UK's flagship carrier, British Airways has launched a new taste team to develop menus for its in-flight catering services.

Headed by six hospitality experts who represent the best in their fields, the team has been assigned to embrace a new approach to food according to British Airways catering and innovation manager Carol Conway.

"We love food and have long worked with in-house and world-renowned experts in the culinary field.

“The taste team will be focussing on seasonality, provenance, quality, and Britishness of cuisine and we are determined to break the traditional view of airline catering,” she said.

The team is comprised of three high profile chefs — Michel Roux, Shaun Hill and Vineet Bhatia as well as Jancis Robinson — a renowned wine critic, and food writers Liam Tomlin and Nicholas Lander.

The appointment of the taste team reinforces British Airways’ commitment to excellent food at 35,000ft and reflects both food and society trends according to Conway.

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“Altitude is no excuse for poor food — it is about understanding what works best and giving some of the world’s best chefs the ingredients to produce mouth-watering meals,” she said.

The team will focus on providing classic British dishes onboard, ranging from traditional afternoon tea through to shepherds’ pie and blackberry and apple crumble.

“A regional flavour is also served for Gulf clientele using exclusively Halal meat and local ingredients and spices — such as Sumac — in menus offered on Middle East flights.”

A valued supplement to this menu during Ramadan is dates and yoghurt, which are available for customers to break their fast, and extra supplies of water are carried onboard explained Conway.

Each season, a range of chef correspondents will be tasked with producing a dish that focuses on good-quality, seasonal food from local sources.

“This will help to build up food tourism recommendations from the best food halls to the top local street food,” she concluded.