Beginning in September, British Airways customers in First and Club World will enjoy ‘Best of British Menus’, including the traditional British roast dinner. The star of the dish is 21-day aged roast British beef, served with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, seasonal vegetables, horseradish cream and gravy. On flights to the Indian subcontinent, customers will be offered British roast chicken served with roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, bread sauce and gravy.
The chefs will also be creating themed desserts for the monthly British menus, with September’s theme being ‘All Things Botanical’ including an elderflower and white chocolate dessert with compressed apple and elderflower sorbet.
The menus feature seasonal ingredients sourced in the UK, taking customers on a culinary journey across the British Isles. The airline has worked with farmers, caterers and producers to find quality ingredients, advocating ‘farm to fork’.
In October, customers can enjoy another traditional roast – the classic chicken – as well as lamb hot pot (a casserole) and Welsh rarebit (cheese on toast) with chutney. October’s dessert menu will celebrate the British apple season with treats such as apple mousse with granny smith sorbet, or British apple compote with vanilla custard and crumble.
Other classic dishes due to feature on the menus will include gastro pub classics such as chicken pie with mashed potato, pork pie with piccalilli, shepherd’s pie (minced lamb cooked in a gravy and topped with mashed potato), sausage and mash, as well as a chicken, bacon, leek and mushroom pie. Vegetarian options will include butternut squash gnocchi with blue cheese sauce and wild cavolo nero, and handmade ricotta mezzaluna with truffle cream and grilled asparagus.
“As we look ahead to welcoming back customers who may not have flown for a while, we wanted to mark the occasion by offering a really special menu that celebrates the best of Britain,” said Sajida Ismail, British Airways’ head of inflight. “Working with our catering partners, Do & Co and Newrest, we have created dishes using the best of British ingredients while they are in season. We are particularly excited to be offering a roast dinner on board. We know that Yorkshire puddings and crispy roast potatoes can be difficult to recreate at altitude, but our chefs have been working to make it happen, because we know that every British roast dinner should have them.”
The new menus follow the introduction of food and drink improvements for short-haul flights in British Airways’ Euro Traveller (economy) cabins, including ‘Buy Before you Fly’ menus with a selection of gourmet food from Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, and a digital ‘Buy on Board’ service which allows customers to order to their seat via their mobile devices. The airline has also re-introduced free water and snacks on shorter flights in the Euro Traveller cabin.
