Qantas and Rockpool have launched their new spring menu in First and Business Class with a host of mouthwatering seasonal ingredients to savour in the ultimate ‘Restaurant in the sky’.
I journeyed out to the Qantas Centre of Service Excellence (COSE) in Sydney to find out more from Rockpool’s Master Sommelier Sebastian Crowther about the new menu, accompanying wines and the complex process of serving up the finest, freshest food at 35,000 feet.
Oh and sample it all of course. Well someone had to.
Let’s take off with a wine
Adrian Santalan and Rockpool Master Sommelier Sebastian Crowther
The first thing I discovered was that there’s actually no wine list per se as all the vinos are checked in on a seasonally selected basis.
Aside from French Champagne and a couple of Trans Tasman favourites to keep our Kiwis cousins happy, all the produce and suppliers are proudly Australian and interestingly not just sourced from the big guns either.
Smaller, boutique cellar doors like the Yarra Valley’s ‘Santolin’ and their exceptional Chardonnay and bubble gum esque Pinot Noir (which I name ‘the party in a glass’) is produced solely by husband and wife team Adrian (pictured) and Rebecca Santolin.
Then there’s the ‘Wine Makers daughter’, the offspring of Borry Gartell and his wife Gaye Stuart-Nairne who launched their vineyard in Orange back in 1965. With flavours of lime and rosewater it’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted. Delicious.
It’s a remarkable accomplishment for any airline to be able to logistically showcase smaller boutique players alongside the usual popular wine brands and is an indication of the airlines proud commitment to promoting local wines and customers ever changing tastes.
Last week the Qantas Rockpool Sommeliers embarked on their first wine tasting. A new approach to our bevera… https://t.co/COpyWbO1o7
— Qantas (@Qantas) July 27, 2015
And now let’s tuck in to the main event
The White cut chicken salad with hot numbing dressing
When it comes to the food, it’s astonishing to learn too that barely anything on the menu is re-heated on any Qantas First or Business sector.
All the food is freshly prepared and cooked to order by the intensively trained crew that craft their culinary skills right here at COSE in the same ovens that feature on-board. At a princely cost of AUD $100k each they’re certainly a tad different to say the least from the standard fan oven in my kitchen.
The spring menu features delicious and innovative cuisine created from sustainable and locally sourced produce from all over Australia. But what impressed me is the level of detail the team dives into when creating the menu, yet the way they follow the simple philosophy that ‘if it tastes good on the ground, it’ll taste good in the sky’.
Neil Perry and some of his mixology team at Rockpool Group
“Consistent with today’s culinary culture, our customers expect fresh, contemporary food, so we need to make sure we are flying the best products available. We engage the growers and fisherman, making sure we work with the seasons and sustainable produce”.
Neil Perry, Qantas Chef and Rockpool Founder
First Class customers can choose from a 7-course tasting menu or a-la-carte dining experience. If you’re one of the privileged few dining in First on flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Dubai and the US you’ll get to choose ‘beyond the printed menu’ with a seasonal dish of the month.
This month’s ‘seasonal dish’ I get to try is the delicious ‘Seared scallops with globe artichokes, spinach puree, broad beans and shaved fennel’ (pictured above in the main image) The verdict? The epitome of spring on a plate.
Also new on the menu for spring is a Rockpool Bar & Grill style ‘Mirrool Creek grass fed, 7-day dry aged lamb rack with creamed cavolo nero, roast garlic and rosemary potatoes, and minted salsa verde’ which tastes just as good as you might imagine.
The Rockpool Bar & Grill style Mirrool Creek grass fed, 7-days dry aged lamb rack
Additionally in First and on selected Business services is the incredible tasting ‘Glacier 51 Patagonian toothfish’, which despite its name actually comes from the Australian zone of the sub-Antarctic region, around off 3500kms off Western Australia. Which is another great story for cabin crew to tell passengers.
With other delights such as ‘Calvisius sterling Caviar tartlets with Cremé fraiche and a Latte Cotto’ for dessert alongside favourites such as the signature and very popular, steak sandwich or even the freshly baked (and divine) garlic bread, the biggest dilemma anyone’s going to have is what to choose. If you’re on a long sector my advice is – perhaps just try everything.
What about everyone else onboard?
If you’re flying at the not so pointy end of the plane you won’t be disappointed either with super sized portions and the range of seasonal produce extending into the Premium and Economy cabins with only the best Australian suppliers featured.
Back by popular demand too this spring, is the Select on Q-Eat online exclusive dish in Economy – Blackmores Wagyu beef with mushroom sauce, polenta and green beans. Customers can pre-order their meals online using Select on Q-Eat up to 12 hours prior to departure and you’ll also get access to an exclusive online dish that’s not on the inflight menu to make you feel even more special.
Super sized portions and Q-Eat online ordering feature in Premium and Economy
It’s been 18 years now that Qantas Ambassador Neil Perry and his Rockpool Consulting team have been designing and managing menus across the Qantas network and it’s clearly a match made in heaven (or close to it) that continues to mature with age, with the spring menu being no exception.
These days you hear a lot food trend wise about ‘farm to table’, but ‘farm to table in the sky?’ That’s taking things to a whole new level and i’d say Qantas are well on track to realising their goal of being the ultimate ‘Restaurant in the sky’.