Flight attendants reveal their plane food secrets

Jun 05, 2017

Forget the screaming babies, the teenagers kicking the back of your seat and uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, plane food has got to be one of the least enjoyable things on a long-haul flight.

Gordon Ramsay is certainly no fan, with the celebrity chef saying there’s “no f***ing way” he’d ever eat an inflight meal.

But don’t just take Ramsay’s word for it, flight attendants have come out to share their insider secrets about the culinary journey that is inflight dining.

One flight attendant says she would “never, ever” eat food served on a plane for one main reason.

“The trays don’t get cleaned as often as they should. Bring hand sanitiser,” the anonymous attendant said.

Another says to stay away from tea and coffee.

 “The water from the plane is disgusting,” the anonymous flight attendant said.

Read more: Make your airline food taste better using one simple trick

“I feel truly sorry for our coffee and hot water drinkers. That water is in a tank under the plane and I’ve never seen that tank be cleaned out.”

And, if you’re worried about your waistline, then you might want to reconsider eating the inflight meal at all.

According to Peter Jones, former professor of travel catering from Surrey University, each food item on a tray is between 360-400 calories, meaning an entire meal could end up being a shocking 1,500 calories in total.

“Airlines are not hugely concerned about nutrition because their view is that one meal consumed by a passenger will not make the slightest bit of difference to them out of the thousands of meals they consume.”

But not all airlines are tainted by the dreaded inflight meal stereotype, Australian airlines have done a lot to rid themselves of the inflight meal stigma, with Qantas, for example, partnering up with celebrity chef Neil Perry for their food options.

What do you think about inflight meals? Let us know in the comments section below.

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