Whats gone wrong with thefood on VS?

Originally posted by Strawberry Muppet
Something along the lines of..."Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to inform you that dinner will be served shortly. For our passengers in the Economy cabin, we will serve you a delicious foie gras as a starter.

Only if its grade a foie gras, none of this grade b rubbish [:p]

Dean

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by VS045
What I detest most about VS' food offerings (in J) is the way we all have some themed menu shoved down our throats with very little deviation from that, leaving little choice for those not so inclined[n]

VS.

Yep, couldn't agree more, the Christmas menu for me was a non starter, I had asked for a meal with no onions which of course was not loaded on both flights however I will say this, the crew on my last VS43 flight gave a detailed discription of what was in the Y meal and I will take the chicken pasta dish that was offered over anything I saw in UC last month, it was amazingly good [y] so of course it's gone [B)][:#][:(!]

Lufthansa is having its menu drawn up by the executive chefs of three peninsular hotel restaurants (Chicago, Beverley Hills and Fives in NY) which certainly look promising.
Here are some examples:

Grilled zuchini with prosciutto, ricotta, figs and pine nuts
Szechwan king snapper with wok-fried rapini
Stuffed baby eggplant with tomato fondue
Beef tenderloin with charred chayote squash and oyster mushrooms

Although I haven't seen them for a while, VS' "bangers 'n' mash" is hardly in the same leagues as this;)

This standard of food could also be combined with some good ol' VS UC favourites eg. Bacon roll, CH burger;)...

VS.

Originally posted by VS045
Lufthansa is having its menu drawn up by the executive chefs of three peninsular hotel restaurants (Chicago, Beverley Hills and Fives in NY) which certainly look promising.
Here are some examples:

Grilled zuchini with prosciutto, ricotta, figs and pine nuts
Szechwan king snapper with wok-fried rapini
Stuffed baby eggplant with tomato fondue
Beef tenderloin with charred chayote squash and oyster mushrooms

Although I haven't seen them for a while, VS' "bangers 'n' mash" is hardly in the same leagues as this;)

This standard of food could also be combined with some good ol' VS UC favourites eg. Bacon roll, CH burger;)...

VS.

Which just goes to show doesn't it...all of the examples you quote above sound absolutely revolting to me whereas I would happily eat three helpings of the VS bangers'n'mash.

I regularly fly Premium and Upper and don't think I've ever had a truly bad meal in either cabin. Almost all have been pleasant, edible, tasty and well presented. The improved presentation in Premium these days makes a real difference, too.

Chris

quote:
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Originally posted by VS045

Lufthansa is having its menu drawn up by the executive chefs of three peninsular hotel restaurants (Chicago, Beverley Hills and Fives in NY) which certainly look promising.
Here are some examples:

Grilled zuchini with prosciutto, ricotta, figs and pine nuts
Szechwan king snapper with wok-fried rapini
Stuffed baby eggplant with tomato fondue
Beef tenderloin with charred chayote squash and oyster mushrooms

Although I haven't seen them for a while, VS' "bangers 'n' mash" is hardly in the same leagues as this

This standard of food could also be combined with some good ol' VS UC favourites eg. Bacon roll, CH burger...

VS.

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Which just goes to show doesn't it...all of the examples you quote above sound absolutely revolting to me whereas I would happily eat three helpings of the VS bangers'n'mash.

I regularly fly Premium and Upper and don't think I've ever had a truly bad meal in either cabin. Almost all have been pleasant, edible, tasty and well presented. The improved presentation in Premium these days makes a real difference, too.

I'm sure quite a few people feel the same way as you (hence my inclusion of the CH burger;)) but in the same way, many in UC do not use their amenity kits (at least to the full extent) which prompted the introduction of the scrooge pack. Although this may on paper seem like a "better" idea, it does not give the right image for a premium product which people have paid several thousand pounds for.
In UC, I would expect menus closer to that of a nice restaurant (we've certainly given VS enough money for it;)) than that of a burger van.

VS.

BMI's food on their long haul routes to BGI/LAS/ORD when flying in J is absolutely fantastic and knocks VS UC food for 6. Taste, presentation, service, it's all there. Saying that on my recent DXB-LHR trip with VS the lunch I had was very good (the first time I've enjoyed a VS meal in UC), the breakfast was minging though but it was a vast improvement on my last UC round trip. Didn't eat an evening meal on the outbound flight but I'd filled up in the Clubhouse My next UC trip is MAN-MCO in May and I'm not expecting it to be amazing but in saying all this, I don't fly for the airline food, I'm actually not that bothered.

GJ, you'd think I would have learned before now to empty my mouth of liquid before reading one of your posts!

That's 2 keyboards you've had a hand in wrecking now! [B)]

It must be as easy to offer something that for the price they charge in UC that is as good as BMI. Its not rocket science for them to figure this out but then again there is the snooze pack.

GJ, Good man yourself but please not the KITS again.

What's this about amenity kits? Mind, I HAVE been in hibernation for the last 9 months !!
as for the food, the fist time I traveled in Upper was late last year, Mrs. Stoneman and I had wonderful expectations of this, but were sadly let down, it was the Mediterranean menu. No chicken option, so MS did not eat, starter was a non-starter, and pudding was appalling. Good job I had Eggs Benedict twice in the CH. On the whole, I found the whole UC experience over rated, and certainly would not pay for it, but it's OK if you are using FF miles. I somehow imagine Emirates, Singapore, Air New Zealand offer a better service than VS from what I have read.
We did LGW LAS over Xmas, and economy was £400 each, while Upper was £7,000 return EACH!!!

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by stoneman

We did LGW LAS over Xmas, and economy was £400 each, while Upper was £7,000 return EACH!!!

There in is the problem I see at VS right now, for me the price other than a Z just cannot justify the product, when you add in the fingers crossed that there is not a VS slip up I just cannot justify to myself paying that kind of money for a nice bed/ok seat, poor food, the whats it's name pack and hit or miss crew.

It seems as though there are a lot of people fed up regarding the UC food. BA/SIA/CATHAY all very simular prices and products will soon be also very alike - OK ok I know the "CLUB HOUSE" but come on its about when you are in the air , not sitting getting your hair cut because you decided to make the most out of sitting in the airport for 3 hrs. I would prefer to see VS upgrade and maintain the Uc experience that made it a market leader and get the bloody food right and make the flight and "VS EXPERIENCE" a five star experience as it used to be. Wake up Mr Branson and get back to what made VS famous.

Though this is getting away from the original thread - I would agree that VS need to keep the service inline with the price. Look at VS UC to HKG versus Cathay or even Emirates ( stop in Dubai admittedly ) which is 25% of the VS fare - and there is still a limo service! That puts a huge premium on the CH. Soon most airlines will have flat beds - CP are upgrading this year. I agree that VS need to keep the service ( and food ) at the leading edge of the pack, not the trailingÉafter all, the base product is to bung people in a pressurized metal tube and whiz them through the sky to somewhere new, the added value is how they treat the occupants.
Back to foodÉ.
I may be a FCG, but travel in Y - and I think the food is better than it was 3/4 years ago - when it was terrible. Now it is not bad for Y class though I rarely eat on the plane because;
a. the CH food is great - though bring back the fish!
b. I'm trying to loose weight and 2 meals with 3 hours of each other doesn't help!
c. I got over the "Oohh! Free food!" bit a while ago - good point Sarah!
Éand I also remember the days of the menu card
..and know a number of people who carry Epipens / Piriton - which is the best point of the whole thread. It is people's health rather that whether they like sprouts or not that is most important.

GJ, thats my whole point that the BA food on my last couple of trips has been fantastic. I still prefer the "supporting the independent" but wy should I if the food and standards are not up to shape with others. 6/7 months ago on a trip to Bahrain for an expo the food on BA club was absolutly fantastic. I cannot wait to see if the new club will be different but I will still remain loyal to VS but this will be hard if they dont get back to basics on something simple like the food.

Sorry to keep going on but a friend of mine recently flew with Aer Lingus to New York and said Aer Lingus food was superb. Now i know the seats are a joke but even Aer Lingus with a tight budget can serve superb food to J passangers.

[Decker]

Well your friend's taste is ALREADY suspect for having flown Aer Lingus .

Decker - Not really - saves having to fly through Thiefrow -

Decker - Not really - saves having to fly through Thiefrow -

Excuses, excuses...[ii]



VS.

Well good news - A mate of mine just back from USA (Orlando to MAN) and flew UC and said the food was very VERY good. Maybe its the start of things to come.

What food problem. Fle several segentss inhe last month in Upper and cannot fault the food taste (well one looked like vomit on a plate but it was still fine to eat). I also flew Singapore Airlines raffles class on the same trip (two segments) and I would rate their food as poor in both presentation and taste compared to Virgin (which was a suprise in itself).

Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes

Originally posted by badlynx
one looked like vomit on a plate but it was still fine to eat

A ringing endorsement if ever there was one -- aim high, VS!!

[xx(]

GJ

Maybe this could be the new themed menu offering from VS. You've marvelled at 'Best of British' you've been blown away by the authentic Mediterranean fare, now try 'Looks Like Sh*t, But Tastes Great!'.

Sample dishes such as vomit on a plate, dog turd in a bap and rat on a stick. OK, I'll stop there, it's getting too close to lunch time...

Just want to say that I think both the quality and quantity of food in UC is well-short of what they should be providing at the prices they are charging.
Also have written countless times to complain about the limited choice on the Goodnight menu and the ever-shrinking breakfasts.
Just get told that lots of their customers and very happy with things - well not on flights that I've been on!
Those miniscule little trays of nibbles with 3 Walkers Sensations Crisps on !
Upper Class ...????
I think not.

Hehe...very funny. Actually...very funny!!!!:D
But what I meant was that the food was perfectly okay in taste...and to make the comparison with an airline everybody on other forums raves about...believe me while I enjoyed the SQ experience I was immensely underwhelmed by the food whereas with VS in 95% of the cases I thught it was well done.

Originally posted by pianoperson
Also have written countless times to complain about the limited choice on the Goodnight menu

Oh for the love of god, don't get us going on that again! Before you know it, people will be complaining about the amenity kits...

Well let me tell you about amenity kits ----------- ok I wont