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"Sorry sir, we can't guarantee a well done steak"

"Sorry sir, we can't guarantee a well done steak"

Old Jul 14, 2017, 2:23 pm
  #61  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 3,888
Originally Posted by TMOliver
?...... often arriving as tough as one imagines a seagull might be after a non-stop exercise flight from Newfoundland to Ireland.
Seagulls are coastal birds that do not fly long distances. Shearwaters do fly considerable distances over water. Strangely you also occasionally come across pigeons far out to sea. They are lost, poor souls. They are powerful long distance flyers but can't land on water to rest; shearwaters can.
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Old Aug 22, 2017, 5:39 am
  #62  
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: New York/ DC
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Sounds crazy to me. You are telling me that it is like playing Russian roulette when ordering a steak? So is it like that with other food? That is the worse excuse ever. Then stop serving steak or give a disclosure if anyone so dares to believe it.



Originally Posted by Numb3rs
Was on a LHR-YYZ WT+ flight and selected the steak and potatoes option. Mrs Numb3rs who sat beside me got the same thing.

I started eating mine was was pleased with it. Cooked well done, as all my steaks have been in the air, and was not too dry. Mrs Numb3rs was not happy with hers at all, it was bloody red. Now I know someone would love the steak in that condition.

I notified the CSM of the issue and was told. "Sorry sir, we can't guarantee a well done steak". This was due to the sizes and shapes of the steak and that is why there would be different levels of how well the steak was cooked.

Not a complaint from my side per say but just curious if ppl on the forum here agrees with the CSM or do I have a valid arguement?
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Old Aug 22, 2017, 6:34 am
  #63  
 
Join Date: May 2012
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While preferring a level of doneness is all well and good (I prefer pink myself), earlier this year I was travelling and served a steak that was raw in the middle... and I was pregnant. Not just pink, straight up raw. Becoming more of a health risk.

Since food options are plentiful and I was in J, I cut off and ate the done edges and ordered something else off the anytime menu a few hours later. I thought about saying something but really, as noted, you can't really guarantee control over how every steak is cooked onboard.
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Old Aug 22, 2017, 6:40 am
  #64  
 
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Originally Posted by maewest
While preferring a level of doneness is all well and good (I prefer pink myself), earlier this year I was travelling and served a steak that was raw in the middle... and I was pregnant. Not just pink, straight up raw. Becoming more of a health risk.

Since food options are plentiful and I was in J, I cut off and ate the done edges and ordered something else off the anytime menu a few hours later. I thought about saying something but really, as noted, you can't really guarantee control over how every steak is cooked onboard.
A rare steak is raw in the middle. I realise this is not to everyone's taste (including mine) but it is a popular preference and not at all unusual.
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Old Aug 23, 2017, 3:09 am
  #65  
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
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This thread amazes me. Every airline steak I've ever eaten, on any airline, is either 'well done-stewed' or 'well done-nuked'. I would love to sample a rare steak (as they are meant to be) but never will as I now avoid the steak option.

Cheers skip
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Old Aug 23, 2017, 3:17 am
  #66  
 
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Originally Posted by pineappleskip
This thread amazes me. Every airline steak I've ever eaten, on any airline, is either 'well done-stewed' or 'well done-nuked'. I would love to sample a rare steak (as they are meant to be) but never will as I now avoid the steak option.

Cheers skip
The difficulty with steaks is that the airlines prepare them by par-cooking them first ('sealing' them) then chilling them so on the outside they are brown and inside raw. When the crew cook the steak the crew simply put the dish into the oven for a period of time. I guess there are many problems associated with gauging how long to leave the steak in the oven for each particular customer - there may be over 50 CW customers for one galley, and the steak has arrived chilled (not warm as it would be if preparing a fillet steak this way at home). Not only that, but the steak will be reheated with other foods on the dish, for instance a potato option, and that will need a minimum amount of time to heat, which may mean that a rare steak is near impossible. Perhaps possible in F where more time and attention can be given to each particular passenger, but getting the timings right will take some skill and practice I think.
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Old Aug 23, 2017, 4:37 am
  #67  
 
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Originally Posted by maewest
... earlier this year I was travelling and served a steak that was raw in the middle... and I was pregnant. Not just pink, straight up raw. Becoming more of a health risk.
Actually it is not a health risk to have rare steak.
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Old Aug 23, 2017, 7:21 am
  #68  
 
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This thread reminds me of Business Class trip on United some years ago when the FA responded to a request from my neighbour for a well done steak "honey, they all come out the same, but I'll leave yours to the last, that way it might be more done".
HIDDY likes this.
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Old Aug 23, 2017, 10:35 am
  #69  
 
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Originally Posted by ashscot50
This thread reminds me of Business Class trip on United some years ago when the FA responded to a request from my neighbour for a well done steak "honey, they all come out the same, but I'll leave yours to the last, that way it might be more done".
OK, thats awesome!
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Old Aug 23, 2017, 11:47 am
  #70  
 
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If I order steak on a plane I just eat it as is.

The quality of the red wine served alongside is of more interest usually.

I only order the steak if the rest of the menu is poor.
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Old Aug 24, 2017, 10:31 am
  #71  
 
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Originally Posted by smokie36
If I order steak on a plane I just eat it as is.

The quality of the red wine served alongside is of more interest usually.

I only order the steak if the rest of the menu is poor.
Well, I can certainly expect that the steak will be poor, therefore should any of the alternative choices not be "poorer", I'll order them.

As for the red wine, 55 years ago, I arrived, not much of a wins drinker at 22, in my first Italian liberty port. On an ensign's modest pay, I often opted by "cheaper wines", out of the barrel over the bar or the "crown-capped' market variety which back then, the lira at 640 to the dollar, sold for about 300 lira for a liter bottle. At 50 cents you could go wrong, but soon developed a broadly inclusive palate.

Later in life, my income still modest, I regularly bought wine from the "bathtub" just inside the front doors of "Fiesta" markets, truly discriminating vintages for $2.00 or less, and later found a couple of drinkable sorts of "2 Buck Chuck", Trader Joe's principal offering.

Yes, I've encountered some less than grand wines on airlines, but never one incapable of dulling the pain and easing the boredom, always better than the steaks.
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Old Aug 25, 2017, 2:50 am
  #72  
 
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The reason I never order steak on a BA flight is because it's guaranteed to be well done!
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Old Aug 30, 2017, 9:20 am
  #73  
 
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Originally Posted by drwilliams
Actually it is not a health risk to have rare steak.
It is when you are pregnant

And yes, truly rare may be a popular preference... at a restaurant. Would love to hear what airline asks you how you would like your steak done!
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Old Aug 30, 2017, 10:13 am
  #74  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
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Originally Posted by TMOliver
Well, I can certainly expect that the steak will be poor, therefore should any of the alternative choices not be "poorer", I'll order them.

As for the red wine, 55 years ago, I arrived, not much of a wins drinker at 22, in my first Italian liberty port. On an ensign's modest pay, I often opted by "cheaper wines", out of the barrel over the bar or the "crown-capped' market variety which back then, the lira at 640 to the dollar, sold for about 300 lira for a liter bottle. At 50 cents you could go wrong, but soon developed a broadly inclusive palate.

Later in life, my income still modest, I regularly bought wine from the "bathtub" just inside the front doors of "Fiesta" markets, truly discriminating vintages for $2.00 or less, and later found a couple of drinkable sorts of "2 Buck Chuck", Trader Joe's principal offering.

Yes, I've encountered some less than grand wines on airlines, but never one incapable of dulling the pain and easing the boredom, always better than the steaks.
Sounds like you have had lots of fun!

I find almost any red wine is palatable to me if its given a bit of breathing space.
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Old Sep 7, 2017, 9:55 am
  #75  
 
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I was on TWA many years ago in F where steak was the main course. When I questioned how well done I could get it (I like med-well but order well so I get med-well) the CFA came over to me and said, "I understand you think I can't cook a steak the way you like it." It came out perfect!
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