So having experienced the JFK service and seen other reviews on here, I think I had set the average experience bar...too high unfortunately. JFK gets the best food product, and in my opinion when it comes to the most important part (the food itself) nothing has changed in the grand scheme of things on the Gate Gourmet routes, if this trip is anything to go by.

First of all, the UD crew on the BA107 (LHR-DXB - day flight) were absolutely brilliant. Let the next section not distract from a stellar effort from them. Having only just been retrained they did a great job of adapting to challenging circumstances and delivering in relatively good time.

12.35 planned pushback
12.50 actual pushback
13.00 Rubber off the runway
14.05 Drinks and nuts service (was the tray always cheap plastic? Not noticeable unless you are inquisitive and give it a squeeze)
14.30 Starters served. I went for the Salmon Gravalax. Tasty but sloppy presentation. Imagine the old rectangular CW plate presentation, slightly nicer just because it is a curved plate!
Interesting to note that the Arabic mezze starter had not been loaded on the UD and they received something else in return which they didn’t recognise!
15.05 The crew graciously apologised for the gap. Main course served, piping hot! I went for the Arabic lamb dish is popular on this route in CW and WTP, however there was nothing different about the quality or the taste! Same meal, same presentation, different plate - that’s it!
15.30 Dessert served. I went for the sticky toffee pudding which was unfortunately not sticky, not toffee, and just sponge with a caramel hint plus some watery custard.
I then tried the chocolate marquise crisp in the hope that I had just picked the worst of the selection of each course. It was the best bit! Not sure this is a consequence of a change in the offer though, BA have generally been very good at their CW chocolate dessert offers.
18.45 I woke up catch the end of the afternoon tea service. I chose the sandwiches, actually it was far from the usual finger sandwiches (see photo). The quality was very good, each portion was tasty and the bread was soft and moist. The scone was good too.
Given the amount of food on offer in terms of picking as much as you want during the main meal (which was still less than JFK) I think the reduction in portion sizes for afternoon tea wasn’t really felt given the short 6.5hr flight. This may well not be sufficient for a longer flight as a second meal, but for this flight was just right. The tapas looked fine, I just didn’t fancy it.

In summary, despite the recovery with the quality of the afternoon tea service I expected better, but it appears the standard set on the JFK route hasn’t been met on this occasion by Gate Gourmet. I think Do&Co appear to take this all more seriously than our GG friends, from the staff preparing and plating all the way to the handover to the crew. BA has some serious work to do if it is to differentiate from the old CW offer (which to be honest doesn’t feel like much more than just new tableware). I do enjoy having a look at the food, but that has been cut back as well as the trolley doesn’t apply any more for the dessert and cheese service (replaced by a hand-held partial tray display).

Other notes (from both the JFK and this DXB experience):
1. The new tableware on the DXB route at least is all BA branded rather than Do&Co, though it feels the same except for the plastic tray. I think the setup feels fresh, the shapes felt very organic and pleasing in relative terms to the boxy or symmetrical shapes on old CW (and arguably on most other premium business carriers). Wouldn’t it be nice to have a ‘restaurant experience’ with a proper plated main course though?
2. The ceramic side tray within the main meal tray had the bread and butter on it and a blank space - can’t remember what I saw on the JFK route! Will update when I remember or refer to other posts to remember.

The trolley most definitely *did* apply on my LHR-BOS on Sunday last week, but I was on the main deck on this occasion. I can only surmise that the dessert and cheese was hand-run on the 747 upper deck because of the smaller number of passengers.

Having spent a large amount of time in the early 2000s flying Virgin, who at the time used to plate-to-order all their main courses, I can unequivocally say that a "proper plated main course" does not equate to a "restaurant experience", as the crew member running the galley, and the dishes being served, introduced a significant amount of variability of presentation and quality.

Assembly of meals by the flight kitchen is better for maintaining predictable standards.