There are a small number of airlines that offer inflight chefs, who generally help with preparing meals in first and business class. In this post, I’d like to talk about that in a bit more detail — which airlines have inflight chefs, and is this just a marketing gimmick, or is there some substance to it?
In this post:
Which airlines have onboard chefs?
To start, let’s talk about which airlines actually have inflight chefs. Nowadays you’ll find them on select flights of the following airlines:
- Austrian Airlines
- Garuda Indonesia
- Saudia Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
Back in the day, Etihad Airways and Gulf Air also had inflight chefs, but they’ve been eliminated in recent years to cut costs, so that’s no longer offered. For example, below is a promotional video that Etihad made back in the day about its inflight chef program (which is no longer available).
Are onboard chefs a gimmick, or what do they do?
Who are these onboard chefs for airlines offering this service, and how do their duties differ from those of regular flight attendants? Generally speaking, onboard chefs are specially hired based on their culinary experience, so they have different job experience than “standard” flight attendants.
However, they are also generally trained as flight attendants (in terms of safety and service), so you’ll usually see them in the normal flight attendant uniform for takeoff and landing, and then they’ll put on the chef’s uniform for the meal services. But is there really such a thing as an onboard “chef,” or is this all marketing?
The onboard chef is doing nothing that flight attendants couldn’t otherwise do. On airlines without onboard chefs, you typically have flight attendants working the “galley” position, meaning they’re not actually going to be in the aisle during the meal service, but rather will be in the galley preparing meals, so that the other flight attendants can serve them to passengers.
So there’s not some kitchen with open flames for the airlines that have onboard chefs. Most things on planes are just reheated, with few exceptions. For example, some airlines prepare eggs onboard. But that’s even done on airlines without onboard chefs, like Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa.
Fundamentally, the onboard chef position is marketing, but I think the bigger takeaway is that typically when an airline has onboard chefs, they also invest more in the overall meal service. For example, all business class meals aren’t created equal.
On some airlines, it’s clear that food is catered as it’s to be presented, and all the crew does is heat it up (the below picture is from EgyptAir).
Meanwhile on other airlines, food is catered in aluminum containers, and then the crew plates it (the below picture is from Turkish Airlines).
As you can see, the presentation can be vastly different. So typically when there’s an onboard chef in business or first class, it means that food is plated onboard, and that they might be adding some cute touches to the presentation. Obviously food might also taste better if the individual ingredients are first heated and then separately plated together, rather than everything being heated on one plate.
I generally operate under the assumption that if an airline has an onboard chef, it also has top notch catering. However, there are airlines without onboard chefs that have excellent catering.
Bottom line
Several airlines offer onboard chefs, which is a unique concept that certainly gets passengers talking. Onboard chefs aren’t doing something that couldn’t otherwise be done. In other words, they’re not cooking with open flames or making your food from scratch.
Instead, it’s a cool opportunity for airlines to add a special touch to a meal service. The biggest takeaway from an airline having an onboard chef is that they invest more than average in their food and beverage offerings, so across the board I’ve found airlines with onboard chefs to offer among the best food in the skies.
I don’t think that’s specifically because of the onboard chefs, but rather because of airlines’ commitments to their soft product. Meanwhile there are also plenty of airlines that have exceptional catering despite not having onboard chefs.
If you’ve had an onboard chef on a flight, what was your experience like?
I think someone from Darfur should be asked for their opinion.
Onboard “chefs” are amazing.
The food they prepare & plate are better than what FAs can do.
Plus it streamlines the process - they prep & FAs serve.
Much faster & everyone gets to eat & sleep sooner.
Particularly on Saudia.
I just flew Hainain SEA-PEK. They had someone dressed as a chef, but not as much fanfare as on Turkish. Also, they handed out PJ’s (missing on the prior post’s list)
You don't need someone dressed as a chef to throw some noodres around. There is not much to that food.
I want my chef to flambé my desert at 37000 feet.
LOL... Whata way to 'go' !!
AF-KLM increased the cash amout on award tickets significantly.
Here is a job listing for the Austrian onboard chef position, so confirmed that they work for Do&Co and not Austrian, and also are not FAs.
https://careers.doco.com/austria/en/job/744000099361021
Turkish Do&Co is a joint venture, so misleading to say they are employed by "Do&Co". They are employed by the joint venture.
Ugh, more filler content.
I see Bens picking an old wound with that Egypt Air photo ;)
not much else to loose i’d say !
To lose? Or to loose?
Garuda Indonesia’s onboard chefs (if they still have those) used to also do QC for the catering loaded on board. I watched a YouTube video of a Garuda First Class flight from Tokyo where the chef told the reviewer that a nasi goreng dish was supposed to come with crackers, but he wasn’t satisfied with how Tokyo catering cooked it, so he didn’t serve it
There was also a review I read about a London-Jakarta...
Garuda Indonesia’s onboard chefs (if they still have those) used to also do QC for the catering loaded on board. I watched a YouTube video of a Garuda First Class flight from Tokyo where the chef told the reviewer that a nasi goreng dish was supposed to come with crackers, but he wasn’t satisfied with how Tokyo catering cooked it, so he didn’t serve it
There was also a review I read about a London-Jakarta GA Business flight where the onboard chef expressed an apology to the reviewer because the dessert “wasn’t colourful enough”. Which, wow?! I think the strawberries he requested were not up to standard, as well. It’s these little things that make a difference
I wonder if AA flights out of LHR will have a rat catcher instead of a chef?
We’re gonna need a bigger net
Absolutely Hugh, however, most of the ‘rats’ are returning to their breeding holes in the U.S. Travelling ‘Rodent Class’ in an AA ‘rat trap’ is the most suitable mode of conveyance for the proletariat.
Discerning passengers know better than to travel with the low cost U.S. carriers …. Yes? …. :-)
Hmmmm ... nutin' like fresh rat kill garnished with rodent turds, exquisitely prepared by an inflight exterminating crew ! ... Now imma hangry ...
The time I flew Turkish business (Denver to IST) the onboard chef took my order at the beginning and I never saw him again for the remainder of the flight.
Honesty, the appetizers and desserts served form a cart impressed me more than an onboard chef I never saw.
The TK onboard chefs are employed by DO&CO and not by TK.
So are they trained/certified in TK's emergency/safety procedures as well ?
I'll wager they have some safety training, but there’s no reason to expect they’d meet the same standards as the flight attendants, because that role is completely different.
Here for all of the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers commenting about chefs, cooks, and platers in the galley.
Oh hush!
If those families were still as rich as they were 150 years ago, they wouldn’t be flying commercial.
If Cathay makes your eggs to order in First Class, can the cabin crew be considered a chef?! Hah
Does anyone else at least make eggs to order?
Garuda does it too.
Hell yes. Every time I get breakfast served on LH, the FA's make them to order. Is it just me or would others also like to get onions, lox, and scrambled eggs for breakfast?
Life is not perfect, but is made better with scratch breakfast and EU 261.
Hell yes. I have eggs made to order on every breakfast served by LH. Made by the FA doing galley duty. New Yawkers would appreciate my choice. First she sautes sliced onions, followed by cutting up sliced smoked salmon (lox to those in the know), and finished off with scrambled eggs. Nothing better for breakfast. Been doing that for a couple of years.
Don't need a chef for that! Been my experience that on long...
Hell yes. I have eggs made to order on every breakfast served by LH. Made by the FA doing galley duty. New Yawkers would appreciate my choice. First she sautes sliced onions, followed by cutting up sliced smoked salmon (lox to those in the know), and finished off with scrambled eggs. Nothing better for breakfast. Been doing that for a couple of years.
Don't need a chef for that! Been my experience that on long haul LH with FA's, they will often "customize" most meal offerings if you are nice and treat them with respect. Last year I noticed that another person flying FC couldn't choose which of four red wines offered he wanted. The purser came to him with a tray of four glasses and spent about ten minutes with him. Now that's just plain good service.
Not a fan of Erdogan, but I do enjoy how Turkish Airlines has chef’s wearing the chef’s hats on long-haul wide-body flights. Kinda cool.
But did he serve you goose?
So, lemme get this right.
The food is already cooked and perhaps catered by Do & Co. Then the "chef" plates it? This strikes me as no more a skilled activity than the non flight attendant "shower attendants" on Emirates's A380. I would expect that such personnel may not be subject to the same union contracts as they are mere "flight attendant helpers" but their labor may still be justified to assist the orderly flow of meals during busy meal times.
What is the difference between "cooking" and "catering" to you?
One of the reasons that I like to fly with TK long-haul is that they have onboard chefs. Yes, it is a cool experience. And the quality of service and crew's attitude significantly differs when the chef is onboard compared to when there is "just" crew.
In the last two years the service has been comparable to that of SQ, at least that was my experience. The food in TK is also very good, but here I still prefer SQ, there is more variety.
But I'll bet the chef & his/her toque couldn't compare with the Singapore Girls, resplendent in their legendary Sarong Kebayas !..... lol
I believe the Austrian chefs actually work for Do&Co. They're not flight attendants. They obviously don't cook, but can do some customization. And they make the Viennese coffees.
The Austrian Airlines chef was entertaining on our flight. The food was definitely better than airline food average.
Was flying Turkish J last year and struck up a conversation with two of the FAs about the onboard chefs. Interestingly, they said the chefs were not trained flight attendants. They receive some basic safety training, but aren't trained to evacuate aircraft, etc. Most of their training centers on creating the culinary experience for pax, service standards, etc.
Perhaps they should be called on-board platers.
That EgyptAir meal must be short haul business
So it's fair to say the "chefs" just puts on a show for people who don't know better. They put on a costume, pretend like they're in a real kitchen, and maybe make the food more suitable for Instagram. For me, flourishes like that are just attempts to mask shortcomings elsewhere. Just give me my reheated leftovers and leave me to my movie.
So, I can't offer you any sorbet to cleanse your palate between multiple courses, sir ?
..lol...
I vividly remember you waxing lyrical on the Saudia chef and saying he had elevated the experience beyond what you’d expected, now it’s just marketing gimmick? What changed?
Long time pet peeve of mine is that they are not chefs they are cooks “onboard cooks” they reheat and plate pre prepared items, they didn’t create the recipes or design the menu, but I guess onboard cook is not as fashionable as chef!
But at least the person plating your food isn't also cleaning the bathroom mid flight.
Yeah they do the toilets after the desert course and before breakfast.
Maybe so, but I'd imagine he/she still would have to do 'personal business' in the loo and I wonder if he/she would have the decency to wash his/her hands afterwards, as well !
Besides, I wouldn't wanna see what goes on in the galley as I wouldn't wanna be in any restaurant kitchen to see the multiple unsanitary/unhygenic practices that occur there !