Best Fare in the Air

Airline food has been a long-standing topic for stand-up comedians everywhere. But now that financial pressure within the industry has led airlines to abandon inflight dining for coach passengers in lieu of a miniature serving of snack mix, a meal— no matter how tepid and bland—is missed. Enter Midwest Airlines, a carrier that has always tried to please customers and distinguish itself from the competition, a la first class seating throughout the cabin and freshbaked chocolate chip cookies. Rather than succumb to the culinary trends within the airline industry, Midwest Airlines created Best Care Cuisine. In 2005 they partnered with Shawn Monroe, executive chef at Mader’s Restaurant, to create an innovative and remarkable buy-onboard dining service that features balanced, freshly prepared meals.

To understand just how extraordinary Best Care Cuisine is, it’s important to note the industry standard. Meals vary from airline to airline, of course, and also within first and business classes, but in general, airline meals are assembled with the objective of keeping costs low. Meals are rarely prepared with fresh ingredients. Instead, they are assembled from frozen and canned foods and heated at ground level in a dining service center. From there, the airlines “hot hold” the meals, transport them to the aircraft, load them and finally serve them once the departure climb is established.

“When I first got the bid for Midwest Airlines, I was apprehensive to say the least,” Chef Monroe says. “I realized what the airline industry had done to the culinary industry. It’s a low standard, so I took it very seriously. I have 24 years in the business and I have a fine dining background. Mader’s Restaurant is 106 years old and they certainly don’t want to be in an arena that’s going to tarnish the name. So I researched food service in [the airline] industry: how food is handled, how it’s transported and the science of the cabin pressure, altitude and dehydration. The conditions in the cabin affect your taste buds by about 20% to 30%. From there I knew I had something concrete, some scientific evidence to work from.”

Monroe designed a creative menu that includes Mexican, South American, Asian and French cuisine that is, by design, full-flavored. Working from Midwest’s dining service centers in Milwaukee and Kansas City, Mo., Monroe and his crew prepare approx- imately 3,000 meals a day with astonishing efficiency. Everything is made from scratch—bread, rolls, panini, muffins, croissants and pastries. They even make their own soups, salad dressings, salsas and dips.

“It’s no different than what a restaurant should be,” Monroe explains. “A lot of restaurants, if they make a lobster stock, they buy a lobster base and make a lobster stock out of the base. Here, we bring in lobster bodies, roast them and make a lobster stock.”

On an annual basis, the Midwest kitchens use a ton of fresh herbs and 75,000 pounds of fresh fruit—which is purchased whole and cut, chopped and diced by hand every day. Tortillas, snack mix, dairy products and a great deal of produce are obtained from local sources.

Monroe and his team do all the transfer cooking— grilling, searing, and caramelizing—at ground level. The food is cooled down properly, portioned, plated and sealed. The completed meals are then transferred in secure carts and loaded onto their designated aircraft. Right around 15,000 feet, flight attendants get up and turn on the ovens so the meals can be heated and served. Midwest serves breakfast ($6 to $8), lunch and dinner ($6 and $11) from a menu that rotates every 60 days. Best Care Cuisine selections vary by flight and can be purchased only with a credit card.

Imagine a pressed Cuban sandwich made with fresh, house-made bread, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard and pork that has been roasted in a handmade paste made from blistered ancho chiles, caramelized onions and lime zest. It’s paired with tortilla soup with roasted garlic, hominy and tortilla strips. To balance the meal, add in a fresh fruit cup made from cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple and grapes.

This isn’t just “good for airline food.” This is good food, period.