Chef Linda’s Epic Qantas Singapore Lounge Specials

If you’ve ever been in one of the Qantas lounges in Singapore, you’ve probably noticed how good the food is. That’s especially the case in the First Lounge, where the menu is packed full of flavoursome delights inspired by Singaporean cuisine.

Each time I’ve visited the Qantas Singapore First Lounge, I’ve noticed there was a monthly special on the dining menu created by Chef Linda. For example, in January it was “Chef Linda’s shrimp paste chicken wings with smashed cucumber and calamansi”.

In June, the special was Linda’s tasty take on a Thai classic, Pad Kra Pao.

In July, the monthly special changed to Linda’s Hokkien seafood noodles – which I enjoyed with a plate of Nasi Lemak.

I’ve tried a few of Linda’s specials and they are always excellent! In fact, in my view, they’re one of the highlights of the Qantas lounge network. If you know what to ask for, there are even a few secret specials that aren’t printed on the menu!

I always look forward to trying Linda’s latest creation when flying with Qantas or another Oneworld airline out of Singapore. I’m not the only one – her food is also a hit with many other Australian frequent flyers.

This came as a surprise to Linda, a very humble woman who told us, “Seriously I had no idea people were talking about me!”

So, who is Chef Linda? We decided to find out!

Executive Chef of the Qantas Singapore lounges

Linda began working in the Qantas Singapore Business Lounge in 2012 as a Chef De Partie and then a Sous Chef. She worked her way up the ranks to become Executive Chef of the Business Lounge in 2017.

Then in 2019, when Qantas opened its Singapore First Class Lounge, Linda became responsible for overseeing the catering in both lounges. Today, she is still the Executive Chef of both Qantas lounges in Singapore where she oversees 24 kitchen staff.

“I love cooking, I love my team, and I love interacting with Qantas customers here in Singapore – especially when they like my food,” Linda says.

Her work includes collaborating with Neil Perry and his consultancy team on the design of the lounge menus. They work together to create balanced menus that combine Neil Perry’s food philosophy with local ingredients and dishes. That’s why, at Qantas’ overseas lounges, local specialities and Australian classics sit side by side on the menu.

Linda also takes great pride in teaching and mentoring the next generation of Singaporean chefs. As well as guiding her team and ensuring Qantas’ high hygiene standards in the kitchen, she often takes on trainees.

In fact – and Linda is so humble that she doesn’t even want to mention this – she received an award for Best Mentor from Singapore’s At-Sunrice Global Chef Academy. Her own trainees voted Linda for this award.

Linda’s food journey

Growing up in Singapore, Linda worked as a server at her mother’s Hawker Centre stall on Sentosa Island. But she never cooked – even at home – until she got a casual job in the Chinese restaurant of Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa as a 17-year-old.

After three months of casual work, the chef at Shangri-La offered Linda a full-time job.

Linda originally wanted to be a police officer, but fell in love with working in the kitchen. That’s despite spending her first day of full-time work peeling 40 kilograms of onions. After peeling for hours and hours, her onion-induced tears turned into tears of exhaustion. She almost didn’t return for a second day, but ultimately knew it was the career she wanted… and things definitely did get better!

She no longer plans to become a police officer but still enjoys watching a Singaporean TV series called Crimewatch.

Linda has also worked at several other restaurants across Singapore, including the Australian restaurant Boomerang at Robertson Quay. She says this was a great experience that taught her a lot about Australian cuisine – knowledge she still uses today. That was also a very busy restaurant with people coming in and out all day – just like an airport lounge.

She ultimately applied for a job at the Qantas Singapore Business Lounge because her mother became ill and she needed to work closer to her home.

The lounges closed during COVID

In March 2020, just a few months after the First Class lounge opened, Qantas’ Singapore lounges were shut down due to the pandemic. Qantas was no longer flying internationally.

The timing was fortuitous for Linda because it meant she had more time to look after her mother, who was suffering from cancer. Her mother sadly passed away during the pandemic, but Linda is thankful for the time she had away from work so she could be with her mum.

Qantas reopened its Singapore Business Lounge in December 2021, then the First Lounge in June 2022 once passenger demand had further recovered.

According to Linda, reopening the kitchens after COVID was harder than setting up new kitchens from scratch. The equipment required deep cleaning and restoration work.

Linda’s special dishes

Linda has cooked for Neil Perry many times on his visits to Singapore, and Neil is a big fan of her local-style dishes. Neil’s favourite is Linda’s black pepper beef, which he put on the very first Singapore First Lounge menu.

Since then, Linda has continued to create special dishes for the First Lounge menu. After deciding on a dish, she’ll cook it and test it with her kitchen and the other lounge staff. She’ll then propose the idea to the Neil Perry consulting team, who write the menus.

Neil’s team helps to fine-tune the specials. For example, when testing the hugely popular shrimp paste chicken wings from the menu at the start of this article, the consulting team suggested adding lemon. This improved the harmony of the dish by balancing out the strong taste of the shrimp paste, changing the aroma.

Other Singapore-inspired specials that Linda has added to the Singapore lounge menu include chicken satay sticks and chilli crab mantou. The current special is a fruit plate of mangosteen, which is known in Singapore as the “queen of tropical fruits”.

If you get the chance to visit the Singapore First Lounge, be sure to look out for Linda’s latest mouth-watering creation!

Not all of the chef’s specials are printed on the menu. But they are available if you know to ask!

Qantas First Lounge access

For those unfamiliar with the Qantas lounge access rules: You can access Qantas First Lounges if you have Qantas Platinum or Oneworld Emerald status and you’re departing on any Oneworld airline flight. You can also get in with a First Class ticket on Qantas, Emirates or any Oneworld airline.

Qantas Gold frequent flyers, Qantas Club members and Business Class passengers can access Qantas international Business Lounges.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.