Seriously, do you eat that stuff they serve you on the plane?

Awful, suspect, not bad? People say different things about their culinary experienceswhen flying. Should you eat it, should you not? We get travelling foodies to weigh in.

What's the best thing about an airplane meal? It can't be the germs on the plastic trays, surely! Kidding. Or the ill-designed plastic cutlery. Sometimes, nicer airlines have the steel ones and I wonder about their cleaning process. Like, what is the size of what-must-be a ginormous industrial dishwasher? How long does it take? How do they load dirty cutlery from 300 passengers (minus the ones who've filched a few, of course)?
For me, the best part (well... a good enough part) of an airplane meal is not so much the food itself, but the moment of suspense - inspecting the rectangular aluminum food pack landed in front of you, undoing the crinkly corners of the food pack. And there - surprise! Sometimes edible, often times not. You polish it off depending on hunger levels. If you've been sensible, you had a bite a good half hour before they rip the perforated bit of your boarding pass. If not, there it is, the gastronomic delight, in front of you.
Phonetically nitpicking, the corners don't crinkle as much as they yield, but there's a childhood joy to be derived in toying with something like aluminum foil. (Another childhood joy I was recently reminded of was dragging a stick along fences making that soothing rhythmic rattling sound. It came back to me watching Lucas Hedges in one scene of Manchester By The Sea). But, anyway. Back to airline food: is it fit or is it foul? What do people say? Bon Appétit mag once asked Anthony Bourdain this:
"Do you eat the plane food?
What if you're on a super-long flight? You just don't eat?
For a super-long flight, I'd order cheese... I'd eat some cheese..."
Huzefa Khorakiwala, director of the agro chemical company Biostadt, travels over six times a month. He eats on the plane 70 per cent of the time, "unless it's a night flight, then I avoid it". He says, "I was on Qatar airways last week and their Thai curry was actually pretty good". What about his worst meal? He names the offender. "Their salmon was quite distasteful and had a really foul smell". But that was a one off, he says. His favourite airline is Etihad. Other unpleasant experiences with plane food? Any creepy crawlies emerged from the jasmine rice ever? No, but Khorakiwala once "found a broken piece of ceramic, probably from a salt shaker. Glad I did not swallow it. I'm usually quite distracted with the onboard entertainment while having my meals".
The journalist and food writer, Vir Sanghvi, weighed in on airplane food some time back when he wrote, "Despite the multiplicity of flight kitchens, nearly every airline flying out of Delhi has terrible food. (An exception, oddly enough, is Turkish Airlines.) It is so bad that I try not to eat on planes if I can help it. On medium-haul flights, I pack my own food". He goes on to say: "My guess is that as the volume of flights has increased, the flight kitchens have become factories, churning out thousands of meals a day with no real concern for quality. At the flight kitchens run by hotel chains, the chefs would be summarily dismissed if they served such rubbish at their own hotels".
In other countries, the food can be better but the only airline that has surprised me with a) the quality of its food and b) the depth of knowledge of its staff about the cuisine on board is Qantas".
"My general rule is never order the Western meal if you can help it. Order the Indian curry. Remember that the food was made over 20 hours ago and has been sloppily reheated. And Indian food reheats better than, say, a chunk of lamb or a rubbery chicken breast".
We asked some chefs in town about how they deal with airline food. Savour what they said.
Uwe Micheel
Director of Kitchens Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek, flies 20 -30 times a year
> Do you always eat the meal? Which items on a plane would you never touch?
. Airline food is like restaurant food. There is a big difference in quality. On some flights I would eat almost everything and on others, only the dry bread roll. On many flights I do not eat the starters. But it's also not easy for our colleagues to make 1000 portions to please everyone. And our taste buds change in the air.
> Last decent airline meal you had? What was the meal?
. Actually my last flight was on EK to Zurich and I had eaten everything. I remember the main course was chicken breast with green beans and potato mash. In general, the food out of Dubai is okay.
> Worst meal you remember on a plane?
. Meals out of Egypt are mostly not great, overcooked and not seasoned.
> Best and worst sectors you've flown?
. Best: Dxb-Zurich, Dubai-Frankfurt, AD-Vietnam. Worst: Cairo-Dxb, Jeddah-Dxb
> Strangest thing you found in your meal?
. I've had all kinds of stones, hair and glass in my food. But never in the airline meal. In general, food safety rules in airline kitchens is better than in some restaurants. Visit Emirates Flight Catering and then go to some free-standing restaurants in Dubai...
Nicolai Schleifer
Chef of Danat Al Ain Resort, gets on a plane at least 3-4 times a year
> Do you always eat the meal? Which items on a plane would you NEVER eat?
. Not always. Depends on the airline and the meal. Standard meals are rather boring. I never touch salads. They're always horrible.
> Last decent airline meal you had?
. This is some years back with Singapore Airlines. They had beef tenderloin medallions and they were of great quality and perfectly cooked.
> Worst meal you remember on a plane?
Some sort of beef stew with a burned taste.
> The best airlines you've flown.
. Singapore Airlines, Thai, Emirates
> Strangest things found in your meal. Any bits of broken forks...?
. Nothing found.
> Have you ever had an experience working in an in-flight catering kitchen or have
heard stories?
. In a previous hotel, we had a catering service for private aviation. The food quality we delivered was of the highest standard. Certainly, if flight attendants who handle the food are not trained well, the best food can get horrible.
> Give us a travel hack about airplane food.
. I mostly request for food with special needs. Like vegetarian. It seems flight attendants take extra care on preparation and not just for feeding the crowd.
Indika Thushara
Sous Chef, Tilal Liwa Hotel, on a plane at least twice a year
> Do you always eat the meal? Which items on a plane would you never touch?
. As a chef, it is interesting to taste different food, including airline meals. There is no particular food I don't eat on a plane. I try to finish the meal as it's terrible to waste food.
> Last decent airline meal you had?
. The last decent Airline Meal I had was the lamb casserole of Etihad Airways. The meal is tasty with aromatic rice and fried onions.
> Worst meal you remember on a plane?
. I am happy to share that till date, I haven't tasted worst meal on a plane.
> The best airlines you've flown?
. Etihad Airways.
> Strangest thing you found in your meal?
. I haven't found strange things in my meal.
> Ever worked in an in-flight catering kitchen?
. I haven't but I've heard in-fight catering is one of the busiest operations provided with modern facilities, offering a wide menu of catering to large numbers of customers.
> A food tip you keep in mind while travelling?
. Airplane meals are full of sodium, a nightmare when it comes to staying hydrated. Enjoy a healthy meal in the terminal before takeoff, like a sandwich, a side, and a bottle of water. Eat at the same time as everyone else as a common courtesy to the other passengers who are also starving.
Elie Lteif
Chef of Metropolitan Hotel Dubai, flies at least 2-3 times a year
> Do you always eat the meal? Which items on a plane would you not eat?
. I avoid eating any protein, and prefer to stick to vegetables and potatoes.
> Last decent airline meal you had? Which airline? What was the meal?
. It was pasta in tomato sauce.
> Worst meal you remember on a plane?
I believe it was a chicken curry.
> The best airlines you've flown.
. I enjoy flights to China and the Far East.
> Strangest thing you found in your meal, if at all. Any bits of broken for in the rice...?
. I have been lucky to not face any issues with this.
> Ever worked in an in-flight catering kitchen or have heard stories? Can you share something you've heard with our readers - of either how good or bad it is. Something that not too many people know.
. I have previously worked in catering for a private jet company, I found that the food was of great quality when it came to the private jet companies as we catered to exclusive clientele.
> Share a travel hack, a plane-food tip?
. I would recommend not eating too much; people tend to eat before their flight and during. Don't eat unless you
are hungry.
nivriti@khaleejtimes.com
Nivriti favours human interest stories. She has a thing for the quirky, oddball stuff
 

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