150 curious and adventurous foodies and avgeeks gathered at Loyal Legion Beer Hall in Portland International Airport (PDX) over the weekend for a tasty event billed as “The Greatest Airline Meals of the 20th Century.“
Many of the diners had flown across country for the evening and had tickets booked to fly home the next morning.
The dinner is the brainchild of former Emmy-award winning “Simpsons” writer-turned culinary connoisseur, Bill Oakley.
His goal: to create a first-class tour of aviation history from the 1920s to the early 2000s told through an entertaining, illustrated presentation. And a meal that stretching out over seven courses.
Oakley dipped into decades of airline menus and in-flight offerings to identify some of the most iconic and unusual meals served in the sky. He worked closely with Marcus Hilliker, Loyal Legion culinary director, to work up the menu.
“It was really important that the dishes were historically accurate with respect to technology and the eras they represented,” Hilliker told us.
And that they were appetizing.
While many of most memorable airline meals were lavish (think lobster and caviar), “over the years some less-than-stellar dishes have been foisted upon passengers,” he added.
Here are the courses that landed on the menu.
1. Hamper Sandwich Duo
The first meals served on a commercial passenger aircraft are thought to be sandwiches sold by the Handley Page Transport service on flights from London to Paris starting in October 1919.
The amuse bouche for the evening was a duo of tea sandwiches: cress and cucumber, and pickled beef tongue, introduced by special guest Barry W. Enderwick of Sandwiches of History.
2 Kangaroo Tail Soup
Australia’s Qantas airlines served a signature Kangaroo Tail Soup from the late 1950s and into the 1960s.
And yes, real kanagaroo meat was sourced for this dinner.
3. Pretzel, cheese and “Jet Set” beer brewed for the event by Binary Brewing Company
In the 1960s, Mohawk Airlines offered “Gaslight Service” on flights marketed exclusively for men.
Aircraft interiors resembled a Victorian setting, flight attendants dressed in Gay Nineties costumes. Passengers were served beer, cheese, and pretzels and cigars could be purchased for 5 cents.
4. Caviar, Blini, Hard Boiled Egg and Crème Fraiche
Alaska Airlines (the event sponsor) flew commercial charter flights with Golden Samovar Service from Alaska to the Soviet Union for a few years in the 1970s.
Flight attendants wore Cossack-inspired outfits and served Russian-themed food. A signature drink of coffee, vodka and liqueur was dispensed from the very same golden samovar (urn) that was flown in and displayed during dinner.
5. Lobster salad
A take on Lobster Americaine, an iconic dish served by Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) from 1957 to 1972.
6. Chateaubriand with Truffled Foie Gras
(Credit: Barry W. Enderwick)
The entrée course for the evening was an homage to the chateaubriand Trans World Airline served to first-class passengers from the late 1950s to the 1970s.
The premium cut of meat was often carved at a passenger’s seat from a rolling trolley.
7. Buttermilk panna cotta with Berries
British Airways’ final Concorde flight few on October 24, 2023.
And the final dish served on that flight was a buttermilk panna cotta.
Drink menu
In addition to the specially-brewed Jet Set beer, the drink menu for the evening included Airmail, Arctic Service, Paper Plane and Aviation Cocktails.
The Greatest Airline Meals of the 20th Century event at Portland International Airport seemed to cruise along with no turbulence or bumps. In addition to key sponsor Alaska Airlines and host Loyal Legion Beer Hall, some of the other event partners included Straightaway Cocktails, Aviation Gin and Binary Brewing.
While this was a limited, two-night pop-up event at PDX, organizers hope to bring it to other airports. We vote for the next events to take place at San Francisco International Airport and the TWA Hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport.