QF Offal in Red Wine Sauce

[RooFlyer]

"more lean meat than fat".

So reading between the lines as long as there is 49% or less fat, QF are happy?

Awesome.

Sorry, I think your maths is a bit out. Yes " more lean meat than fat" but considering there is also offal in there, and possibly connective tissue etc, a mix of 20% offal, 41% lean meat and 39% fat would satisfy QF's stated content criteria. 40/31/29 would too.

 

[Daver6]

I spoke to NP at the Tweet event in MEL several months ago, and raised quality of Y meals. He said he has nothing to do with Y meals and hates that everyone associates his name with them. He would like to improve them, but "it's not a priority for QF right now", which I took to mean they did not want to spend the money.

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but pretty sure they claim the meals are all NP inspired or something along those lines. False advertising then?

Prior to hearing NP has nothing to do with Y class, I was going to suggest forwarding that image and complaint on to Mr Perry himself for some feedback.

 

[Archphoto]

Internationally, Y misses out with the "NP inspired" tagline. This from PE: "During your flight you’ll be able to enjoy a contemporary menu inspired by leading Australian restaurateur Neil Perry, all served on stylish Marc Newson-designed tableware."

Y simply states: "Our refreshed Economy meal service is customised by flight duration and time of day, with more flexibility and choice. All flights now offer a range of light refreshments, with a Bodum tea and coffee service."

So it seems cattle class is being fed. . . well. . . . umm. . . . .something resembling food, but QF aren't quite sure what exactly.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Internationally, Y misses out with the "NP inspired" tagline. This from PE: "During your flight you’ll be able to enjoy a contemporary menu inspired by leading Australian restaurateur Neil Perry, all served on stylish Marc Newson-designed tableware."

Y simply states: "Our refreshed Economy meal service is customised by flight duration and time of day, with more flexibility and choice. All flights now offer a range of light refreshments, with a Bodum tea and coffee service."

So it seems cattle class is being fed. . . well. . . . umm. . . . .something resembling food, but QF aren't quite sure what exactly.

I have been to three separate QF functions ( including the AFF Rockpool events ) and concur that Neil Perry, Terry Higgins and team are not responsible for Y catering menus

 

[Daver6]

I have been to three separate QF functions ( including the AFF Rockpool events ) and concur that Neil Perry, Terry Higgins and team are not responsible for Y catering menus

It would seem no one is responsible for it by the look of things...

 

[yohy?!]

so is the gist of the thread that offal is bad or Y-food is bad?

offal is widely consumed globally so not sure if this is a bad thing or QF just 'internationalising'

 

[Archphoto]

Whilst offal may not be "bad" per se, I'd actually prefer to have the choice as to whether I order it or not. If I order beef, I'm expecting beef. I'm not expecting brains, heart, liver or kidneys.

I've actually had a similar experience in QF Y (February 2013), and wasn't too impressed either. I don't know who the supplier for their beef is, but I would suggest QF have a look at where it's coming from, as it obviously isn't a "once off" mistake.

Y food was barely a step above hospital food - now I'm thinking hospital food is actually well ahead.

 

[basso]

This meal was not up to standard, but did this slip through the cracks or was it something else. Hands up who last had a "meat" pie? under the Food Standards Code, a meat pie must contain a minimum of 25% 'meat flesh'. Meat flesh includes the skeletal muscle of any slaughtered animal as well as any 'attached' animal rind, fat, connective tissue, nerve, blood and blood vessels. But it doesn't have to be beef, muscle meat from buffalo, camel, cattle, deer, goat, hare, pig, poultry or sheep can be used to manufacture meat pies and doesn't need to be specified on the label. When it comes to offal however, the presence of brain, heart, kidney, liver, tongue or trip must be declared on the label. Offal can also include parts of the carcass such as blood, pancreas, spleen and thymus.

Pity some of Zhu Yu's ideas never caught on.

 

[mattm199]

But it's nice to see that Qantas has a microbiologist; I'm sure not every airline can lay claim to that!
And whatever the animal is they are using, I guess it is really, really small......

(Maybe like the Krustyburger Ribwich?)

 

[JohnK]

I have been to three separate QF functions ( including the AFF Rockpool events ) and concur that Neil Perry, Terry Higgins and team are not responsible for Y catering menus

From memory Neil Perry at the last Rockpool event confirmed he along with his team are responsible for the inspiration behind the economy meals.

 

[basso]

Qantas web developers think he does International Economy Class | Qantas meta name="description" content="Travel International Economy for Neil Perry inspired cuisine, a state-of-the-art entertainment system and world renowned service."

 

[Princess Fiona]

From memory Neil Perry at the last Rockpool event confirmed he along with his team are responsible for the inspiration behind the economy meals.

Inspiration maybe but not the actual involvement with the menus as he is with the premium classes.
Also had a long chat with Terry Higgins earlier in the year with similar report from her.

 

[JohnK]

Inspiration maybe but not the actual involvement with the menus as he is with the premium classes.
Also had a long chat with Terry Higgins earlier in the year with similar report from her.

I asked him the question when he was giving his inspiration speech towards the end of lunch.

Neil Perry and his team are involved in the menus for economy as well as premium cabins.

 

[rdmsmith]

It may be a PITA for you rdmsmith, but I wonder if you care to escalate the complaint so we can vicariously participate? The response quoted was obviously just a fob off. I have some Qantas exec emails, but I'm sure there are others here who have more appropriate, more senior ones.

I've been in touch with Red Roo on this forum several times, who's been very helpful in getting Customer Care pay some attention to my original complaint (it seems they had 'lost' it first time around). It's now been escalated again given the poor response received from Customer Care.

It seems Qantas haven't missed an opportunity to make it worse at each step. I raised the issue with the cabin crew on board (although they seemed to be very busy and mentioned how tired they were several times). When returning my tray at the end of the meal service the crew member said she would get the Customer Service Manager to come and speak with me. This didn't happen. Then they 'lose' the original complaint; get nudged to find it; reply with a pretty meaningless response; and on we go. It's a lot of effort for what was only an inflight meal, but I'm probably more annoyed now with their handling of the issue rather than the original meal itself.

I just get the impression that Qantas are very happy to take the money, but couldn't care less (apart perhaps from Red Roo) about the service they provide in return.

 

[yohy?!]

I've been in touch with Red Roo on this forum several times, who's been very helpful in getting Customer Care pay some attention to my original complaint (it seems they had 'lost' it first time around). It's now been escalated again given the poor response received from Customer Care.

It seems Qantas haven't missed an opportunity to make it worse at each step. I raised the issue with the cabin crew on board (although they seemed to be very busy and mentioned how tired they were several times). When returning my tray at the end of the meal service the crew member said she would get the Customer Service Manager to come and speak with me. This didn't happen. Then they 'lose' the original complaint; get nudged to find it; reply with a pretty meaningless response; and on we go. It's a lot of effort for what was only an inflight meal, but I'm probably more annoyed now with their handling of the issue rather than the original meal itself.

I just get the impression that Qantas are very happy to take the money, but couldn't care less (apart perhaps from Red Roo) about the service they provide in return.

I hate to say but what exactly can they do about about a complaint on economy class food which by it's very name is rather - economy, eg mystery meat etc

 

[a330j]

Maybe a photo to Neil Perry is in order to confirm whether it is the standard customers should expect on QF NP inspired meals. Rockpool – Rockpool Sydney / Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne / Spice Temple Sydney / Neil Perry

 

[RooFlyer]

I hate to say but what exactly can they do about about a complaint on economy class food which by it's very name is rather - economy, eg mystery meat etc

Hmmmm. Here's a radical suggestion. QF could take the complaint seriously and treat the complainant with some courtesy and respect. Economy, or First; lost bags or bad meal; whatever the topic.

Whaddaya reckon about that? Too radical?

Seems to be from QFs perspective in this case.

 

[daturtle]

Whoever wrote QF's response clearly has absolutely no idea what a microbiologist does because, as others have stated, such people investigate bacteria / viruses etc. It would have been just as (un)informative to cite the opinion of a baggage handler or engineer as to what was in the meal. Which suggests to me that in all likelihood no-one investigated the complaint at all and the author just fabricated the story for the sake of expediency. The response was insulting and the connotations as to what that says about QFs commitment to quality control and its customer service seem obvious.

I find that offensive. I'm an engineer and can tell you that's not a tasty meal

 

[rdmsmith]

Hmmmm. Here's a radical suggestion. QF could take the complaint seriously and treat the complainant with some courtesy and respect. Economy, or First; lost bags or bad meal; whatever the topic.

Whaddaya reckon about that? Too radical?

Seems to be from QFs perspective in this case.

So here's how it ended.. QF Customer Care called me up, apologised and explained that the complaint was being dealt with seriously internally (lots of emails between departments apparently). They offered me a gesture of good will in the form of a points credit. That works for me not only because points are useful but also because it costs something, and IMHO if that happens too often then it becomes better business sense to fix the original problem instead.

Thanks Red Roo for following up and ensuring the complaint was taken seriously.

In the meantime I think I'll remain a 'QF vegetarian' in Y for the time being

 

[Red Roo]

So here's how it ended.. QF Customer Care called me up, apologised and explained that the complaint was being dealt with seriously internally (lots of emails between departments apparently). They offered me a gesture of good will in the form of a points credit. That works for me not only because points are useful but also because it costs something, and IMHO if that happens too often then it becomes better business sense to fix the original problem instead.

Thanks Red Roo for following up and ensuring the complaint was taken seriously.

In the meantime I think I'll remain a 'QF vegetarian' in Y for the time being

Thanks for the update. Glad I could help, and this matter is finally resolved.

I can also confirm that several departments have been made aware of your situation, both with the meal and the subsequent handling of your complaint.

While such issues are managed on a case by case basis and investigated individually, please be assured that our teams will be doing all possible to ensure this experience remains isolated.