VA J Catering Rant... "Cheese Platter"

[Princess Fiona]

The sooner Virgin get rid of any association with Luke Mangled the better. The food and snacks were better when he had nothing to do with meal choices. A complete and utter waste of money and I have no plans to ever pay to eat in any of his restaurants as I think he is over rated and a complete jerk.

To be fair, I don't think the DJ Luke Mangan J offering has any resemblance to the food I've eaten in Glass at the Hilton Sydney which is perfectly acceptable bistro food with the yummiest truffle mash on the planet
It would be interesting to know what if any involvement Luke and his team have with the catering company at DJ beyond them using his name.

 

[Mal]

A chef's vision and reality are obscured by the catering manager, who I suspect is an accountant!

... a beancounter perhaps?

 

[AaronBradford]

Even if he is a jerk, what in the world does that have to do with the gist of this thread?

But yes, the catering needs work.

 

[oz_mark]

A chef's vision and reality are obscured by the catering manager, who I suspect is an accountant!

I don't know that the catering manager is necessarily an accountant, but there will a budget that they have been given. Accountants may record, measure, model etc. but aren't always the people that decide the budget!

Having said that, the problem does seem to be that the catering is built down to a price....

 

[dandandan]

It's not that hard to improve though and who is Luke Mangan. It's been said before but he is no one in the world of food, maybe they could get Justin North at a good rate now. To start with get rid of the 3 wafer thin crackers that break as soon as you try and put some Brie on them and get a decent cracker and give more than 3, or is it 4 that comes in the pack, can't remember but there needs to be more. I would add a goat's cheese or blue and maybe a tastier chedder. This could be mixed up a bit though. Add some muscatels instead of grapes or maybe have both and get some fig jam to go with the quince.

Maybe they can get this guy to help them out with the cheese plates How to prepare a cheese board - Masterclass Videos - LifeStyle Channel I don't agree with just cheese on the plate though.

What is currently being served up is not a high standard for Business class, if Virgin want to be a leader or competitor they need something like these examples below.

A chef's vision and reality are obscured by the catering manager, who I suspect is an accountant!

 

[markis10]

I don't know that the catering manager is necessarily an accountant, but there will a budget that they have been given. Accountants may record, measure, model etc. but aren't always the people that decide the budget!

Having said that, the problem does seem to be that the catering is built down to a price....

Managers normally go into a meeting to discuss what budget they like, not simply be given one they have to work with, so they do have input, to say I can only work with what I got is a statement often heard from ineffective people!

DJ have in the past been very good at listening to their customers and reacting by changing things based on that input, as those staff move on (such as Aubrey Swift who has taken up the role of COO with FJ) we seem to get a bit of the QF mentality stepping in to fill the breach, that is one where customer feedback is not always taken on board!

Its obviously a hard job, judging by job ads last month:

1. Job details - Catering Operations Manager | Virgin Australia
   
   careers.virginaustralia.com/cw/en/job/.../catering-operations-manager
   3 Jul 2012 – As the Manager of Catering Operations this role will see you successfully manage the complete programme of in-flight catering and other ...
2. Job details - Personal Assistant to GM - Catering | Virgin Australia
   
   careers.virginaustralia.com/cw/en/.../personal-assistant-to-gm-catering
   31 Jul 2012 – Virgin Australia logo. Skip to ... Categories: Administration, Catering ... skills to support our General Manager, Catering and the Catering team

 

[haydensydney]

danoleary55 - great post and awesome examples of what a cheese platter should actually look like!

If you look at the typical clientele who would pay for business class cabins - does Virgin think that two slices of sub-par quality cheese will get these passengers coming back?

 

[oz_mark]

Managers normally go into a meeting to discuss what budget they like, not simply be given one they have to work with, so they do have input, to say I can only work with what I got is a statement often heard from ineffective people!

While budgeting has a degree of negotiation to it, my experience is that it is not the accountants that decide to remove an olive from a meal. They will however be the ones that measure the effect!

 

[markis10]

While budgeting has a degree of negotiation to it, my experience is that it is not the accountants that decide to remove an olive from a meal. They will however be the ones that measure the effect!

Or an ex QF staffer

 

[anat0l]

danoleary55 - great post and awesome examples of what a cheese platter should actually look like!

If you look at the typical clientele who would pay for business class cabins - does Virgin think that two slices of sub-par quality cheese will get these passengers coming back?

TBH QF on CBR sectors (at least IME - not much on that note) serve a similar cheese platter in J. Last time I flew it was a piece of brie or camembert, and a piece of what I think is cheddar. I'm not sure on the latter as it tastes better than stock cheddar, but definitely not mind blowing stuff. I don't think QF on such platters use recommendations from their resident Maitre d'Fromage at the Calendar Cheese Company (otherwise what they are giving is a travesty).

Apart from that, QF gave muscatels on their plate rather than grapes. Perhaps too many muscatels, for that matter (though I can't understand how fat grapes and cheese go together).


All said and done, are people more angry about the quality of the VA cheese platter per se, or are they angry about the fact that a short-medium sector has only a cheese platter to offer?


Most here are justifying the fact that if you aren't happy with what is given to you in J, you can still select what you want from the buy-on-board menu free of charge. Needless to say, that keeps the TonyHancocks happy (until they run out of New Yorker sandwiches with extra butter), but......

 

[Justinf]

I guess when VA provides a 'snack', they literally provide a 'snack'. Perhaps they should re-name it to 'morsel'.
Did you ask for something from the main cabin menu? Not that there is a lot of choice from there either unless you want a New Yorker that has stale bread. But I guess that's not the point. You shouldn't really have to ask for extras.

 

[haydensydney]

All said and done, are people more angry about the quality of the VA cheese platter per se, or are they angry about the fact that a short-medium sector has only a cheese platter to offer?

You're right - perhaps they need an alternative? A choice would be nice!

Most here are justifying the fact that if you aren't happy with what is given to you in J, you can still select what you want from the buy-on-board menu free of charge. Needless to say, that keeps the TonyHancocks happy (until they run out of New Yorker sandwiches with extra butter)

Correct. On both sectors we asked if they had any pies (answer was no) and the only thing they had were the NY sandwiches or wraps. In my experience, both options were awful with hard stale bread and an excessive bread to content ratio. [god i'm a fusspot lol]

In saying all of this though, we need to give VA a bit of leeway given they are still finding their feet in the business class offering. This will wear thin over time however. Was the catering a deal breaker with VA that will make me crawl back to QF? The answer is no... I still love VA, but I'm its harshest critic

 

[Justinf]

You're right - perhaps they need an alternative? A choice would be nice!



Correct. On both sectors we asked if they had any pies (answer was no) and the only thing they had were the NY sandwiches or wraps. In my experience, both options were awful with hard stale bread and an excessive bread to content ratio. [god i'm a fusspot lol]
In saying all of this though, we need to give VA a bit of leeway given they are still finding their feet in the business class offering. This will wear thin over time however. Was the catering a deal breaker with VA that will make me crawl back to QF? The answer is no... I still love VA, but I'm its harshest critic

No, you're not a fusspot. The excessive bread-to-content ratio in that sandwich is awful. You basically get the fillings stuck between a half a loaf of bread on each side. Yuck!

 

[leemin]

All said and done, are people more angry about the quality of the VA cheese platter per se, or are they angry about the fact that a short-medium sector has only a cheese platter to offer?

For me, it's the latter. I'm sure we've all experienced travelling over meal times, but with two connecting flights occurring at snack times for example. This surely wouldn't be uncommon..? If I'm in J, I'd like a snack that could pass for a partial meal substitute. A cheese platter is not that.

 

[leemin]

No, you're not a fusspot. The excessive bread-to-content ratio in that sandwich is awful. You basically get the fillings stuck between a half a loaf of bread on each side. Yuck!

I don't think haydensydney, you're being that fussy either.

 

[anat0l]

I guess when VA provides a 'snack', they literally provide a 'snack'. Perhaps they should re-name it to 'morsel'.

I believe the correct term is "refreshment". Alright, alright.... but I guess if you did the proverbial fridge raid, you probably wouldn't pull out much more than you could fit on that meal tray.

I suppose like QF, all VA services in J come with warm bakery? That's at least got to be a bit of a filler.

You're right - perhaps they need an alternative? A choice would be nice![/I]

If it were QF, the usual alternative snack I think is fruit salad with yoghurt. Things might've changed, or come to think of it I'm not sure if QF do stock an alternative for refreshment services (the alternative may just be something like a Croque Monsieur - for the not so uppity here, that's French for a ham and cheese toasted sandwich ). That said, during one evening refreshment service in J, I have had a (very surprisingly!) nice bowl of soup from QF (yes, it was poured from a thermos, get over it).

 

[EuroKick]

Putting it on a cheese board (a wooden one) would be a great idea. Give it a bit more pizazz. Those purple trays are useless and tacky.

 

[vantage03]

I've had the J cheese platter twice this week SYD-OOL; once served with an ice-cream sandwich (which, as a fitness freak, I still can't believe I ate), and once with a chocolate muffin.
To be fair, I would always prefer to be given an option, and would choose the healthier one. However, on both flights both the cheese and the sweets were seriously delicious.
The crew on both flights were also outstanding.

Lucky the OOL trip was the most recent, as I've also had J SYD-MEL snack and breakfast this week, and the breakfast was especially appalling. Choices were croque-monsieur, which looked like a piece of lasagne 1cm deep in oil. Or a frittata, which also looked like a piece of lasagne 1cm deep in oil. The crew were also very very average, I was a disappointed with the whole experience unfortunately.

The sooner Virgin get rid of any association with Luke Mangled the better. The food and snacks were better when he had nothing to do with meal choices. A complete and utter waste of money and I have no plans to ever pay to eat in any of his restaurants as I think he is over rated and a complete jerk.

I have to say this comment is unfair and isn't constructive at all. I do know Luke personally, and he's a lovely guy. You can dislike his food all you want, but unfounded personal attacks achieve nothing.

To be fair, I don't think the DJ Luke Mangan J offering has any resemblance to the food I've eaten in Glass at the Hilton Sydney which is perfectly acceptable bistro food with the yummiest truffle mash on the planet. It would be interesting to know what if any involvement Luke and his team have with the catering company at DJ beyond them using his name.

Completely agree that the airline food product is completely unrepresentitive of the food served at his Glass or Salt restaurants, which in my opinion are really excellent restaurants.

Last time I spoke to Luke about the DJ catering gig, it was between after they had introduced the J coast to coast service, but before rolling out J on all major routes. At the time he oversaw two other full time employees/chefs who worked on his DJ catering business. The operational limitations put on them by the airline at the time made it a very challenging gig, but he was really excited about it.

Yes - in my experience the J F&B offering on QF is usually better. It's probably one of the best, if not the best in the world. Remember Neil Perry's team has been working on it for over 10 years, the subtlties and nuances to making food taste good up in the air is something that takes time. 10 years ago, QF had a monopoly and the food in J wasn't all that crash hot either...

 

[dandandan]

Here is actual promo shots of Virgin Meals when they announced Luke Mangan for menu overhaul.

Gallery: Virgin Blue's new inflight meals by Luke Mangan - Flights | hotels | frequent flyer | business class - Australian Business Traveller

 

[dandandan]

Sounds like you have a biased opinion there vantage03! but make sure you let Luke know about your breakfast. I am sure since he has been working with V Australia since 2009 and also Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America, not sure when he started for them, that he should know what works by now.

I've had the J cheese platter twice this week SYD-OOL; once served with an ice-cream sandwich (which, as a fitness freak, I still can't believe I ate), and once with a chocolate muffin.
To be fair, I would always prefer to be given an option, and would choose the healthier one. However, on both flights both the cheese and the sweets were seriously delicious.
The crew on both flights were also outstanding.

Lucky the OOL trip was the most recent, as I've also had J SYD-MEL snack and breakfast this week, and the breakfast was especially appalling. Choices were croque-monsieur, which looked like a piece of lasagne 1cm deep in oil. Or a frittata, which also looked like a piece of lasagne 1cm deep in oil. The crew were also very very average, I was a disappointed with the whole experience unfortunately.



I have to say this comment is unfair and isn't constructive at all. I do know Luke personally, and he's a lovely guy. You can dislike his food all you want, but unfounded personal attacks achieve nothing.




Completely agree that the airline food product is completely unrepresentitive of the food served at his Glass or Salt restaurants, which in my opinion are really excellent restaurants.

Last time I spoke to Luke about the DJ catering gig, it was between after they had introduced the J coast to coast service, but before rolling out J on all major routes. At the time he oversaw two other full time employees/chefs who worked on his DJ catering business. The operational limitations put on them by the airline at the time made it a very challenging gig, but he was really excited about it.

Yes - in my experience the J F&B offering on QF is usually better. It's probably one of the best, if not the best in the world. Remember Neil Perry's team has been working on it for over 10 years, the subtlties and nuances to making food taste good up in the air is something that takes time. 10 years ago, QF had a monopoly and the food in J wasn't all that crash hot either...