Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago.
What’s the easiest way to avoid offending passengers while still denying them a meal choice onboard? Offer everyone vegetarian pasta.
A recent flight from Frankfurt to Istanbul reminded me of what Lufthansa has done well for years; keep people fed while keeping catering costs under control.
Meal service began shortly after takeoff. All passengers were simply offered a meal on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. When there is no choice, the dish does not even have to be described.
The tray included a bread roll, a pesto salad, and pasta with “arrabbiata” sauce. I put arrabbiata (a spicy sauce made from garlic, tomatoes, and dried red chili peppers cooked in olive oil) in quotes because it sure tasted like plain old tomato sauce to me. I am fairly tolerant to spicy food but did not taste even a hint of spiciness. There was also no cheese.
That said, it’s tough to complain about a simple pasta dish. And that is exactly the point. It may not make anyone smile but it also won’t make anyone frown. It also doesn’t smell or make a mess.
Lufthansa has perfected the art, but is hardly alone in offering passengers an unoffending vegetarian pasta.
What is your favorite innocuous airline dish?
I’m sure this will come as a shock given my penchant for BBQ, but I’ll often deliberately choose pasta even when there are other choices. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me by now, but sometimes it really is the best option. I’ll also confess, back when AA used to serve passable meals in domestic F, one of my guilty pleasures was the cheese “cannelloni”. While I’m pretty sure it wasn’t cannelloni, it was deliciously gooey.
Agreed!
Of course it makes sense to offer this kind of dish, without choice, on short haul flights. Carnivores are not going to waste away to a shadow/shrivel up and die if they are denied flesh on a flight.
It suits the vast majority. Gluten free and low carb folks can make a special order, bring their own or go without.
Well, compare it to an airline like Finnair, which in business class on short inter-European flights also won’t offer you a choice in your meal but more often than not, expect a seafood appetizer and a meat based entree…Air Malta does the same it’s entrees too in business class.
To address Paolo’s issue, I think it would be nice to know ahead of time what is offered so people who are very flexible eaters…except that one allergy should know. Their ticket cost the same as yours. “They can bring their own or do without” is a remarkably selfish statement. Of a short 2 or 3 hour flight. Ok. But 6+ hours it’s rediculous. Especially if your allergy to cayenne pepper means you can’t eat either meal offered.
Great they didn’t pollute it with cheese. This looks quite OK.
It looks better than the business class meal I had recently on LH between MUC-ADB so same length of flight.
I can only describe what I was served as tired vegetables mixed with wallpaper paste, I’d have taken the pasta from the back every time.
@K
I meant that those with known allergies or preferences ( eg gluten or low carb) should be able to preorder something to suit them. In respect of things like spicy cayenne pepper, I think airlines deliberately offer very bland things to avoid that problem.
When I say “ bring their own or go without” , I’m just reflecting what I do on short haul: if I don’t like it, I won’t eat it ( and that means 95% of ‘meals’ on domestic flights in Australia…they contain meat). I’m lazy and don’t preorder. But I carry a snack in my bag.
For 6 hours, I agree: I will pre-order and yes, passengers should have prior access to the flight menu.
KLM does the same on longer EU routes, AMS-MAD, you get an even simpler meal (sans salad) and without a tray. It is for me a good balance, a warm and ok meal.
Can somebody tell me the what brand of arrabbiata sauce for this pasta dish ? I tried Raos and it’s not it