International airlines are making a conscious effort to please the Indian palate, finds Neha Gupta
It was 26 years ago when Singapore Airlines began the creation of a global panel of award winning chefs from different nations for authentic regional cuisine. Over the years, as this group expanded, one of the panellists enlisted was TV chef and host, author, and restaurateur Sanjeev Kapoor, who works closely with the airline’s chefs for Indian cuisine.
During conceptualisation of the meals, each dish is planned such that it matches tastes of cities that they fly out of; for instance, north India’s kebabs are served on outbound flights from Delhi, and idlis on outbound flights from Chennai.
Emirates mirrors tastes to match each of the 10 Indian ports that it flies out of. For instance, the Kolkata route enjoys mustard fish curry, a much- loved dish from eastern India; ridge gourd and green peas dumpling on flights to and from Ahmedabad; fish in red gravy on Emirates’ flights to Kerala.
India’s Jet Airways styles its in-flight menus based on the current trends in fine dining restaurants, and how the palette changes at 30,000 feet in the air.
Indian meals are served on all its flights, regardless of the port of departure or arrival. They do offer options based on the final destination though. For instance, flights to Europe and USA will have a continental menu option, flights to the Gulf serve Arabic cuisine and those to South East Asian countries offer oriental choices.
Chef Satish Arora from Taj Group of Hotels and chefs from Oberoi’s kitchens orchestrate the meals on flights from India; and flights from UK and Europe are catered by one of the world’s most acclaimed restaurants Bombay Brassiere.
As India has a number of meal preferences that range from a vegetarian diet that excludes roots to those that include meat except beef, British Airways is sensitive to these needs with three meal options:
- Asian vegetarian – no fish, meat, poultry and eggs.
- Hindu – no form of beef, veal or pork. Includes other meats.
- Jain meal – does not contain onions, potatoes, garlic or root vegetables, and is meatless.
Cathay Pacific also works on similar lines as British Airways, as they realise the religious importance of food for any Indian. Additionally, to offer a variety, menus change monthly on long- haul flights, and weekly on short-haul flights. Keeping up with the season, the airline surprises its passengers with seasonal produce too. First class passengers experience tastes from the kitchens of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.
Dragonair flights, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, are in partnership with the kitchen of Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, headed by Michael Donlevy, Executive Chef.
For a homely experience, Lufthansa indulges in the quintessentially Indian rajma (kidney beans)
or dal with rice, as well as masala chai. Celebrity chefs Kunal Kapur and top chef Surender Mohan are the men behind the gourmet cuisine in first and business class. The entrée is a result of a cooking competition held by Lufthansa to zero in on the most appreciated recipe.
The first and business class enjoy a well-thought about combination of fruit chaat, kebabs, pulao, gobi mutter pudina, palak paneer, dal, yogurt, chicken curry, salmon tikka chaat and butter chicken, to name a few.
Indian meal options on Etihad Airways include chicken biryani, a typical Indian fried onion, chickpea masala, aloo mutter, mint tikki and subz paratha — popular dishes in the North of the country.
Specially designed menus for kids are available in addition to the regular ones served on Swiss International Air Lines. Emphasising on the need to please the Indian palate, they conducted an extensive research before finalising the menu with chefs from Oberoi Hotels & Resorts. The options include all-time favourites such as chaat, spicy potatoes and chickpeas, paneer baingan masala, creamy black lentil soup, kheera kachumber, savoury chickpeas, cucumber salad, phirni, rice pudding, and of course, Swiss chocolates.
Qatar Airways also looks to please its young flyers with their SpongeBob lunch box, which the kids can take home. The airline has put together a mix of celebrity chefs for regional cuisines: Mumbai-born celebrity chef Vineet Bhatia for his unique blend of exotic Indian food; chef Ramzi from Lebanon for his succulent Middle Eastern cuisine; UK’s chef Curtis Aikens for his inventive European culinary offering; and Japanese chef Nobu for Asian fusion cuisine.
The focus isn’t limited to just presentation, flavours and aromas, but expands to an understanding of altered taste buds when 35,000 feet in the air; a chief criterion for chefs today when designing inflight meals.
