Airplane food is the butt of many jokes, and most celebrities and otherwise wealthy people scoff at the concept of eating it. So I really appreciate this unconventional take…
In this post:
Chrissy Teigen never skips an airplane meal
For those not familiar, Chrissy Teigen is a model, TV personality, and the wife of John Legend. She’s such a good vibe, and is pretty engaging with people on Twitter (she has nearly 13 million followers), including on some pretty controversial topics.
Late on Friday night, Teigen took to Twitter to rave about the short rib she was served on Delta, and she described the entire dinner as being “so so good.” She explained that the short rib was as good as her favorite, which is the one she makes. Teigen also mentioned how airplane food fascinates her, and she has never turned down a meal, no matter where she’s seated.
Meanwhile when someone mentioned that Teigen should tour an airline catering facility, she described that as “A DREAM.”
Over the years I’ve been seated next to a countless number of celebrities on flights, and a vast majority of them just skip the meals. So it’s cool to see Teigen not only appreciate airplane food, but pay it a huge compliment.
My perspective on airplane food
Everyone has a different take on airplane food, so let me share where I stand:
- Much like Teigen, I always have the meal, but that’s in some cases because I review airlines for a living, and there are definitely some situations where I’d rather just rest and not eat
- Some people act as if airplane food is the most important thing in the world; I’m not quite that radical, though I do think that it makes up a significant portion of the soft product experience, especially in premium cabins
- Airplane food usually shouldn’t be as good as food on the ground, given the limitations of cooking on planes; food is reheated, the galley space is limited, you don’t have specially trained chefs onboard garnishing dishes, etc.
With that in mind, I tend to think that airplane food that people appreciate usually falls into one of three categories.
Forgetting the impact of altitude on taste buds, some food can more or less be served as good in the air as on the ground. The perfect example of this is caviar, since it’s not like there’s cooking required. As long as you have the garnishes and nice presentation, it’s a feast just as you could have on the ground (though on the ground, caviar isn’t included with most experiences!).
Then there’s some food where you can appreciate the effort that went into it, and it’s very close in quality to what you’d find on the ground. The quality shouldn’t be quite as good as on the ground, or else you’re not enjoying very good food there, given that your airplane meal is probably being reheated 12 hours after it was initially prepared.
For example, I’d say that was the case with a recent meal I had in British Airways first class, where I enjoyed the baked cauliflower cakes.
Then you have the meals that fall in the “comfort food” category, which I am less enthusiastic about than others. This is typically what you’ll find in domestic first class. The food is generally pretty cheap (airlines have tight budgets), and you really don’t want to see the nutrition contents for these meals, as they’re packed with sodium and carbs.
Is this delicious? I mean, yes, in the same way that many would find a Big Mac or fries delicious. Personally I’d much rather see airlines offer healthier and simpler alternatives, but I realize many people disagree with me on that.
Another factor is that people are much more likely to eat on planes simply because they’re bored, and it’s a way to pass time. That makes everything taste better.
Bottom line
Chrissy Teigen has paid quite the compliment to the short rib she was served on Delta. Perhaps most interesting, Teigen says she never skips an airplane meal, as she finds the whole process of airplane catering to be interesting. Someone get Teigen into an airline catering facility stat!
Where do you stand on airplane food?
I like that she posted this, and that paid social media posts are not a thing!
I enjoyed Mashama Baileys Breakfast fritata.
She may not turn an inflight meal down--but she probably does not eat much of it!!!!
There is dumb... really dumb... and Christy Teigen.
She is a known homophobe that threatens peoples families.
Good vibe? Not for LGBQT+ people.
"She’s such a good vibe"
ahahahaha
She is a very pretty, vapid, shallow person.
Not a thought in that pretty little head.
good vibe? entitled.
But she is a guilty pleasure... what silly thing will she say next.
I thought airplane & lpunge food fell in two categories:
Salmon
Avocado toast
Chrissy is such a foodie. I think she should tour a facility with great F class catering as I imagine their process will be a bit more complex. There are quite a few videos about the preparation of planning a menu and food prep/fast chilling but nothing very detailed about first class from what I recall. Amazing she shouted out delta for what she ate on her return from Florida. Kudos to her (and Delta).
You forgot the 4th category, food that occasionally impresses you much, you think it's as good as anything you can have on the ground in a fancy restaurant (and you and other bloggers have made that claim every once in a while).
@Ben - when you say Teigen is "such a good vibe", do you agree with her threats against peoples families? Or is it the homophobia she has espoused that's "a good vibe?".
Is it accusing people on Twitter of being on drugs?
This is all well documented, and you may want to consider endorsing this person. Unless, of course, you too feel threats and harassment are okay. Because then you may find yourself without advertisers and affiliate links *very* quickly.
Loretta Jackson is definitely not a good vibe lol.
Loretta Chrissy is lovely and a great mom and is super funny - calm down.
Do you know her personally?
But glad to know you have a low bar for what is "super funny" humor.
I think airline food is vastly over-rated, even in international first class.
The extremely dry air on the plane adversely affects your ability to smell and taste. Also, what's often underappreciated is that humans cannot evaluate what they are getting from one sense in isolation. Your mind tricks you, there is a huge scientific literature on this. You should expect that the noise on aircraft as well as the constrained space will affect your experience.
...I think airline food is vastly over-rated, even in international first class.
The extremely dry air on the plane adversely affects your ability to smell and taste. Also, what's often underappreciated is that humans cannot evaluate what they are getting from one sense in isolation. Your mind tricks you, there is a huge scientific literature on this. You should expect that the noise on aircraft as well as the constrained space will affect your experience.
So that's all on top of airlines serving convenience food that's re-heated in a convection oven.
So why do people care so much and love it? Many reasons. I think one is boredom on the plane. Another is sort of a zero-price effect. You already paid the ticket. The ticket price won't change if you skip the meal and the champagne. To the contrary, that stuff is free .
I generally value food (also airplane food) highly. But then, I also limit myself the three meals a day. So if I have had breakfast at the hotel, I don't need another one on the plane. Same for midnight departures, no need for a meal at 1am. I would say I take about 85% of the meals, but skip the remaining 15% intentionally.
I've been impressed with American's healthier offerings lately- they have golden roasted chicken and the grains + greens bowl offered on lunch/dinner meal flights (via pre-order only). Even on a longer AA flight in economy last month (PHL-PHX), the new buy on board options were quite good- had the Asian Chicken salad shaker. Even though I fly every other week, I still take pictures of my food as if it's a novelty for me- I...
I've been impressed with American's healthier offerings lately- they have golden roasted chicken and the grains + greens bowl offered on lunch/dinner meal flights (via pre-order only). Even on a longer AA flight in economy last month (PHL-PHX), the new buy on board options were quite good- had the Asian Chicken salad shaker. Even though I fly every other week, I still take pictures of my food as if it's a novelty for me- I appreciate what goes into having a meal at altitude and especially when the airline does it well.
I like Chrissy Tiegen. She has been successful writing about food. And yeah probably will partner up with a celebrity chef deal. Girls gotta work, right!
Writing about food? She has 2 ghostwritten cookbooks that sold because of her influencer status/notoriety. Lets not get out of hand here.
Sorry, Ben, but this is by far the most redundant post on OMAAT.
This bitch is just trying to get a spokesperson deal. Funny how she uses Twitter after she said she would stop/boycott lmao.
*Someone* has a bad case of the envies!
Calm down, sweetie, it’s just a blog post about food.
Me and food have a love/hate relationship lol.
You're 100% right, but maybe consider the phrasing, man.
She's a horrific human being. Truly one of the worst bullies out there.
She doesn't sound anywhere near as horrific as you do.
I always eat airplane food specifically because it's airplane food. Regardless of the quality or whether I usually eat that type of food on the ground. I consider it sacred. And I ALWAYS finish it.
Nah, Ben. Unfortunately this is just Chrissy Teigen trying to up her PR game after a lifetime of bullying. Now she wants to be seen as "one of the people".
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/300728074/a-timeline-of-chrissy-teigens-social-media-scandals
It’s probably worth doing some research on who are the suppliers for the onboard catering as I don’t know any airline other than Emirates ( which owns Dnata catering) that has its own kitchen. DoCo seem to be the industry leader in providing consistently good meals, Virgin which uses Dnata are consistently bad.
I know Delta has its own catering facility at ATL. I believe Qatar also has its own at DOH (named Qatar Aviation Catering Company - QACC). I don't know if it is a subsidiary of Qatar Airways, but it's likely a government company, meaning they have the same owners. So I don't know If that counts. But QR does have the control over its own catering at DOH.
I think you make a valid point. But then for (long haul) return catering, it is often a dfferent caterer, in particular with Do&Co which only has limited number of stations.
I have a hard time enjoying onboard meals (in business class). I eat on daytime flights to pass the time and avoid being hungry, but I seldom enjoy it, even on ”good” airlines in long-haul C. Something just tastes a bit off when you fly IMHO. I take a lot of late-night overnight flights in long-haul C and I can’t remember the last time I’ve not skipped both meals on those flights. I’d rather get the extra hours of sleep and eat on the ground.
Last year I flew FRA-BAH on Gulf Air in J.
I thought the food was absolutely fantastic. It was literally perfect.
Wasn't surprised to find out that Do&Co does their catering out of FRA.
There is something fascinating about eating a meal - a proper, plated, hot meal, with utensils, etc, not snacks or sandwiches - at 35K feet and traveling at 500+ mph. I always find it special.
Who are some of the celebrities you sat next to?
Yes please ???
I would love to know too! Not spilling tea about their behaviour but just who was onboard. I've noticed on a few celeb accounts I follow that some of them are noticeably using PS at LAX as they are arriving on the tarmac to the plane - have you noticed much of this when at LAX as well?
She's a foodie, and likes to cook.
There is no food she wants to skip, good or bad.
Think of it this way @Lucky, as much you didn't like TAAG, or Frontier if you had the unfortunate opportunity to try them again, you'd still be looking forward to it (maybe not the Duc de Paris).
“Chrissy Teigen never skips an airplane meal”
I don’t think she skips any meal.