After discovering a rather disappointing aircraft downgrade from the flat-bed 777 J seats to the sloping A340 J suites, I was surprised to see a chef greeting guests at the door. The onboard chef feature seems to be one of the more undocumented features of the long-haul J class experiences onboard TK.

In my opinion, it enhances the experience, but I would like to know what exactly the chef does. From what I witnessed, he simply takes the pre-plated J-class meals and reorganizes them in a more presentable way. Is this correct? Does he/she have more of a culinary role than that? I know they can prepare eggs to order although this was not an option on my flight.

The chef actually slows the inflight meal service delivery process as things are done according to his/her wishes. Many airlines including DL/US similarly plate meals according to chef guidelines, but the FAs do it which speeds up the process.

Any thoughts on the TK chef experience? Do the chefs also have other FA duties such as security/safety procedures? I think most pax would assume they would, which could increase risk in the unfortunate event of an emergency.