Qantas and the Rockpool Group last night officially celebrated 20 years of their ‘Restaurant in the sky’ partnership at an exclusive event at the Qantas HQ in Mascot, Sydney.
One hundred invited guests including Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, Neil Perry (Qantas’ Creative Director, Food, Service and Beverage), Maggie Beer (Founder, Maggie Beer Ltd), and an array of celebrities and partner suppliers from all over Australia marked the occasion by tucking into many of the Rockpool created Qantas menu favourites.
Beginning in 1997, when airline food was still often the butt of many plane jokes, the 20-year partnership has since become the longest relationship of its kind in the aviation industry, and an Australian success story with the partnership’s initial objective of ‘Showcasing the best of Australia’ still reigning true today.
Both Alan Joyce and Neil Perry attribute the (now multiple) award winning formula to the basic principles of using the ‘freshest produce available, supplied by the best quality partners all over Australia, in one big collective effort.’
Speaking on the night, Mr Joyce said of the partnership;
“Neil initially came onboard as a guest chef to help transform our inflight menu in First Class and stayed with us for 20 years. Most chefs would have given up long ago saying it’s not possible to change the food at 35,000 feet. When Neil started he said to us to; “If I’m coming here, I’m going to make a difference. And he did it.”
Alan Joyce (CEO, Qantas)
Neil Perry, (Qantas’ Creative Director, Food, Service and Beverage)
At the time in 1997, Qantas was the first airline in the world to cook and plate restaurant style food onboard an aircraft.
Over the two decades since, the transformative journey has seen Mr Perry innovate and evolve the Qantas International and domestic Business Class menus, bring a-la-carte dining and a host of other culinary experiences to life in the airlines global lounges and continually raise their fine dining standards.
Indeed, the Qantas First Class International Lounge in Sydney is now recognised as one of the top 5 restaurants in Sydney – an accolade that would be a monumental achievement for any restaurant, let alone an airline lounge.
Qantas First Class International Lounge, Sydney
From continually learning (and occasionally failing) about the complexity of cooking food at altitude, inside a loaded jet full of fuel brings, to developing menu’s that change seasonally and globally across all of Qantas’ operations, the mantra of ‘success breeds success.’ has been key.
One of the low points that didn’t turn out so well was ‘the great steak sandwich scandal of 2009’, where Mr Perry took the much loved dish off the menu only to suffer a sizzling backlash.
Needless to say, Mr Perry swiftly reversed his decision and to date the steak sandwich is still the most popular dish on the menu, with 20,000 served in the air alone every year.
Grosset Wines, Clare Valley, Australia
Qantas is also the third largest buyer of wine in Australia, only behind Coles and Woolworths with 2 million bottles of wine consumed every year on Qantas flights.
The airline even has its own award winning Reisling ‘Polish Hill’ vineyard allotment at Grosset Wines in the Clare Valley, South Australia with Mr Joyce saying: “What other airline could say they have a wine produced just for them?”
Numerous Australian food and beverage brands of all shapes and sizes have been given a start thanks to the partnership and Mr Perry’s involvement, with Adelaide based Maggie Beer a partner from the beginning.
Tony Rice, Maggie Beer, Ali Izzo
“Neil came to me and said he wanted our ice creams on board. Our ‘burnt fig, honeycomb and caramel’ was the first flavour in the sky and it just went wild. Even today it’s a constant conversation starter with passengers and crew alike. Without that amazing response we would never have been able to go into retail.”
Maggie Beer (Founder Maggie Beer)
Addressing guests on the night, Mr Perry said;
“I’m so honoured and proud to have been able to pick such great partners and allow them to flourish. It says so much about what Australia stands for and what people love Qantas for.”
“From the start we had one goal: to produce the best experience for our customers. The amazing people within Qantas have always understood what we wanted to deliver and have helped us all the way. We feel like we’re part of the family. We look after each other and we’ve done it together.”
The freshly painted new Qantas 787/9 Dreamliner
Mr Perry signed off the night by saying; “20 years in and it’s been an amazing journey. I certainly can’t imagine retiring any time soon.”
Given Qantas’ next evolution with their re-imagined new 787/9 Dreamliner’s and more healthier, hydration-focused inflight dining approach soon to take off from Perth to London, it’s unlikely Mr Perry will have the option anyway.
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