Here’s a fun fact you may not know about first class: Flying in the front of the plane on a commercial airline still sucks. Sure, you may get bigger seats (although reclining them is still a no-no) (I’ve flown first class only once in my life and as soon as I started reclining, the woman behind me screamed and tried to pull my hair) and warm nuts served in a porcelain dish, but the food’s not going to be much better than it is on the rest of the plane. Well, that’s hopefully all about to change. And if the food in first class is getting upgraded, is it possible that the rest of the plane will benefit, as well?
According to The New York Times, Delta’s working on making travelers choose them for their premium flying experience by creating food that isn’t just “good for an airplane,” but good, period. To do this, they’ve gotten into a partnership with the Union Square Hospitality Group, the people behind such fine restaurants as Union Square Cafe, Blue Smoke and Gramercy Tavern. Oh, and Shake Shack (which is actually the most exciting name on the list) to serve premium food for travelers flying Delta One on international flights.
There are, of course, impediments to serving gourmet food on flights–The New York Times notes that turbulence makes it impossible to assure a perfectly cooked steak because a flight attendant may need to be in their seat when the meat needs to be brought out of the oven–but new innovations and strategic menu items make it much easier to turn an airplane’s galley into a four star restaurant in the sky.
Here’s how Carmen Quagliata, the chef at Union Square Cafe, dealt with the issue of making a pasta dish that’s delicious rather than a reheated mess:
In the end, it was a piece of Delta’s china that inspired him — what if he made a baked pasta dish instead? “It now comes out all bubbly and smelling fantastic,” he said. “What started out as a hurdle turned out to be a great innovation — I might even try it in the restaurant.”
Terri Joseph and Margo Cortinas-Lodin, flight attendants who demonstrated how the system works onboard, said learning how to serve the meals prepared by Union Square was not too big a challenge. “Both of us come from an era when all meals on planes were served like this,” said Ms. Joseph, a 28-year veteran.
She and Ms. Cortinas-Lodin, a flight attendant for 36 years, first heat up Union Square Cafe’s signature nut mix and then serve salads and appetizers. When it comes to plating the main courses, they pull off the wrap and, following the steps they learned from training videos featuring Mr. Quagliata, empty small paper cups containing sauces and garnishes onto the plate.
Will the food be just as good as it is in the restaurants? Maybe, and you can start trying it March 1. The menu, however, might be more limited than you might think. Especially when it comes to items such as soups–which need to be broths or purees, lest they sully the clothing of both the flight attendant and the passenger as they’re poured from a beautiful silver pitcher.
Is gourmet food enough to entice you to fly first class? Or is the price still so exorbitant you’d rather just pop a sleeping pill and doze through the entire flight in economy, foregoing your complimentary nuts for just a few more minutes of sleep?
