The Glory Days of In-Flight Dining: From Smorgasbord to Baked Alaska
Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio
Milk Street Radio
4.2 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 29 August 2025
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Is airplane food bad on purpose? Historian Richard Foss takes us through the turbulent history of food in flight, from extravagant meals aboard zeppelins, to the flaming Baked Alaskas once served en route to Singapore, to the truth about mediocre food service on planes today. Plus, Rebecca Rupp tells us how carrots won the Trojan War, Amanda Herbert shares a recipe for the world’s first macaroni and cheese, and we head to Bogotá for a lesson on great barbecue. (Originally aired July 12, 2024.)
Get the recipe for Colombian-Style Asado Pork Chops here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, Milk Street Radio listeners, this year for Thanksgiving, we want to hear all about your most unusual Thanksgiving traditions. |
| 0:07.1 | Your antics, your games, your rituals, and unexpected foods that you think no one else makes. |
| 0:11.9 | To share your Thanksgiving story, please leave us a voicemail at 617249-3167, or send us a voice memo to Radio Tips at 177 Milkstreet.com. Radio tips at 177 Milkstreet.com. |
| 0:29.9 | This is Milk Street Radio from PRX. I'm your host, Christopher Kimble. Airplane food has a |
| 0:36.6 | terrible reputation. |
| 0:38.6 | Of all the things that the airlines do to you, |
| 0:41.3 | the food is the worst. |
| 0:44.8 | What do you think this is? |
| 0:47.9 | Well, about seven hours ago, that was on you. |
| 0:55.0 | But in the early days of aviation, it was more like fine dining. |
| 0:59.9 | A lot of people think that we started out with something that would be like an economy class |
| 1:05.0 | and then diverged to create first class. |
| 1:07.9 | No, it went the other way. |
| 1:10.2 | Flight attendants used to slice |
| 1:11.9 | chakouterie to order. Caviar was served in coach. So where did things go wrong? |
| 1:18.2 | What's the deal with airplane food? That's coming up later in the show. But first, it's my |
| 1:24.1 | interview with Rebecca Rupp, whose book details the strange histories of common vegetables. |
| 1:29.5 | It's called How Carrots Won the Trojan War. |
| 1:32.8 | Rebecca, welcome to Milk Street. |
| 1:34.8 | Well, thank you very much. |
| 1:36.2 | I'm delighted to be here. |
| 1:38.0 | So, how did carrots win the Trojan War? |
... |
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