Julian Dugmore, head culinary expert for Gate Gourmet, has shared insights into why in-flight meals may sometimes seem uninteresting – and it’s linked to their appearance. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments

A culinary professional employed by a company that creates numerous in-flight meals daily has disclosed why food served on planes can occasionally appear unappetising.
Julian Dugmore, head culinary expert for Gate Gourmet, clarified that both shades and flavour are significant in making meals more desirable to travellers.
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Airplane cuisine must be crafted utilising remarkably precise procedures to lessen bacterial dangers. This includes putting prepared warm courses into rapid cooling units prior to storing them at 5C until they’re prepared for warming up.
Nonetheless, Julian implies that a factor in why these courses can seem less enticing is not attributed to the dishes themselves, but rather the optical consequences generated by being within an aircraft cabin, rendering colour selections within the dish even more vital, according to the Mirror.
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He informed The Times: “It revolves around contrast. Verdant and scarlet perform exceptionally together, however amber can appear uninteresting, practically grey, in an aircraft cabin with its illumination.”
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Gate Gourmet is known as the world’s leading source of airline dining options and possesses the largest dining network throughout the world. The firm caters to over 120 airlines.
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Apart from employing shades to improve the meal’s aesthetic charm, Gategroup’s chief operating officer Norbert van den Berg shared that they monitor social media sites to discover trending foods they can incorporate into their offerings. Matcha, a form of ground green tea, has encountered an increase in favour lately.
Norbert mentioned that they can “sense the buzz if something is developing” and regarding matcha they “detected it right as it was on the ascending path and said ‘Let’s integrate it in a sauce'”.
The matter of airplane cuisine has been a significant discussion subject in the past months. While specific chefs meticulously produce these meals, others have voiced their desire to forego them entirely.
Dr Rangan Chatterjee, famous for his television series Doctor in the House and as the regular doctor on BBC Breakfast, discussed in-flight meals with Dr Darshan Shah on his Feel Better Live More podcast.
Dr Shah disclosed that he typically refrains from consuming plane meals because of the lasting influence on his glucose amounts.
He stated: “I realised that if I consume the meal that they provided me in the flight, not only does my glucose rise substantially but it would remain elevated for hours and I was thinking, ‘I’m going to abstain from food on every plane journey now. It’s simply not worthwhile to eat’.”
