Ah, your trusty in-flight meal. Once the highlight of your trip (pre-1980s), these days – depending on which airline you use – what's on offer ranges from the sublime, to the ridiculous, to nothing at all. Danny Chapman, development chef for Superior Foods which supply major carriers, explains what ends up on your tray and why.
- To develop an airline meal, the airline company give us a brief detailing the style of food the airline require, the date of the first flight, the class or classes they are looking to change, and the meal service time.
- For scheduled flights, the first stage of the process is to examine the destination of the flight and the airline Company. For instance, if it's Qantas (final destination: Australia) we look at the flavour trends in Australia and the foods that are being eaten. A different approach is taken for charter airlines who fly to a variety of destinations all over the world. For those we look more at the food trends that are occurring and are popular in the UK.
- Next, we evaluate the dates of the flights to assess which in season the meals will be served. To reduce our carbon footprint, we're always looking to use ingredients that are best in season and can be sourced locally. The season will also impact the type of dishes that we do: for example, in winter we will make sure the main meal is more filling and hearty as opposed to a lighter meal in the summer months.
- Finally, we look more specifically at the flight classification. For economy, it's basic flavours which the majority of consumers will like. The starter will either be a simple leaf salad or a simple dish like red pesto penne pasta with shaved Parmesan. The main meal will be predominately based around chicken (roast chicken, potatoes and vegetables), beef (beef lasagne) or vegetarian (roast Mediterranean ratatouille) and for dessert a simple fruit salad with orange and passion fruit syrup. Most economy meals are served in a tray format.
- For Business and First Class passengers we study the current food trends and what new ingredients are in the market; a current dish is roasted vegetables on a bed of quinoa, and pomegranate salad topped with bar-marked goat's cheese.
- Whilst developing any airline meals we must be aware of the effects that altitude places on the taste buds, therefore meals are flavoured and seasoned more than they would be back on the ground.
- Once the meals have been developed they will be presented to the airline for assessment. Some of the airlines choose to send their meals to a Food Jury made up of everyday people, who will taste and evaluate the choices. Depending on the feedback, the meals will be either tested for nutritional information and shelf life (both microbiologically and organoleptically) or reworked to meet the customers and consumers' standards. Once all the technical information comes back and we have final customer approval the menu will then be launched with the airline.