Anyone else miss eating real food

[offshore171]

In my experience this really depends on the type of food being served. Have had exceptional food in J over the years, mainly on premium middle eastern and Asian carriers serving their respectiive cuisines.

Can you truly say though, that these meals were genuinely better than dishes in a decent restaurant?

In my experience the answer is no. Pre-prepared, Reheated, reconstituted food served in a 5% humidity environment is no match for a dish fresh from the kitchen to your table within a matter of minutes.

 

[drron]

Japanese F meals on long haul are at least as good as restaurant quality and better than some restaurants.

 

[offshore171]

Japanese F meals on long haul are at least as good as restaurant quality and better than some restaurants.

I do wonder if the “I’m going somewhere on a plane!” factor plays a part in perceptions? Particularly in J and F.

I guess the ultimate test would be to serve the airline meal in a restaurant alongside a freshly cooked meal straight from the kitchen. I don’t think it would pass muster.

 

[sjk]

Japanese F meals on long haul are at least as good as restaurant quality and better than some restaurants.

To the best of my knowledge, JL and NH do more research into what suits the cabin environment than any other airline. I’ve been working with the former on that for many years now.

But apples with apples, if you compare a cabin meal designed by Ryugin with a restaurant meal at Ryugin, the latter is going to win hands down.

Some of the hawker type meals on SQ are pretty much as good as the real thing. Harder to match with wines, though.

 

[offshore171]

Harder to match with wines, though.

True that.

With SEA hawker style dishes, often a cold beer is a better match than wine.

 

[Tropic]

My original post was actually lamenting the decline in the quantity and quality of airline food over years, essentially due cost cutting and other "enhancements". Food prepared and served in the highly compromised environment of an aircraft is obviously never going to be as "good" as when served in a resturant for all reasons outlined above. But in my experience some carriers get close.

 

[sxc]

View attachment 198472

If we get this food back, we’d probably also get the fares and non bed seats as well.

 

[RichardMEL]

Airline catering caters for the different taste of food at altitude (apparently it is quite significant) and some tastes just don't work up there.

The other thing that people tend to forget is that all this stuff is basically reheated and plated in a galley - NOT a kitchen. There's zero real cooking on an aircraft. And the cooking they CAN do is very limited - I mean you can't wok toss food over a flame for example.. so of course the food is going to taste like variations on microwave dinners - specially in Y.

I do feel the carriers that care to invest more in J and F for quality ingredients still can deliver some pretty good meals even with the restrictions imposed by crheating and presentation of food at altitude. I am thinking of a carrier like SQ where I have always had exceptional F meals (and you'd hope so, right?!).

but I also reckon an airline like NZ in J do a really great job. it's declined a little in the last year or so, but in general I really enjoy NZ's catering across the pacific. Hardly fancy but for what it is it is pretty good.

And for domestic flying, remember these days in Oz we're spoilt - we get a hot meal on some pretty short sectors (J I mean and sometimes Y). Try that in europe or the US. Sure, often it comes out a bit like a frozen dinner but well.. that's what it is more or less.

Had an interesting tour of QF catering in BNE a few years ago and it was really fascinating many of the processes and logistics involved. I mean we can think our single meal is a bit poor.. and yet there could be 400 other meals on our aircraft anll produced in a commercial kitchen some hours before, to a strict budget and script and then reheated on board and with limited time on short sectors of course they can't make it amazing.

And frankly I don't care much about food on domestic flights - if you have a 2-3 hour sector say MEL-BNE, SYD-CNS etc you can eat at either end - one can survive those flights. I often don't eat, or treat any food as a snack if I feel hungry.

Lon haul over 8 hours sure... that's where food becomes more important. It could be better, but with the increases in loads, capacity and so on I kind of get why it is the way it is.

And as an aside.. I am shocked at the TINY galley areas the 787 has, specially forward... that crews can get anything out reasonably amazes me as it's bloody cramped in those areas.

finally - travel is about transportation more than food. yes it's a part.. specially in premium cabins, and we want good quality and decent food but also if I want the finest out there I'll find michelin stars on the ground. In the air is a whole different thing. and I try and set my expectations accordingly.

 

[Tropic]

Air travel may be 90% about getting from A to B quickly and safely, and 10% about how comfortable and well fed you are doing that. But if paying $12000 for a long haul F ticket (more likely points but same principle), you really want to feel like you are getting the best food and drink they can provide. That $12000 would sure buy a lot of Michelin starred dinners on the ground...

 

[esseeeayeenn]

finally - travel is about transportation more than food. yes it's a part.. specially in premium cabins, and we want good quality and decent food but also if I want the finest out there I'll find michelin stars on the ground. In the air is a whole different thing. and I try and set my expectations accordingly.

If only airlines would recognise this by making getting you from A to B within a certain timeframe part of your contract!

 

[dajop]

Air travel may be 90% about getting from A to B quickly and safely, and 10% about how comfortable and well fed you are doing that. But if paying $12000 for a long haul F ticket (more likely points but same principle), you really want to feel like you are getting the best food and drink they can provide.

And you're not spending the $12000 to get a tad extra comfort, 6-8 times the space of an economy seat?

 

[Tropic]

Of course but the thread is about the food component ...

 

[Flying mermaid]

And as an aside.. I am shocked at the TINY galley areas the 787 has, specially forward... that crews can get anything out reasonably amazes me as it's bloody cramped in those areas.

We have only been on the 787 once - in December 2017 and the girl who had prepared the food came round to chat to everyone. I think it must have been a very new plane as the crew were super excited about it. Anyway I complimented her on the scrambled eggs which had been really good. She had told me she had done it over a low heat and stirred them very carefully (which of course is how they have to be done if you don't want tough scrambled eggs). So certainly on that flight crew were producing amazing food out of the galley. She said the cooking facilities were way better on the 787.

 

[pauly7]

I think it really depends on your subjective opinion of what is real/good food. I’ve flown a lot of F and J in my time and no meal on any airline in any class has come close to my barometer of good food.

I haven’t flown though in the olden days though so perhaps the standards were very different then

 

[Flying mermaid]

I think it really depends on your subjective opinion of what is real/good food. I’ve flown a lot of F and J in my time and no meal on any airline in any class has come close to my barometer of good food.

I haven’t flown though in the olden days though so perhaps the standards were very different then

Well the first time we flew F in 1989 we were travelling with two very young kids - 3 and 1. Qantas phoned up and discussed with me what food would be suitable for the children. I don’t think that would happen these days

 

[ajd]

I think it really depends on your subjective opinion of what is real/good food. I’ve flown a lot of F and J in my time and no meal on any airline in any class has come close to my barometer of good food.

Indeed.

I am whatever the opposite of a foodie is called.

By my standards, most meals served in Y on non-LCCs are "good food".

 

[Cossie]

Indeed.

I am whatever the opposite of a foodie is called.

By my standards, most meals served in Y on non-LCCs are "good food".

Can't remember an inedible meal on a plane, some of the snacks maybe as I don't tend to eat cakes, muffins, biscuits etc. Mind you thinking back, some of the stuff served on the MS Taras Shevchenko going to the UK in 1976 was a bit dire.

I enjoy good food and wine, but certainly don't get all precious about things like michelin stars and taking my own wine glasses to restaurants, but of course ymmv.

The only two inedible meals I can remember in country Australia were at an "Indian" in Byron Bay and a "Mexican" in Merimbula, but they were both years ago. Anyway, now sure that this has any relevance to the original post.

 

[drron]

Apart from the QF meal mentioned before I had an inedible lamb meal on IB J.must have put a couple of hundred grams of salt onto it.One bite was enough.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Can't remember an inedible meal on a plane, some of the snacks maybe as I don't tend to eat cakes, muffins, biscuits etc. Mind you thinking back, some of the stuff served on the MS Taras Shevchenko going to the UK in 1976 was a bit dire.

I enjoy good food and wine, but certainly don't get all precious about things like michelin stars and taking my own wine glasses to restaurants, but of course ymmv.

The only two inedible meals I can remember in country Australia were at an "Indian" in Byron Bay and a "Mexican" in Merimbula, but they were both years ago. Anyway, now sure that this has any relevance to the original post.

I like Australian country food - how can you go past a hamburger or a pie . My worst meal ever was when I took my mother to a Thai Restaurant in Durban. She liked it, but Mr FM and I were just looking at each other in disbelief

getting back on topic I am OK with airline food - some good, some bad but it relieves the boredom. Plenty of time to hit Michelin star restaurants when you land. Internationally there is generally good champagne and chocolates and those are the two most important food groups, so what more do you need.

 

[aussiejohn]

I remember when a flight between Melbourne and Sydney was just about an hour. Both Ansett and TAA used to serve a hot meal with tea and coffee in economy and still have the cabin ready for landing within that time. The food may not always have been great but it sure beats the half size muesli bar or single biscuit you get now on a 90 minute flight.