Plane cooking
"The restaurant service in the sky that gives you the choice of eating what you want, when you want." What an offer. This is Virgin Atlantic's new Upper Class food service - and it's going down a treat. The new Freedom menu, available on all long-haul flights, allows the customer to order what he wants, when he wants - and have as much as he wants.
"Treat this service as though you are in a restaurant," urge the large-format menus, which offer 28 different items. Each menu is tailor-made for each route. For example, the Japan run has beef fillet misoyaki, China has Shanghai-barbecued chicken, South Africa gets Amarula ice-cream, and so on. Inward and outward flights differ, too, and all menus change every three months.
Virgin is proud of its new service. "We think we've found a way to offer flexibility - and I think we've found a way that's really exciting," says Jenny Groom, Virgin's in-flight services manager.
The majority of the food preparation is done on the ground, as before, but the plating-up, garnishes and other final touches are executed on board by the cabin crew. "It takes some getting used to," confides one crew member wrestling with a basil leaf on the Chicago run. There's the occasional lapse in attention to detail, as with a crème fraîche-smothered tomato and olive tart - "but we'll get there," she laughs.
Last November, Chicago was the first route to adopt the new service and, after a few minor tweaks, the rest followed. Each leg has its own "corporate" chef, but there's also a development team and a catering team. "It's a collaborative effort," says Groom. "We meet once a year to document and refine those ideas, and to keep moving forward."
The menu is split into 11 sections, including drinks. First is "Light bites", including dishes such as the tomato and olive tart. Next is "Bigger bites" - for example, pan-seared monkfish served with balsamic roast potatoes and a lobster butter sauce. Vegetables are served "On the side" (pan-wilted spinach, roasted carrot). Desserts are "Naughty but nice" and include brioche bread and butter pudding. "Say cheese" and "Nibbles" complete the line-up of food.
On the liquid front, there are seven wines to choose from (including a Washington State gem from Canoe Ridge), then comes "the hard stuff": beers, "softies" and "hot'n'herbal".
So how did this service come about? "We only arrived at it after plenty of info-gathering," explains Groom. Through surveys, customers were asked what they wanted. The message that came back was "fresh, seasonal, light, and comforting". Groom adds: "Plus, we looked at the industry and what was going on there."
It took Virgin 18 months to give birth to Freedom and, after a bit of prodding (the menus had to be rewritten to enlighten customers about Freedom's flexibility), there was no stopping them.
