Fresh in flight
“Imagine boarding a plane and enjoying a salad harvested only a few hours before takeoff – literally the world’s freshest airline food,” said SIA’S food & beverage director, Antony Mcneil. At
Singapore Airlines’ World Gourmet Forum 2019, wellness and sustainability initiatives were among the top practices that were shared. Aerofarms, the world’s largest indoor vertical farm from the U.S. will be providing a customised blend of fresh produce for SIA’S Newark to Singapore flights from September, while catering partner SATS in Singapore is identifying local vertical farms to work with. The airline is also aiming to become plastic straw-free by September. (It will replace its current plastic swizzle sticks with wood-based ones.)
In-flight wellness is catered for by the International Culinary Panel (ICP) chefs, due to rising demand by healthconscious frequent flyers. Lighter sauces, seasonal ingredients and alternative grains, such as freekeh, are being explored for dishes, which include lentils with smoked chestnuts, hazelnuts and passionfruit by chef Carlo Cracco and spring crab meat dumplings with seasonal vegetables by chef Zhu Jun. SIA is collaborating with COMO Shambhala to include wellness cuisine on selected flights out of Singapore, in addition to its existing collaboration with Canyon Ranch on its ultra-long haul U.S. flights.
Starting this May, SIA will be the world’s first airline to enable Premium Economy Class customers to pre-order in-flight main courses, from anywhere in its global network. The preferred meal choice is from the in-flight or Book the Cook service, and include favourite meals like lobster mac and cheese or laksa. Parents will be able to order from three different cuisines under the Child Meal programme: Asian, Western and Vegetarian.
Premium class passengers will also have the widest selection of Burgundy wines in the skies, with 47 labels rotated over the next 18 months. In a new approach, SIA’S wine consultants Michael Hill-smith MW, Jeannie Cho Lee MW and Oz Clarke conducted visits to taste and source for wines across exclusive smaller maisons and domaines, as opposed to the regular tender process. Some new names include Domaine de Montille, which had never worked with an airline before. There’ll be more choice for guests who are looking for something new, promises Clarke – an Alsace Riesling lover might find an interesting comparison with Australian Riesling, or a Krug drinker might be steered towards a cult grower Champagne.