Michelle Bernstein: The Definitive Thread
Jul 13, 2007 | 8:25 am
#1
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Michelle Bernstein: The Definitive Thread
On Frank Bruni's blog, he posted an email he got from Michelle Bernstein regarding his review of BE food. Bernstein pointed out that he didn't actually try any of HER food, but admitted the strange design of the menu could be quite confusing.
They're redesigning the menu, and new wines come out in six weeks... Here's the post:
They're redesigning the menu, and new wines come out in six weeks... Here's the post:
One response I got came not as a comment to the blog but as an e-mail to me. It was from the chef Michelle Bernstein, who helped develop the Delta Business Elite menu. Her name is mentioned in my blog post and her picture accompanies it.
I have asked her for and received permission to quote from her e-mail.
In it she said that the dishes I sampled and wrote about werent ones that should be credited to her.
On the menu, which is admittedly a bit confusing, my offerings are listed with the phrase Celebrity Chef Michelle Bernsteins Original Entre just above (or sometimes below) them, she said. Youre certainly entitled to your opinion of the food you ate, but I found it unfair that your negative evaluation was incorrectly attached to my food.
I went back to my copy of the menu, and Ms. Bernstein is correct: only some dishes, and not the ones I had, are expressly designated as her own original entrees.
But its easy from the menu to conclude that the other entrees, while perhaps not prepared from original recipes of hers, nonetheless reflect her input or have been subject to her counsel.
Its easy because on the very first page of the menu, next to her picture, is a full-page letter from her to passengers about her cooking philosophy and priorities. She thanks passengers for choosing Deltas Business Elite so that I can express my gratitude in every bite you take.
Every bite?
That sends the message that Business Elites food across the board has been improved by the airlines affiliation with Ms. Bernstein. Id bet thats exactly the message Delta wants to send, exactly the message they paid Ms. Bernstein a consulting fee to be able to send.
In any case, Ms. Bernstein addressed some additional issues in her e-mail.
Referring to my description of the seared turbot I had as rubbery and fishy, she said, You and I are in total agreement about the fate of most fish dishes on airlines. For this reason, all of the fish dishes Ive created for Delta are either braised, or served in, their own juices or stock, or a combination of the two. This prevents the fish from drying out during the notorious reheating process.
For this reason, she added, referring to my blog post, I found the piece to be especially unfortunate.
In any event, she continued, the printed menu is being redesigned to make more clear which dishes are mine and which are not. Also, while this isnt my department, you might be interested to know that in the next six weeks or so, a new wine program is being introduced that will avoid the inventory issues you cited.
I have asked her for and received permission to quote from her e-mail.
In it she said that the dishes I sampled and wrote about werent ones that should be credited to her.
On the menu, which is admittedly a bit confusing, my offerings are listed with the phrase Celebrity Chef Michelle Bernsteins Original Entre just above (or sometimes below) them, she said. Youre certainly entitled to your opinion of the food you ate, but I found it unfair that your negative evaluation was incorrectly attached to my food.
I went back to my copy of the menu, and Ms. Bernstein is correct: only some dishes, and not the ones I had, are expressly designated as her own original entrees.
But its easy from the menu to conclude that the other entrees, while perhaps not prepared from original recipes of hers, nonetheless reflect her input or have been subject to her counsel.
Its easy because on the very first page of the menu, next to her picture, is a full-page letter from her to passengers about her cooking philosophy and priorities. She thanks passengers for choosing Deltas Business Elite so that I can express my gratitude in every bite you take.
Every bite?
That sends the message that Business Elites food across the board has been improved by the airlines affiliation with Ms. Bernstein. Id bet thats exactly the message Delta wants to send, exactly the message they paid Ms. Bernstein a consulting fee to be able to send.
In any case, Ms. Bernstein addressed some additional issues in her e-mail.
Referring to my description of the seared turbot I had as rubbery and fishy, she said, You and I are in total agreement about the fate of most fish dishes on airlines. For this reason, all of the fish dishes Ive created for Delta are either braised, or served in, their own juices or stock, or a combination of the two. This prevents the fish from drying out during the notorious reheating process.
For this reason, she added, referring to my blog post, I found the piece to be especially unfortunate.
In any event, she continued, the printed menu is being redesigned to make more clear which dishes are mine and which are not. Also, while this isnt my department, you might be interested to know that in the next six weeks or so, a new wine program is being introduced that will avoid the inventory issues you cited.
Jul 13, 2007 | 11:03 am
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"...in the next six weeks or so, a new wine program is being introduced that will avoid the inventory issues you cited.
Jul 13, 2007 | 11:37 am
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Jul 13, 2007 | 12:39 pm
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The current system really isn't that confusing if you know very much about wine. Just look at the printed offerings and identify the 2 cheapest whites and 2 cheapest reds, and you'll have the answer before the FA says a word.
For people who do wonder and ask the FA, I'm amazed that 100% of the time they feign ignorance as to which wines are actually on board. That seems to be done to give the impression they are pouring a random selection of the printed choices, when in fact they have probably been serving the same 4 types every flight for weeks or months. Sometimes they only have the cheapest 1 red though, so I suppose they want to check that first.
Jul 13, 2007 | 4:02 pm
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The current system really isn't that confusing if you know very much about wine. Just look at the printed offerings and identify the 2 cheapest whites and 2 cheapest reds, and you'll have the answer before the FA says a word.
For people who do wonder and ask the FA, I'm amazed that 100% of the time they feign ignorance as to which wines are actually on board. That seems to be done to give the impression they are pouring a random selection of the printed choices, when in fact they have probably been serving the same 4 types every flight for weeks or months. Sometimes they only have the cheapest 1 red though, so I suppose they want to check that first.
For people who do wonder and ask the FA, I'm amazed that 100% of the time they feign ignorance as to which wines are actually on board. That seems to be done to give the impression they are pouring a random selection of the printed choices, when in fact they have probably been serving the same 4 types every flight for weeks or months. Sometimes they only have the cheapest 1 red though, so I suppose they want to check that first.
i) not all FAs work international all the time and so don't necessarily know the current set of wines being offered.
ii) catering may sometimes stock surprises; even though there are the standard two reds and two whites for a few months, not every single flight has the same ones. For example, the current standard selection of Reds in BE are the French Syrah and the Argentinean Cabernet. However, on my JFK-CDG last Saturday, the latter wasn't available and the Argentinean Malbec made a surprise appearance (even though it was the standard featured selection a few months ago). And no, this is not an isolated occurence - it actually happens quite often.
And no, it's not just the cheapest ones from the printed list that are served all the time. ALL of the wines featured in the menu are served at one point or another before they move on to another new set of eight. For example from the current cycle of Reds, as mentioned the French Syrah and Argent. Cabernet have been featured in June and July; prior to that the Calif. Zinfandel and a Merlot were the standard ones for a few months; prior to that were the Chilean Carmenere and the Argentinean Malbec that started this cycle. If you don't travel BE that often, you will miss out on some of them simply because they have already been featured.
Jul 13, 2007 | 5:15 pm
#6
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In the days of the separate "Vinum" program it was much more obvious. They often featured fine wines on the menu which after the salad days of the program were never actually served.
At the absolute nadir of BE wine service I experienced both heat damaged wines and the exact same selections as DL domestic, which at the time were from a cut-rate California producer that made Charles Shaw look high end. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the current selections, it has improved greatly since then.
Jul 13, 2007 | 5:26 pm
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That's certainly been my experience although I don't fly TATL as often as you. Actually the price differential between the cheapest and the most expensive is not vast anyway. It may also depend somewhat on route; I never fly into CDG and they may make a greater effort for those flights. .
; a non-standard wine appearing on a flight is purely coincidental (stroke of good or bad luck depending on the wine) and due to inventory issues.At the absolute nadir of BE wine service I experienced both heat damaged wines and the exact same selections as DL domestic, which at the time were from a cut-rate California producer that made Charles Shaw look high end. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the current selections, it has improved greatly since then.
Jul 13, 2007 | 5:28 pm
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Having had a wonderful dinner in Bernstein's Miami restaurant, Michy's, a couple of months ago, can anyone tell me which specific Bernstein dishes are currently on the DL menu?
Jul 13, 2007 | 5:39 pm
#9
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This month on TATL westbound it's the Salmon in red wine glaze with cauliflower puree while the eastbound entree is a Grouper with soy ginger(?) sauce, rice, edamame beans, etc. Both were quite good actually...
Jul 13, 2007 | 6:18 pm
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When I ate at Michy's I did have a half-order of the salmon (at that time, it was Atlantic-sourced salmon with fava beans). Apparently she changes the menu often, as I've read that sometimes she serves (wild) Alaskan salmon.
Note: Almost all dishes at her restaurant can be ordered in either half-size or full-size portions, a great concept IMHO.
Note: Almost all dishes at her restaurant can be ordered in either half-size or full-size portions, a great concept IMHO.
Oct 8, 2009 | 6:41 pm
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mmmm, these cheese and crackers from michelle bernstein are wonderful!!!
Im in the former BE lounge/former CRC/sky club in terminal E. there is a nice sign telling us how great the appetizers are in "select" clubs. and in front of it. four sugar cookies. a bowl or broken crackers and cheese packets. and this was when i arrived an hour ago.
not huge, ill eat on the plane, or in the food court, but why have the sign? and why not have the food?
just from walking, the following BE flights still have to leave... dublin, paris, buenos aires, santiago, and tel aviv. the lounge has a decent crowd. the other lounge, the actual fomer CRC is much more corwded.
what gives? us americans have grown to deal with crap airline service and consistency but what do our friends in foreign countries think of our airlines?
not huge, ill eat on the plane, or in the food court, but why have the sign? and why not have the food?
just from walking, the following BE flights still have to leave... dublin, paris, buenos aires, santiago, and tel aviv. the lounge has a decent crowd. the other lounge, the actual fomer CRC is much more corwded.
what gives? us americans have grown to deal with crap airline service and consistency but what do our friends in foreign countries think of our airlines?
Oct 8, 2009 | 7:07 pm
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Oct 8, 2009 | 7:13 pm
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When I say spread, I mean shrimp salad, chicken sate, pasta salad, chicken salad, various vegetables to dips, dessert selection. That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
Oct 8, 2009 | 10:36 pm
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From my recollections of the BE lounge in years past, within 30 minutes the buffet was picked cleaner than a side of beef in a piranha tank!