Airline Food Are they close to getting it right?

The smell wafting down the aisles in the plane from the trolleys of food is enough to make you want to ask the flight attendant where the closest emergency exit is.

The tray table is set. A plastic glass of wine stands in the small indent, there to stop spillages through turbulence and a steaming aluminum container that smells of cat food is put before you. The skepticism of what’s inside is beyond imagination. Nothing can prepare you for the food that is of airline standard. As you open the lid you’re almost startled as you see a familiar food-looking meal in the tray. The plastic fork is awkwardly inserted into the chicken. It reaches your mouth.

You’re confused, the taste isn’t as bad as you would like it to be. But you are still thinking, how much sauce does it take to make something in mid air taste edible?

Airplane food has a stereotype for being processed, old and just not very appetizing. And yes, even in the 21st century we can’t seem to get it right. Watching the show by Heston about airplane food before I headed off, I was optimistic about the food that would be presented to me while up in the sky. So I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t that bad, not dramatic like Heston’s but as horrible as I had imagined.

The concept of eating while high up in the sky is really quite a bizarre thing. Mid-air we are being served food. That’s a modern practice in itself. The only problem being the primitive standard of the food that is usually poorly heated and mostly consists of stodgy weirdly-smelling meat.

The Menu:
Chickpea salad with lemon pepper
Your choice of:
1.Chicken in hoisin sauce with egg fried rice and braised Bok Choy
2.Arabic lamb tagine, with cous cous, sautéed carrots and courgettes
3.Vegetable ravioli with cream sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Must admit the person next to me with their vegetarian option made me somewhat relieved with my omnivorous choice. I chose the chicken, which was not too bad. But it’s almost as if Airline food has such a bad name, it makes you weird if you actually like the taste of it. So I was put off quite easily, especially when I was surrounded by people with different meals, all potent smells combining into a mixed odour of ‘disgusting’.

Airline food just can’t seem to cut it in our modern age. But can it? Will we be able to put the stereotypical discrimination aside and accept airline food for what is, easily portable comfort food for travellers?

I can’t speak for 1st class… (I can only wish) but economy airline food could be on its way. The question is, are we?

By Samantha Coutts
Photo: Flickr