also greeted with traditional Arabic dates on boarding and can enjoy a special Taste of Arabia menu featuring modern Arabian cuisine. The airline has a classically-trained in-flight chef in first class on board every flight (where first class is offered).
Originally published as Airlines offer increasingly extravagant food as competition to provide the best heats up
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