“Slopes a mile high.” “Abominations for breakfast.” “Hard to swallow.” So read the descriptions in the UK consumer magazine Which’s list of the worst plane meals of 2019.

It’s a common joke to make fun of the bad food served on planes, which brings to mind the old stand-up joke, “What’s the deal with airline food?”

There are many ideas about why it is bad. Meals are made in large kitchens close to the airport. They are half-submerged in liquid (which gives them a small chance of keeping water) and half-frozen before being zapped 35,000 feet in the air. Spices and seasonings are used sparingly to make food taste good to people who are easily irritated. The roar of the jet engines and the pressure inside the cabin both make it hard for people to breathe and enjoy themselves.

All of these ideas are also true. But now that the Covid-19 pandemic has been going on for almost two years and air travel has become rare, are we starting to appreciate what we had?

Have we begun to miss this much-maligned airplane food?

From cold fried chicken to beluga caviar

It used to be so easy to eat in the sky. Richard Foss, a culinary historian and author of “Food in the Air and Space: The Surprising History of Food and Drink in the Skies,” says that when commercial flights began in the 1920s, most people ate sandwiches, salads, and maybe a piece of cold fried chicken.

Foss says, “Because planes didn’t have galleys, the only thing that could be served was a picnic lunch at room temperature with drinks from a Thermos.”

The first gourmet food to come in the air came on airships like the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin. On a lunch menu from May 30, 1930, there is beluga caviar on toast and then braised beef with fresh veggies and potatoes in cream, all served on the best china, of course. (It was also one man’s job to make sure that the bow of the blimp didn’t move too much so that bottles of wine didn’t fall off the tables.)

Such unimaginable extravagance quickly spread to other types of water transportation. For example, Pan Am’s “Clipper” flying boats roasted whole pieces of beef in the air, which they then served to guests in a private dining room.

So, where did everything go so wrong?

The people who like airplane food

Sky-high food is something that many people enjoy. Nik Loukas, a frequent flyer, made Inflight Feed, where he reviews and posts pictures of the meals he eats on planes. So far, he has covered more than 150 airlines.

Loukas remembers with some disdain a “chicken burger swimming in sauce” from a Ukrainian flight, but his reviews are usually very positive.

When deregulation made it possible for airlines to fight on price in the mid-1970s, sky-high spreads were hurt, but good quality never went away completely. You don’t have to be in business class to find something good to eat.

Loukas himself gives Delta (which updated its economy service right before Covid came out), Turkish Airlines (“inspired drinks and desserts”), and Emirates (“tasty portions that are plentiful and include fresh salads and desserts”) high marks.

And the food itself doesn’t tell the whole story.

Loukas says, “It’s always interesting to see what companies offer in economy class… Small things like hot towels, written menus, and bottled water make a small difference to the overall experience.

He’s not the only one who likes it. You can find stories that talk about the dangers of airplane food, but you can also find plenty that talk about the best, like the eggplants stuffed with mincemeat on Turkish Airlines and the mandarin cheesecake on Qatar Airways.

Maybe that’s why, even though flights were stopped all over the world last year, some people kept eating airline food anyway.

Airline food served terra firma

As the pandemic spread and it became clear that most of us wouldn’t be hopping on a Boeing anytime soon, airlines and their caterers were left with a lot of extra goods.

Some people were able to think on their feet and sell extra spinach-and-pastrami quiches, Dutch stroopwafels, and cheese snack trays to customers on the ground.

Even the plastic tray and cutlery were provided by Garuda Indonesia. This was not exactly eco-friendly, but it made for an authentic experience (especially if you squished yourself between two housemates and watched three Disney movies in a run).

The Wall Street Journal said that people who took advantage of the deal were “stir-crazy.” “Nostalgic” might have been a better word. For example, when British Airways said it was selling off a lot of its old stuff, people rushed online to buy dishes, silverware, and even hot blankets.

Garuda Indonesia and the others did what they did because they had to, but the idea of serving airplane food on the ground is more profitable than you might think.

Reports say that AirAsia’s Santan food brand wants to grow from 15 shops in Malaysia to a huge 100 franchises around the world. The plan is to sell almost the same dishes that are already served in the air, such as rendang, nasi goreng, and nasi lemak sauces.

Santan’s food is of a certain quality, and he breaks the basic rule about not “over-spicing” the sauce. But if it succeeds, what would stop other flight caterers from stepping up their game, branching out, and following in Santan’s footsteps?

Conclusion

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a resurgence of the appreciation for the delicious food served on planes. The food is often considered bad due to its high temperatures and the use of sparing spices and seasonings. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has also led to a resurgence of the appreciation for the food served on planes. The first gourmet food to come in the air was on airships like the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, which served beluga caviar on toast and braised beef with fresh veggies and potatoes in cream.