Worth considering... The people who could afford to pay thousands of dollars for First Class travel back in the 1960s and 70s (There were no free upgrades or mileage awards back then) lived lives that included quality food in their day to day existence. They weren't eating Swanson TV dinners or frequenting fast food restaurants. Some had maids and kitchen staff seeing to their daily culinary needs. They didn't dress up because they were flying. They dressed well because that's how they chose to present themselves when going out in public. Does anybody here honestly think that a significant percentage of these folks along with the jetset and Hollywood glitterati of the day actually held their noses and choked down that caviar, oxtail soup, Chateaubriand and cherries jubilee? The Anthony Bourdains of the world are entitled to their opinion, but keep in mind that Mr. Bourdain speaks (or rather, spoke) only for himself, not for society as a whole. Additionally, many of the complaints heard about airline food back then came from people flying in Economy Class.
Increasingly, many of our members here at Flyertalk have never flown in international First Class. With the devaluation of most airlines' frequent flyer program awards for premium class travel combined with so many airlines shrinking their First Class cabins or removing First Class entirely, many of them never will.
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As for modern day Business Class, the meals are okay, but in both variety and quantity, not to mention presentation, they come nowhere near the quality of the First Class meals you read about in this thread.
And to those who dismiss the importance of a nice meal inflight relative to a lie flat bed or a sliding privacy door, well, what can I say? You're in the wrong thread.
Here's some visual food for thought...
TWA was highly regarded for its inflight cuisine
Pan Am - Beds and Sleeper Seats have been around for awhile
I don't believe I've EVER heard a bad word about Wardair's inflight meal service. More than most, Max Ward recognized the value of good food and happy passengers
Remembering the Golden Age of Airline Food
https://share.google/2uzYjLWnit9PnbIke