I tried Qatar’s gourmet business class meals — including the airline’s limited-time FIFA World Cup menu — and found the restaurant-grade food is sure to impress travelers

Qatar Airways is the official airline of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

The title has prompted the airline to launch a collection of FIFA-related merchandise onboard its plane, including particular amenity kits and pajamas in business class …

Source: Qatar Airways

… and a limited-time in-flight menu in business class, which debuted on October 5 and might be accessible via the event.

Source: Qatar Airways

The particular dishes differ by area, Qatar head chef Mary-Jane Bonnaud, who is the airline’s first feminine in the function, informed media at a tasting occasion in early October.

For instance, she stated flights between Doha and the US could have an American cheeseburger, whereas flights to and from Thailand will supply a pad thai burger.

The airline may even proceed to supply its common dishes onboard its flights, which including fares like lobster and oxtail.

Qatar is typically thought of the world’s finest airline — it was rated Skytrax’s Airline of the Year for the seventh time in 2022 — it is no shock the firm places a robust deal with eating.

Source: Qatar Airlines

All of the provider’s meals, which make up over 200 menus as of October 5, are produced from scratch at Qatar’s catering facility in Doha.

“Say we have a flight from Doha to JFK in 12 hours, then we start producing the meals then,” Bonnaud stated throughout the media occasion. “We cook it, freeze it down, and then portion it.”

About 3,000 cooks produce over 200,000 meals per day, and all meats have to be halal in accordance with Muslim regulation that governs the slaughtering of animals, she stated.

Source: BBC

I tried a few of Qatar’s FIFA-specific meals and common premium dishes created by Bonnaud and her group — this is what prospects can count on.

Those flying in Qatar’s business class are in for a deal with when it comes to in-flight eating.

Unlike many airways, the provider serves its food on demand, that means passengers can order meals at any time when they need.

This permits travelers to sleep on long-haul flights that go away late in the night or early morning as an alternative of getting to first look ahead to the dinner or breakfast service.

I toured the ‘world’s best’ business class on Qatar’s Boeing 777-200LR and I see why people fork out thousands of dollars to experience it

Moreover, they’ll eat as a lot as they need all through the flights and attempt quite a lot of dishes.

At the occasion, Bonnaud prepped a number of meals for media to attempt, including meat, vegetarian, and vegan choices.

We began with appetizers, including bread and butter …

… a small lobster and egg dish, which is served throughout boarding …

… and a jalapeño soup. Both dishes, which had been non-FIFA, had been beautiful, and I was stunned at how balanced the soup was. I may style the jalapeño, nevertheless it wasn’t overbearing in spiciness.

Bonnaud stated she alters the menu seasonally, telling Insider it takes about six months to create a rotation and the group seems at the demographics of every area to create the meals.

For instance, flights from the US to Doha have a whole lot of vegan passengers, so she creates extra vegan choices like inconceivable meatballs and zucchini noodles from Atlanta.

Moving on to entrees, Qatar supplied small parts of six of its present non-FIFA-specific dishes, including a pulled beef hotdog …

… prawns …

… beef carpaccio …

… vegan candy potato …

… and duck ravioli.

For dessert, we had been served a scrumptious chocolate mousse.

Once once more, Bonnaud delivered. Each dish was exploding with taste, and the duck was my favourite.

FIFA-specific meals had been up subsequent, which included an American cheeseburger and fries …

… boneless rooster wings …

… and a comfortable jelly dessert.

As a born and raised US citizen, I didn’t discover the meal significantly distinctive, however I nonetheless thought it was tasteful consolation food that will simply fulfill passengers.

For one thing totally different, I would love to attempt the pad thai burger, or a Yorkshire pudding burger that Bonnaud says is on flights between Doha and England.

Overall, I was totally impressed with Qatar’s eating choices, particularly the wings, prawns, and duck.

The flavors shined via, and I would really look ahead to consuming airplane food on Qatar.