Singapore Airlines Book The Cook: The Best Airline Meal Pre-Order Program

Some destinations like Japan and China they have their speciality meals which are great and I’d choose over Book the Cook and most people are not aware of this.

Should write an article on airlines destination speciality meals which some airlines offer and do well

Agreed that SQ's BTC is pretty unique, especially the extensive array of options. My only complaint is that they have so little that's vegetarian. SQ has lots of flights to destinations where vegetarianism is very common, such as India, so it's surprising that they don't have more than 2 or 3 options. It's pretty easy to get tired of them on a multi-leg round trip journey. Also, like most airlines, they seem to be unclear on the concept that even if you want a vegetarian main course, that doesn't mean you want a dry buckwheat cookie (or something similarly tasteless) for dessert - you want whatever everyone else is having.

That said, SQ's nasu dengaku BTC meal is probably the best vegetarian main course in the sky. Or one of the best.

Given that SQ also lets you preview inflight menus a week or so before departure, that makes BtC an even more valuable option. And sometimes whats offered on board does sound more appealing than the BtC options.

I read somewhere that BtC cities where chosen based on distance, which is why closer airports like Jakarta don’t have that option.

SQ's food is mid at best, to say nothing of its outdated seat and cold service. I have no idea why u hype up so many mediocre airlines (see also Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa "first class") on this blog.

What airlines *do* you like?

@ Jessica -- I'll second TravelinWilly's question. Which airlines have non-mid food, not outdated seats, and not cold service? And could you please point me to where I hype Lufthansa first class?

Because one can see the menu several weeks out, it's a good idea to check it out before or after you book the cook, so you can minimize food waste. In chatting with SQ FC FAs a couple of times, if one books the cook and then orders off the menu instead, the BtC order almost always goes into the trash.

In my experience, the best BtC FC dishes are to be had out of Tokyo (the Japanese dishes are phenomenal, natch) and Singapore (which has a seemingly endless array of different cuisines and options). The most disappointing ones are usually out of JFK, FRA, and MEL - they are still REALLY GOOD, but not phenomenal.

Almost all your "hero" images from blog posts about points deals or credit cards feature Lufthansa's terrible first class cabin.

I like JAL, Starlux, Turkish Airlines, Air France, Qantas and ITA Airways, to give a few examples. All these airlines have better food (and most have better seats) than SQ.

@ Jessica -- Right, I often feature Lufthansa first class because it's actually bookable with points and without fuel surcharges (admittedly last minute), and not because I "hype it" so much. Would you like me to put Air France La Premiere pictures in the header, when that requires 350K points one-way, plus Platinum status?

I mean you could put JAL F, as a start. It's relatively attainable if you're flexible, and isn't total crap.

Excellent post, and really useful. Thank you. Bookmarking this post for later reference.

I have a couple regional legs on SQ in biz coming up in a few months (MNL-SIN, SIN-BKK) and will be taking advantage of this. Looks like they don't do BtC ex-Manila, but our second leg is out of SIN, so hopefully that will work. That leg is 2.5 hours, and it's an evening flight, so I assume that's long enough to qualify for a nice dinner. The menu options look amazing.

"I have no idea why u hype up so many mediocre airlines (see also Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa "first class") on this blog."

Your rhetoric of accusing Ben sounds a lot like Aerob13a. If Ben posts something they doesn't like, then it's a downright clickbait or unnecessary "hype".

Turkish has the most overrated food ever.

Jessica, your post is, in my opinion and after 100+ SQ flights, most LHR-SIN & SIN-SYD, absolutely wrong! I do not recognise to what you are inferring.

N17017, please do not lump me in with the ridiculous posts above from Jessica.
SQ suites are one of my favourites.

Trust me Dick …. I am confident that you will not be disappointed with you choices.

It all comes down to personal preference, doesn’t it? I flew JAL First Class last month & found the catering very disappointing. I spend a lot of time in Japan and know great Japanese food, and they could have done so much better.

When you challenge or criticize Ben in airlines, hotels and lounges reviews, you are not in the same league as his. If you want to correct or enlighten him, it is a different matter. Nothing about Singapore is mediocre. Educate yourself about the country, its history, culture, cuisine and leaders plus its human resources. When I booked SQ tickets two years ago for last year's itinerary, all recommendations advise book the departure leg from Singapore. I used it and was impressed. The comment should stick to facts, which is foreign to today's Americans, not preference, bias or personal attack.

I would do anything for other airlines (such as Qantas) to introduce an in-app, pre-flight business meal booking service. It would be so much more time and logistics efficient.

Definitely take advantage of it!
I often take the chicken rice rice option on my way to BKK out of SIN.

Very few of the book the cook options are vegetarian meals. Not sure why. And unlike most airlines the 4 or 5 choices for mains in business class in SQ don’t always have a vegetarian meals. Seats in business class are now outdated with no suites like Qatar or BA for that matter

I just like whenever things rhyme. I fly SQ in J on NYC-SIN at least once a year, and I don’t bother with ‘book the cook,’ but I like their branding of it. Bah!

Eh, QF already has decent options on-board anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal for them. Like, domestic Business class on a 2-hour ADL-SYD, you get a meat pie or a cheese plate, and they pack enough so everyone gets their pick. Don’t really need an app feature for that. Meanwhile SQ offers like 30 things, so… yeah, app for that, please.

Jessica’s not wrong about the good food on JL, AF, TK, and QF; though, I like SQ food, and would add ANA may be even better than JAL for Japanese carrier food. In the US, jetBlue Mint, ironically, has the best food, in my opinion. In southern African, I cannot say enough good things about Airlink, even on +1 hour flights in Economy, the feed everyone; in their Business class they sometimes serve ostrich! Yum.

I wish there is an option to choose “No Meal”. On a red eye flight departing after dinner time, I don’t want to eat onboard and just want to go to sleep. I have had a good dinner already in the lounge and this would reduce food waste.

Seriously. You must be a very important person. Get someone to fly for you.

I checked my business class Singapore-Newark June (miles) Book the Cook menu and it appears the much loved favorite, lobster thermidor, is no longer a choice. Bummer!

You make a very valid point there THD, every ‘dog’ has its day and we all have our off-days.

The most ridiculous thing about US airlines "preorder" meal service (for C/J/F for example) is that all it does it pre-reserve your choice of the exact same meals you might get on board. To the point of ridiculousness that if people have already taken the flight's designated number of a certain option, that's it, no more.

The whole point of preorder would be to give you more and higher quality choices than what you could get on board if you hadn't planned ahead. How stupid are US airlines.

There is definitely an option to forgo the meal. I've skipped the supper service many times before on the red-eye from SIN to HND.

First class is available from 17 stations. It is more likely only these stations are operated by aircraft with first class seats, which is available only on 777-300ER and A380. I flew first class once with a pre booked BTC meal but requested for a change to onboard meal, and was granted immediately, business class probably have to wait for the crew to confirm availability.

The best thing about Book the cook is that in 90% meals really taste like proper meals one would have on the ground.
Even my recent Japanese menu from Tokyo was surprisingly good.
Of course, the best choice is on flights departing from SIN.
From ZRH, meh.

I am doing book the cook for a flight in a week and can confirm there is a no meal options.