Chef Luke Mangan lifts Virgin Australia’s meals to a new level

LUKE Mangan has added spice and class to meals on Virgin.

Chef Luke Mangan with Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti. Supplied.

WHEN John Borghetti asked Luke Mangan to attach his name to the still leisure-oriented Virgin Blue brand, the celebrity chef didn’t hesitate.

He had been associated with the Virgin brand since Richard Branson walked into his first Sydney restaurant a decade ago and asked him to do the Upper Class food for the Sydney-London leg of his new Virgin Atlantic Australian service.

He then went on to set up business class catering for Virgin America and worked with Virgin Blue’s international arm, V Australia.

Borghetti had not yet taken over as chief executive of Virgin Blue when he went in to see Mangan and asked him to handle the food on what would soon become Virgin Australia.

Mangan says he didn’t think about the complications or the fact he would initially be associating his marque with what was still essentially a budget brand.

He was impressed with Borghetti’s vision for the carrier and knew the former Qantas executive could carry it through.

“I had full confidence in him and his vision of what he was going to do to the airline because he’s a stylish guy and he gets quality,’’ Mangan says

“I didn’t want to compromise on anything and he’s just let me run with it — and it’s been really good.’’ How good was evident last week as Mangan helped flight crew deliver some of his signature meals on the delivery flight of the airline’s new Airbus A330.

The chef believes freshness is the secret to making in-flight food as close as possible to restaurant quality. He says this is where ­Virgin Australia stands out and is taking its business class offering in a different direction to its com­petitors.

Entree choices were king prawns with corn, smoked paprika and chives or tandoori spiced lamb, sweet potato, chickpea and coriander salad with mint raita.

Mains were a barramundi fillet with bok choy, ginger, soy and ­sesame dressing, or braised short rib with shiitake mushrooms, pumpkin puree, broad bean and tarragon.

It was a strategic menu designed to take into account the slightly reduced sensitivity of tastebuds at high altitudes as well as uncertainties that can arise from flying through weather.

The meal began with a small cup of duck broth and was freshened by the crew. They dressed the lamb with fresh herbs, drizzled olive oil over it and finished it with spiced mayonnaise. The ribs were similarly dressed with a broad bean and fresh herb salsa.

“These are things our competitors don’t do that also add a touch to our food that is different,’’ says Mangan, who says he spices his food carefully. “As you know, you lose a little bit of your taste in the air,’’ he says. “So I’m cooking with fragrant spice, not hot spice.

“I like the fragrant spices like cloves and cinnamon, the star anise in the duck broth, the tandoori spice on the lamb, the strong, fresh herb of tarragon in the broad beans. In the braising ­liquor we use a cumin and coriander. All of them are fragrant spices but give it a good flavour — and that’s where we’re trying to be ­different.’’

The braised beef and barramundi were perfect examples of the ingredients suited to in-flight meals, Mangan says. “When we cook fish on board, we need a high content of oil in the fish and barramundi is one of the highest. Barramundi, salmon, kingfish are all great fish for the air,’’ he says.

“Beef fillet is very demanding. People want it but it’s very low in fat. So it’s not a cut of meat I want to serve. I want to use cuts like short ribs, beef cheeks, rump and things like that, (which) have fat content in them and that braise well and hold well in an oven.

“In case the seatbelt sign goes on and the crew have put the food in the oven, it could be sitting there for another 20 minutes. So with the oily fish and the braising cut of meat it’s not going to overcook, and that’s our trick to it.’’

The Virgin crew undergo training in Mangan’s test kitchens, which are outfitted with airline ovens, every couple of months. Over a 2½-hour session, they look at how the food should be plated up, heat it, taste it and match it with wines.

“I tell them about the freshness, about garnishing on board and they see themselves that if they pull out a plate of food that’s been prepared by the caterer, it looks dull and boring,’’ he says.

Originally from Sydney, Mangan started his career in Melbourne under Two Faces chef Herman Schneider and worked under Michel Roux of the three-Michelin-starred Waterside Inn in England.

Mangan has his own range of gourmet products, has written five cook books and has provided meals for the likes of former US president Bill Clinton and actor Tom Cruise, as well as at the wedding of Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary.

He also presides over an expanding restaurant empire that presently boasts 12 outlets, including the Glass Brasserie and Mojo wine and tapas bar in Sydney. There are also two each in Singapore and Tokyo, as well as one each in Jakarta, Bali and on the Gold Coast and three on P&O cruise ships.

He will be opening two more restaurants on cruise ships next year and is also launching in the Maldives at the end of the year, with plans for four outlets.

Despite the commercial success, he says the cooking remains paramount. “For me, I love what I do so I don’t treat it as a job,’’ he says. “I never looked to get the fame that came along with what I do now, I guess, and I never went in it for the money.’’

The restaurants are also a wellspring of ideas for his in-flight menus and he agrees this is always part of his thinking “in a big way’’ when he is creating dishes.

“There are certain dishes that won’t work in the air as well, so I’m wary of that — going back to the beef fillet or lamb loin,” he says.

“But I really want to keep it light, fresh and healthy as well.’’

Steve Creedy travelled from Singapore courtesy of Virgin Australia.