In-flight chefs: which airlines have them and what they actually do (spoiler: they don't cook)
One question travelers often ask is: which companies have chefs on board their flights? But [...]
Turkish Airlines
Saudia
Austrian Airlines
One question travelers often ask is: Which companies have chefs on board their flights? Most importantly: What are they specifically concerned with?
In this article:
Which companies have chefs on board
Very few, in fact, companies have on-board cooks: Austrian Airlines, Saudia, Turkish Airlines e Garuda Indonesia.
Until relatively recently, Etihad and Gulf Air also offered this service; Due to high costs, however, they decided to take a step back.
Who the chefs on board are and what they do
Are chefs, then, real chefs? If so, what do they actually do during the flight? It is good to specify one thing right away. Cooks are, for all intents and purposes, part of the cabin crew (so much so that, during boarding and disembarking, we will see them in the usual uniforms of flight attendants): the only difference with their colleagues is that the chefs have more experience in the culinary field (especially with regard to plating, but we will return to this point later).
Cooking is not possible on board aircraft (at least not in the true sense of the word)
The presence of a cook on board should not make us think that it is possible to cook, in the verso sense of the word, at an altitude of 35,000 feet, with the risk of perhaps encountering an area of severe turbulence. On board the aircraft there is no classic galley with open flames: needless to say, that would be dangerous, to say the least; so forget about being able to order saffron risotto or spaghetti with squid ink. Rather, the galleys feature ovens e microwave: in fact the essentials for reheating catering food or, at most, for preparing eggs on the spot. That's it.
Trolley service in Austrian Airlines business class
Chefs on board: it's all about marketing
In essence, the presence of a chef on board is more of a marketing move: they do nothing that fellow flight attendants cannot do as well.
Definitely, however, airlines that have an in-flight chef invest a little more in culinary offerings: you can expect, in short, that the presentation of the dish will be more polished and the catering will be of a high standard.
In conclusion
But, mind you, it is not an exact science: the presence of a chef on board does not translate into a perfect dining experience; conversely, the absence of a cook does not affect the quality of meals.
Just think of the hamburger that Singapore Airlines offers to its premium passengers - the best you can eat at 35 thousand feet - o to ANA's first class offer., just to name two.
