Qantas has recently released a new menu for its inflight meals, designed by Qantas' creative director of food, beverage and service, Neil Perry.
Perry celebrated 25 years with the airline in 2022, which is regarded as the longest relationship of its kind in aviation history. Having joined Qantas in 1997, he was initially recruited to redesign first-class in-flight dining.
A quarter of a century on, the inflight menu has been an Australian flavour and a commitment to supporting local produce. Perry said that using home-grown ingredients was a priority for him.
“With every menu update, our focus is on top-quality Australian produce and offering variety with comforting dishes, lighter options like salads, and taking inspiration from the regions we fly to.”
The process of devising the new menu took Perry and his team nine months to create, going through various approval, testing, and introducing phases of the project. The menu has been inspired by many Australian ingredients, as well as international cuisines too.
“My team of seven chefs and service experts start the menu development process by getting together to talk about memorable meals we’ve eaten in Australia and around the world,” said Perry.
“We discuss producers and ingredients, dining trends and new Qantas routes. At the core of the planning is our customers and their recent feedback, which we collect regularly to help shape our menus and offer the best dining experience.”
Perry said that Australian produce is some of the best in the world, and that the airline is proud to serve it to its customers.
“Our commitment to serving quality food has helped hundreds of small producers grow, develop and find new markets.”
When weighing up the new items available to passengers, Perry said that it is difficult for him to pick his favourite. He did, however, admit that he loves Asian cuisine, and therefore the new Asian-Inspired dishes on the new menu.
“The launch of our flights to Seoul in December was the inspiration for some of the new dishes including the Korean Chilli and Garlic Chicken with Kimchi in Economy and the Korean fried Bannockburn chicken with pickled radish in Business,” said Perry.
“We’ve introduced lots of delicious salads for our customers who prefer to eat something light such as the Prawn and Asian Slaw Salad and the Spanner Crab and Sweet Pork Salad with Nam Jim Dressing.”
The new menu is available on Qantas flights from March 29, 2023.
