In fact, the team in charge of creating the in-flight and first class lounge dishes for the airline often have so many ideas and so much inspiration in the early stages that "it's like trying to decipher the Da Vinci Code", says Roger Barstow, a chef on the Rockpool consulting team for Qantas.
All up, the team rollout almost 1000 dishes for the airline each year, with the menu changing four times annually with the seasons.
This winter, they've settled on a first class and international business class menu that combines fresh seasonal produce with winter comfort - think braised venison with chestnuts, celeriac puree and broccoli; lemon grilled spatchcock with rosemary roast potatoes and anchovy dressing; and warm chocolate and brioche pudding with vanilla pouring cream.
"It's all about comfort food on the flight," says Barstow, especially flying ex-Australia during our cooler months.
Despite drawing on foreign flavours, the menu also reflects Australians' - and Rockpool's - passion for seafood, with entrees including ocean trout confit with pickled cucumbers and capers, and a delicious crab and vegetable okonomiyaki (a Japanese omelette).
For mains, one of the seasonal in-flight dishes ex-Australia includes seared Moreton Bay bugs with roasted Jerusalem artichokes, grilled shallots, brown butter, thyme and lemon dressing. Another is a vibrant fish tagine from Food I Love, the latest cookbook from Rockpool founder Neil Perry, who is still heavily involved in the menu.
Foreign tourists will also be able to taste Sydney in the welcome "Honey, bee home soon" cocktail, a delightful melange of Chivas Regal, Angostura bitters, lemon juice, orange peel and blended honey sourced from 10 bee hives located just next door to the airport in the Sydney suburb of Mascot.
Travellers will also be able to taste the local honey on pancakes in the Qantas First lounge.
While Rockpool is determined to keep pushing boundaries and improving its menus, Barstow admits the market is tough.
While airline ticket prices are falling, food knowledge and expectations are rising. Barstow describes Rockpool's brief for Qantas as "very challenging".
It's a feeling Perry is well aware of in other facets of his business - this week he announced that his restaurant Rockpool Est, which has won 66 chef hats since it opened in 1989, will close its doors for good in July and reopen as Eleven Bridge, which will offer a more casual dining experience.
Barstow says reinvention is what Perry does best.
"Neil is never frightened of making a change and it's time for a change," he says.
Which is perhaps why Rockpool has kept the Qantas contract for 19 years.
"There is an expectation that we keep our dishes fresh and roll out new ideas," says Barstow, "which is why - wherever we are in the world - we're constantly on the lookout for inspiration."
Source: AAP
