Over the years I’ve made of of comments about the food served on planes. But in The Times on Saturday, the comedian, Alexei Sayle, is quoted as saying that he is “fond” of airline meals.
In the Food & Drink section of the paper, in a column called My Comfort Food, he calls airline food “reassuring” with its “indeterminate meat with vegetables of a colour not seen in nature…”. Because the airline meal is on its way out he says, he gets nostalgic when he gets a meal.
Me, I get nostalgic for stories told to me of flying in the nineteen fifties when I am told food tasted like food. And for the early days of the airline Go, when they used to serve (you had to buy them but at reasonable prices compared to airport shops) Danish pastries and almond croissants that tasted fresh and were of a decent size. That lasted all of a few months before the pre-packeged stodge arrived. And for breakfasts on the BA early morning shuttles which I quite enjoyed apart from the gritty scrambled egg. Maybe that’s gone as well now.
Some airlines are better than others I am told but until I fly on every airline, I reseve my thoughts on that. Until then, I will continue to take my own food with me. And share it with cabin crew as I have done a couple of times. Imagine what suffering they go through if they have to eat airline food all the time.
And Mr Sayle? Taking the michael? It hadn’t dawned on me.