Undercooked Entrees - Does this happen often?
Feb 26, 2004 | 9:53 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: BSB
Programs: DL 2 MM
Posts: 5,002
Undercooked Entrees - Does this happen often?
Today I flew on NW 1602 SAT/DTW in FC and was served a chicken dinner entree with mashed potatos, gravy and green beans.
The mashed potatoes and chicken were noticably cold. I didn't eat it.
I ate the balance of the meal -- green beans, fresh salad and New York Cheese Cake.
3 other pax in FC complained about the cold chicken entree and the FC F/A reheated the entree portion of the 3 meals.
Usually NWA dinner entrees are served piping hot!
RC
The mashed potatoes and chicken were noticably cold. I didn't eat it.
I ate the balance of the meal -- green beans, fresh salad and New York Cheese Cake.
3 other pax in FC complained about the cold chicken entree and the FC F/A reheated the entree portion of the 3 meals.
Usually NWA dinner entrees are served piping hot!
RC
Feb 26, 2004 | 10:10 pm
#2
Join Date: Jun 2002
Programs: Delta DM Marriott Gold
Posts: 557
Were you by any chance on a 9? I have found that this AC by far has the worst ovens in the entire fleet. I always need to heat the meals double the reccomended time on this plane.
Feb 26, 2004 | 10:12 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: BSB
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jjvan:
Were you by any chance on a 9? I have found that this AC by far has the worst ovens in the entire fleet. I always need to heat the meals double the reccomended time on this plane.</font>
Were you by any chance on a 9? I have found that this AC by far has the worst ovens in the entire fleet. I always need to heat the meals double the reccomended time on this plane.</font>
RC
Feb 26, 2004 | 10:53 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Portland, OR
Programs: DL MM Plat, PC&HH Gold
Posts: 2,602
I've had it happen once or twice over the years. Not a common experience.
Feb 26, 2004 | 11:30 pm
#5
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 436
You probably already know this, but just to be sure, since you call the meal "undercooked": the food on the aircraft is invariably precooked on the ground and just reheated on board. So there's no safety issue as there would be with raw (bacteria-filled) chicken.
Feb 27, 2004 | 12:19 am
#6
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Michigan
Programs: AA ExPlat, UA 1K, DL 1MM/Silver
Posts: 1,615
I'd say I get a "cold" entree probably 10% of the time. It's usually the breakfast eggs though. I just ask the f/a to pop it back in for a few more minutes... no big deal to me and the f/a's are always very apologetic.
Feb 27, 2004 | 1:12 am
#7
Join Date: Jun 2002
Programs: Delta DM Marriott Gold
Posts: 557
The main problem we have with this is out of down line stations. The meals were boarded in MSP, DTW, or MEM, and packed very heavely with dry ice and they are rock hard. It would be nice to run the ovens on low to thaw. But the company has yelled at us not to do this on the ground as it is a fire hazard. I understand the dry ice, as they need to stay cold untill heated in the oven just prior to serving. The only other option would be to be catered down line like we used to, but they feel they are saving money by doing it this way.
P.S. Flights out of GUM and SPN on the 747's, the meals are boarded in NRT for the turn. I have not worked the 757 out of SPN so I am not sure about that.
P.S. Flights out of GUM and SPN on the 747's, the meals are boarded in NRT for the turn. I have not worked the 757 out of SPN so I am not sure about that.
Feb 27, 2004 | 3:50 am
#8
Join Date: May 2003
Location: MSP - NW Gold - PC Plat - Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 2,478
I once had a burger, where the bun burned my mouth and the patty was cold.
Feb 27, 2004 | 7:34 am
#9
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 830
I served that entree yesterday and they were also cold in the middle. The problem is that we cannot start the ovens on the ground because the sauce can heat up and cause problems in the oven. We start the cook cycle in the air but it really is not enough time if the meals are frozen.
In addition, the ovens all have their own personalities and some appear to be working but are only blowing tepid air. You can feel the foil on the top of the meal and think it is all right but it can still be cold in the middle, it's hard to tell.
HomelessScientist..just because the meals are being reheated doesn't mean that are safe from bacteria. If they are not properly cooled after they leave the kitchen they can grow bacteria.
In addition, the ovens all have their own personalities and some appear to be working but are only blowing tepid air. You can feel the foil on the top of the meal and think it is all right but it can still be cold in the middle, it's hard to tell.
HomelessScientist..just because the meals are being reheated doesn't mean that are safe from bacteria. If they are not properly cooled after they leave the kitchen they can grow bacteria.
Feb 27, 2004 | 10:05 am
#10
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 22,778
I have noticed that a couple of times in 5 years, when some of the beans were almost icy. It could be a quirk of the oven, or who knows what. I just left the offending portions.