The tastiest plane food on Earth – according to the world's best chefs

A lobster dinner being served with a glass of Moët Champagne in first class in the Seventies
A lobster dinner being served with a glass of Moët Champagne in first class in the Seventies Credit: SAS MUSEUM

Food has been served in the sky since October 11, 1919, when pre-packed lunch boxes were dished out on a Handley-Page flight from London to Paris. But, despite almost a century to get it right, fine dining at 35,000 feet has never really taken off. 

Why? Perhaps the biggest issue is scientific. At high altitudes our taste buds simply don’t work properly. The low humidity dries out our nasal passages, and the air pressure desensitises our taste buds, which is why airlines often opt for salty stews or spicy curries. The other major problem is logistics and costs. Simply put, it takes a lot of effort to cook decent grub for more than 100 people in a pressurised steel tube. 

So is there any way to eat well in the sky? Some of the world's top chefs have their say.

1. Ken Hom

“The food on Thai Airways flights tends to be very good, especially if it’s Asian food, which I think works great for an airline,” the chef and television presenter told Telegraph Travel. “The best plane food I've had was just simple Asian noodles with broth (and a sprinkle of my own chilli oil which I always travel with). It’s light, satisfying and perfect for a flight. Even a lot of non-Asian airlines offer it on board as well if you ask for it.”

Ken Hom: "Asian noodles with broth is perfect for a flight"
Ken Hom: "Asian noodles with broth is perfect for a flight"

2. Heston Blumenthal

The English celebrity chef known for his experimental and scientific approach to food, is a keen diner in the skies.

Heston Blumenthal
Heston Blumenthal Credit: ANDREW CROWLEY

“The food served in first class with Qantas Airlines is really good. Australian Michelin-starred chef Neil Perry has created a brilliant menu. The Qantas lounge in Sydney has a proper kitchen that is manned by his personal staff,” he told Telegraph Travel.

“I love long-haul flights. I’m like a big kid – I don’t want to sleep because there are too many things I could do. I work, eat, drink and watch films. Sometimes, if I get on with the cabin crew, I’ll be a real pain and go into the kitchen to see how my steak is being cooked.”

Qantas Airlines offers restaurant style meals by Australian Michelin-starred chef Neil Perry
Qantas Airlines offers restaurant style meals by Australian Michelin-starred chef Neil Perry

3. Alain Ducasse

The celebrated French chef, however, is not as keen.

“I am not a fan of airline food, apart from that served on All Nippon Airways, which is very good from Tokyo to the US. Plane food is very difficult; I know because we did it for Concorde in 2001,” he told Telegraph Travel.

Alain Ducasse
Alain Ducasse Credit: This content is subject to copyright./FRED DUFOUR

“Previously, we created dishes for the International Space Station, the ISS. It has all been comfort food, and essentially French – to remind space workers of dishes back on Earth: quails in Madiran wine; chicken parmentier and pommes Tatin, without pastry; spicy stir-fried vegetables. The challenge is to bring bacteria levels down; in space, that is really important.”

Spirulina gnocchi created by Alain Ducasse for the International Space Station back in 2006
Spirulina gnocchi created by Alain Ducasse for the International Space Station back in 2006

4. Anthony Bourdain

The US chef and TV presenter prefers not to eat on a plane, but cheese, port, and possibly barbecued ribs, would be his choice for long journeys.

Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain Credit: Heathcliff O'Malley/Heathcliff O'Malley,

“Do I eat plane food? Never. No one has ever felt better after eating plane food. I think people only eat it because they're bored. I don't eat on planes. I like to arrive hungry,” he told Bon Appetit.

“For a super-long flight, I’d order cheese and a s**t load of port. I’d eat some cheese and drink myself stupid.

Anthony Bourdain enjoys cheese and port for long-haul journeys
Anthony Bourdain enjoys cheese and port for long-haul journeys Credit: © Marie-Louise Avery / Alamy/Marie-Louise Avery / Alamy

“If you want to be the most despised person in the cabin, bring some good barbecue on and have everybody in the plane smell it. I brought some Joe’s BBQ on the plane from Kansas City once, and the look of pure loathing on everyone’s faces as I gnawed on my ribs - I wouldn’t care to repeat it."

5. Wolfgang Puck

The Austrian chef, who caters to A-list celebrities as the official caterer for the annual Post-Oscar Governors Ball, plumps for champagne with sushi (and sleeping pills) when travelling by plane.

“My favourite plane journey ever was from Tokyo to Los Angeles on All Nippon Airlines with the Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa. I said to him, ‘You bring the sushi and I will bring the champagne’ and sure enough, when I came into the lounge, Nobu was delving into a plate of sushi already. Then we went on the plane and stretched out a picnic blanket on the floor because in first class there is so much space between the seats. So we drank champagne, ate with chopsticks and laughed. Then we both took a sleeping pill and three minutes later he was snoring away like the happiest guy in the world. Ten minutes later I fell asleep and the next thing I remembered was passing over San Francisco as the plane got ready to land,” he told Telegraph Travel. The lucky so-and-so.

Wolgang Puck caters to A-list celebrities every year at the Oscars
Wolgang Puck caters to A-list celebrities every year at the Oscars

“I generally take the red-eye and I don’t need food on that flight. I have a glass of red wine, take a sleeping pill, and go to bed. Ambien is more my dinner than anything else. I need to watch my weight and planes are a good place to diet,” he told Conde Nast Traveler.

...but he wouldn’t say no to smoked salmon on a bagel – and takes his cheese very seriously.

He told Telegraph Travel: “One time I flew back from Paris to Los Angeles with Air France and I ended up having an argument over cheese. I was hungry but didn’t want to eat meat so I said, ‘Just give me the cheese course.’ But the cheese was as hard as a rock as it was kept in a freezer. So I asked the steward to warm it up in the oven and he refused, saying, ‘I can’t. It might catch fire.’ So I said: ‘Are you planning to heat it up with kerosene?’ I had never heard of a cheese catching fire in my whole life. I’d paid for five seats in business class for my party, which wasn’t cheap, but he refused to budge so I just said ‘I’m never going to fly Air France again.’

Wolgang Puck prefers not to eat on a plane, but wouldn't mind smoked salmon on a bagel
Wolgang Puck prefers not to eat on a plane, but wouldn't mind smoked salmon on a bagel

“If the airlines served some good smoked salmon and toast or a toasted bagel, I would be happy. Maybe with a little lemon, some capers. Most people eat just to pass the time on a plane. I like to read,” he told Conde Nast Traveler..

6. Michel Roux Jr

The Michelin-starred English chef and TV presenter also prefers a good sleep over a meal on a flight.

“Eat before you get on the plane. The in-flight meal is never going to be a gastronomic treat even if you are sitting in the posh seats, in my view. Better to settle down and try to sleep on a plane, so you awake refreshed by the end of the flight,” he told Telegraph Travel.

Michel Roux Jr
Michel Roux Jr Credit: All rights reserved. (Channel 4 images must not be altered or manipulated in any way) CHANNEL 4 PICTURE PUBLI/Hal Shinnie

7. Gordon Ramsay

The Michelin-starred English chef and TV presenter, who has worked as a consultant for Singapore Airlines and lent his name to a restaurant at Heathrow called Plane Food, clearly hasn’t developed a tolerance for in-flight dining.

Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay Credit: Fox/Splash News

“There’s no f****** way I eat on planes,” he told Refinery29 earlier this year. “I worked for airlines for 10 years, so I know where this food’s been and where it goes, and how long it took before it got on board.”

So what does he eat instead? If he’s flying from Terminal 5, he’ll pay a visit to his own restaurant, of course. Otherwise he’ll track down an airport deli.  “A nice selection of Italian meats, a little glass of red wine, some sliced apples or pears with some parmesan cheese, I’m like a pig in s***,” he said.

8. Matt Moran

The Australian celebrity chef, a member of Singapore Airlines’ International Culinary Panel who has worked with the carrier for nearly 13 years, is all about protein.

“There is always the fact your taste buds change at altitude. Everything needs to be more heavily seasoned than when on the ground,” he told Telegraph Travel.  

A meal served on board Singapore Airlines

“I love protein whether it’s a braised rib eye or a curry. I may have a glass of bubbles but I tend to drink water as I’m always travelling for work. But people don’t need big, heavy wines in the air. You don’t want to eat your wine with a knife and fork.

“I’d go for a slow-cooked piece of protein, you can’t go wrong. And for dessert it’s pretty hard to beat a Maggie Beer ice cream.” 

"For dessert, it's hard to beat a Maggie Beer ice cream served by Singapore Airlines"
"For dessert, it's hard to beat a Maggie Beer ice cream served by Singapore Airlines"

9. Alfred Portale

The American chef/owner of the Michelin-starred Gotham Bar and Grill in New York, who is also a member of the Singapore Airlines International Culinary Panel devising menus for the airline, prefers slow-cooked pork.  

“We came up with a dish that I thought was decidedly American. It’s a pork tenderloin, but like a filet mignon. It’s very soft, even if it’s cooked medium, with a sweet and sour apricot puree,” he told Quartz.

Pork tenderloin
Alfred Portale prefers slow cooked thick cuts of meats like pork tenderloin in the air Credit: AP

10. Marco Pierre White

The British celebrity chef also enjoys meat on a plane but would prefer a Big Mac, from the fast food chain McDonald’s, to airline meals, he once told The Times.

Marco Pierre White
Marco Pierre White Credit: Julian Andrews/Julian Andrews

11. Ming Tsai

The American chef and TV presenter, and owner of various East-West fusion restaurants, enjoys Singapore Airlines meals best of all.

“They had this fantastic beef noodle soup, and they served it with every condiment imaginable for you to customize to your own particular tastes. Perfect,” he told Forbes.

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