picnics

Park Pod at Heathrow Airport

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To remind travelers that every restaurant at Heathrow Airport will pack up a to-go meal for you, the airport has set up what it is calling a “sensory park pod” in the still-new Terminal 2.

As you can see from the photo above, the “pod” contains elements of what you might find in a a park: a bench, a patch of grass and some greenery, a blue sky and a picnic basket and blanket.

To help set the scene, the smell of freshly cut grass is somehow piped in, as is the sound of birds chirping in the trees.

It would be lovely if the park pod stayed on as a permanent element of the new terminal, but unfortunately the pod will only be around until September 24, 2014.

Snack Saturday: Gordon Ramsay Plane Food picnics at Heathrow

As part of a day-long tour of Heathrow Airport on Friday that included visits to the VIP lounge and the Air Traffic Control Tower (details next week, I promise), I had a chance to have lunch in Terminal 5 at Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food.

In addition to “Plane Fast” menus that come in 25 minute (2 course) and 35 minute (3-course) versions, there is an option to order picnics to go:

The 3 course meals (here’s the menu) come packed inside this insulated carrier and for £12.95 (about US $20) seem like a fair deal, considering you get to keep the sturdy carrier.

My meal was still fresh and intact (no spills, no oozing) after being carried through the airport for several hours and then for the ride back to town on the Heathrow Express and the Tube, so I assume they work out well for travelers who pick them up just prior to boarding a flight.

The restaurant’s general manager, Elton Keka, told me about one regular traveler who takes a few meals home with her each week. She’s ended up with quite a few of those handy carriers and recently returned more than two-dozen of them to the restaurant for future use.

I’m keeping mine.