News: Caviar House Mile High Picnics, Flying Blue parking partner, Heathrow shopping deals

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• KS says:

  26 Aug26 August 07:43

  Quite like the idea of the fish etc hampers. Only concern is that it could get a bit whiffy, especially on a longer flight.

  • redlilly says:

    26 Aug26 August 20:42

    I was on the Elizabeth Line back from LHR last weekend and someone pulled out a “Napa Farmers Market” pizza box and started tucking in to a pizza. Yes, that is Napa in CA.

    I do wonder what planet some people are on sometimes…

    • Tariq says:

      26 Aug26 August 20:46

      Hope they used hand sanitiser first.

    • cin4 says:

      5 Sep5 September 11:08

      What’s wrong with that?!

• JDB says:

  26 Aug26 August 07:55

  Seems a sensible move by Caviar House given the current state of BA’s long haul Club catering and provides a new option beyond Fortnum’s or Prêt.

  • LittleNick says:

    26 Aug26 August 12:20

    Is it still bad? Recent youtube reviews I’ve watched recently seem to suggest otherwise

    • JDB says:

      26 Aug26 August 14:40

      I think it continues to be bad+. My most recent experience was in May, but my wife and son said it was atrocious in June and friends who have travelled this month were quite shocked. I have in the meantime done three QR flights and it’s not that it’s better, it’s night and day.

      I’m not expecting or asking for Michelin ‘bib’ standard or even luxury ingredients but getting the basics right – decent quality food, properly prepared and presented. Chicken does not need to be rock hard and stringy; that’s a combination of bad quality chicken and poor preparation. Likewise, pasta that is fine in CE somehow in CW has what are essentially ‘manufacturing’ defects – pasta that is three times thicker than it should so is impossible to cook with a sauce that has so much excess flour added that it blends with the uncooked pasta into a tasteless gloop. That should be totally inexcusable to any chef or BA quality control person, yet it happens every single time. The cabin crew get endless complaints but nothing changes. It’s just so ridiculous to pay for Do & Co but then not to pay, plan or QC the output. BA has hampered itself by shrinking the galleys in installing Suites so there is no space for crew to do presentation QR style but failing to understand food is beyond unacceptable.

      We will be bringing our own food when we are subjected to Club (no F cabin) to China next month.

      PS – people who are spending time on YouTube / instagram videoing or photographing food rarely know anything about and are totally focussed on the images and not the food.

      • Harry T says:

        26 Aug26 August 15:34

        JDB is correct. BA might have arguably slightly improved recently but it was a very low baseline during covid. Now they provide courses served separately, which simply means the poor quality meal just takes longer to appear. The only delicious thing I’ve eaten on BA recently was chobani yoghurts in the club kitchen (which as a concept is a very cheap and tacky approach to not bothering to offer responsive service).

        • JDB says:

          26 Aug26 August 16:34

          Oh @Harry T, how right you are – stringing out the disappointment makes it even worse. I actually thought the covid boxed food, particularly in F was a high point for BA, particularly the trio of puddings.

          PS I meant to answer you yesterday re not carrying ID. You are fortunate obviously to look mature/sophisticated; my eldest son isn’t much younger than you but if he didn’t carry ID, he wouldn’t be allowed anywhere on his own!

        • LittleNick says:

          26 Aug26 August 17:32

          Thanks for explaining and sharing the experience. It does seize to amaze that BA management either have no idea or couldn’t care or think it’s ok? I’ll avoid the chicken and pasta (if those options exist) on an upcoming CW flight out of LAS back to LHR next month. Will try and eat fully before and just sleep onboard I think.

        • LittleNick says:

          26 Aug26 August 17:39

          Apologies, *cease to amaze me

      • cin4 says:

        5 Sep5 September 11:10

        No, it’s a function of bad preparation only. Even the worst quality chicken won’t be hard or stringy if not cooked way beyond a reasonable internal temperature. Given so much airline food can be sous vide in advance, there’s zero excuse for this.

        • cin4 says:

          5 Sep5 September 11:11

          But you are right that the vast majority of people who review airline food have zero gastronomic clue about even the most basic cooking techniques.

• Emma says:

  26 Aug26 August 08:13

  I cannot think of anything worse on a long flight than sitting next to someone tucking into fresh seafood the moment the seatbelt signs go off.

  • babyg says:

    26 Aug26 August 10:50

    You’ve got a really poor imagination given the multitude scenarios that I’d consider worse.

  • JDB says:

    26 Aug26 August 14:43

    I have a good friend who was permanently put off Virgin from the days when they had a manicurist onboard and while he was having his lunch, the guy next to him in business (yes, that used to a thing) was having a pedicure with nail clippings flying.

    • Blair Waldorf Salad says:

      26 Aug26 August 17:21

      That would set me off no end.

      To be fair I never catastrophise re neighbouring passengers after a work friend had their then teenage son awake to find his seat neighbour molesting him. Suffice to say law enforcement met the plane on arrival.

• Cat says:

  26 Aug26 August 08:33

  I haven’t been able to book CX F on Avios since the pandemic, and LH no longer has a UK credit card, so I’m unlikely to fly LH F again anytime soon. It’s nice to know there’s still a way to enjoy caviar and blinis at 30,000 feet!

• Confun says:

  26 Aug26 August 09:21

  And the team in T5 restaurant know absolutely nothing about it 🤣

• Thomas says:

  26 Aug26 August 10:13

  The fish dish in the sky reminded me of a Mexican restaurant I saw at an airport this summer. Beans, onion, and garlic, I can’t think of anything worse to eat before being locked into a metal tube!

• Lawrence says:

  26 Aug26 August 10:26

  What do you get in your hamper, out jf interest? I actually quite like the idea!

  And, as I frequently say, really fresh fish doesn’t smell fishy

• alex says:

  26 Aug26 August 10:35

  I just wish the prunier would offer gluten free bread/blinis to go with any of their fish offerings, they are missing out of this business whilst innovating with onboard products. They appear well behind the curve in offering such basic dietary needs.

  • Peter K says:

    26 Aug26 August 10:41

    Thanks for this. I had a quick look on their website, came up a blank and came here. Rules it out for me then.

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