Food & Wine USA - (05)May 2020

120 MAY 2020

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NEXT TIME YOU’RE UNHAPPY WITH YOUR IN-FLIGHT MENU, consider this: Airlines

used to have passengers deplane for meals. That started changing in 1919, when

Handley Page Transport first offered sandwiches to travelers on a flight between

London and Paris. In the ’30s, airlines introduced kitchens to the skies. By the

’50s, they were cranking out extravagant feasts: Pan American World Airways

served gourmet meals on fine china with white tablecloths. The turbojet-powered

Concorde had flight attendants hand-carve ham or steak. Yet in 1978, the Airline

Deregulation Act drove airlines to cut back on food and service. Newer carriers

lured in customers with cheap fares but skimped on dining; Southwest became

known as “the peanut airline” in part because all they offered to eat was a packet

of nuts. In the ’90s, airlines began partnering with chefs to create menus for

their premier classes, marking a return to the golden age of sky dining (at least

in first and business classes)—and the trend has kept up. —NINA FRIEND

Chefs Take Flight

“In-air dishes have to be smart,

so I tried to think of different

sauces and pestos that could

both be made in bulk and

enhance the flavors of dishes

onboard.” —SARAH GRUENEBERG,

CHEF AT MONTEVERDE, CHICAGO, AND

CONSULTANT FOR AMERICAN AIRLINES

BY THE NUMBERS

$40K

Dollars saved when Ameri-

can Airlines chief Robert

Crandall decided to remove

one olive from every salad

plate in the 1980s

1,906

Number of new food and

beverage items United

rolled out in 2016

800

Average milligrams of

sodium in an airline meal

(2,300mg is the recom-

mended daily limit)

Decibel level in the cabin,

which research suggests

can boost our sense of

umami while eating in-air

80

American Airlines part-

ners with the James

Beard Foundation on its

in-air dining. Sarah

Grueneberg’s menu for

Flagship First and Flag-

ship Business includes

artichoke ravioli with

tomato sauce and green

olive–pistachio pesto.

Air France has brought

on Daniel Rose of Le

Coucou in New York City

as a chef partner, serving

dishes like Rose’s cod

with turnip and beurre

blanc to business class

fliers on trips to Paris

from both the United

States and Canada.

On select flights out of

Los Angeles, Delta One

fliers are served some

of 2009 F&W Best New

Chefs Jon Shook and

Vinny Dotolo’s signature

dishes, like the famous

meatballs from their

namesake restaurant,

Jon & Vinny’s.

Lufthansa’s current chef

collaborator, Michelin-

starred chef Alexander

Herrmann, has created

kids menus for under-12

passengers in all travel

classes, with dishes like

“dragon feet” (poultry

sausages with sauerkraut

and mashed potatoes).

THE LATEST CHEF-AIRLINE PARTNERSHIPS

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FW_0520_Backstory.indd 120 FINAL CONTENT 3/17/20 3:40 PM