There are a limited number of airlines that feature inflight chefs, who typically assist in preparing meals for first and business class passengers. In this article, I aim to delve deeper into this topic — which airlines provide inflight chefs, and is it merely a marketing tactic, or does it hold genuine value?
In this article:
Which airlines feature onboard chefs?
First, let’s explore which airlines actually employ inflight chefs. Nowadays, you can find them on selected flights of the following carriers:
– Austrian Airlines
– Garuda Indonesia
– Saudia Airlines
– Turkish Airlines
In the past, both Etihad Airways and Gulf Air also had inflight chefs, but these positions have been phased out in recent years due to cost-cutting measures, so that service is no longer available. For instance, below is an old promotional video that Etihad created about its inflight chef program (which has since been discontinued).
Are onboard chefs just a gimmick, or what role do they play?
Who are these onboard chefs for airlines that provide this service, and how do their responsibilities differ from regular flight attendants? Broadly speaking, onboard chefs are specifically recruited based on their culinary backgrounds, giving them a different level of experience compared to “standard” flight attendants.
However, they are also typically trained as flight attendants (regarding safety and service), so you often see them in the regular flight attendant uniform during takeoff and landing, and then they switch to the chef’s attire for meal services. But is there really an onboard “chef,” or is it all just marketing?
The onboard chef is performing tasks that flight attendants could also handle. On airlines lacking onboard chefs, you generally have flight attendants occupying the “galley” position, meaning they won’t be in the aisle during meal service but will be in the galley preparing meals, allowing other flight attendants to serve them to passengers.
Therefore, there’s not a kitchen with open flames on the airlines that employ onboard chefs. Most items on planes are simply reheated, with a few exceptions. For example, some airlines do cook eggs onboard. Yet, this is something that also occurs on airlines without onboard chefs, like Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa.
At its core, the onboard chef position is a marketing strategy, but the larger point is that airlines with onboard chefs typically invest more in the overall meal service. For instance, not all business class meals are created equal.
On some airlines, it’s evident that food is catered as it’s meant to be presented, and the crew only needs to reheat it (the image below is from EgyptAir).
Conversely, on other airlines, food is catered in aluminum containers, which the crew then plates (the image below is from Turkish Airlines).
As you can see, the presentation can vary significantly. Therefore, when an onboard chef is present in business or first class, it generally means that the food is plated onboard and that they may add some creative touches to the presentation. Of course, food might also taste better if the individual components are heated separately and plated together, rather than everything being warmed on one plate.
I usually assume that if an airline has an onboard chef, it also has high-quality catering. However, there are airlines without onboard chefs that still provide excellent catering.
Bottom line
Several airlines feature onboard chefs, which is a distinctive concept that certainly captures passengers’ attention. Onboard chefs aren’t performing tasks that couldn’t otherwise be accomplished. In other words, they aren’t cooking over open flames or preparing your food from scratch.
Instead, it’s a great chance for airlines to add a unique touch to the meal service. The most significant conclusion from an airline having an onboard chef is that they tend to invest more than average in their food and beverage services, so generally, I’ve found airlines with onboard chefs to offer some of the finest food in the skies.
I don’t believe that’s solely due to the onboard chefs, but more so because of the airlines’ dedication to their soft product. At the same time, there are many airlines with exceptional catering despite not having onboard chefs.
If you’ve experienced having an onboard chef on a flight, how was your experience?