British Airways presented me with a stunning meal on a recent flight. For those that don’t know, the on board meal in Club Europe varies depending on the distance you are travelling.

Longer flights get a full three course meal rather than the standard two course meal served on shorter flights. These are hot meals and they are excellent.

BA777 – Stockholm Arlanda to London Heathrow (ARN-LHR)
12 September 2017
Airbus A319 – G-EUOI
Seat: Club Europe 1A
Departure: 11:35 Arrival: 13:20

After spending some time in the pretty decent Menzies Aurora lounge at Arlanda airport, I proceeded to the gate and waited for boarding. This was soon called and I settled in to my seat in the front row.


Hot towels are handed out to passengers once everyone is on board. These are quite thin but they do the job. Club Europe seating is the same as Euro Traveller however the middle seat is converted into a nice tray.

Safety On Board

There is a new British Airways safety video now featuring some well known people such as Gordon Ramsay, Gillian Anderson and Sir Ian McKellen.

It mentions the Flying Start charity which saves an announcement later in the flight. At almost seven minutes, it is quite a lengthy affair but it is quite fine. Once it is over, it’s up into the air.

There’s a Menu!

Flip down screens show the safety video and once flying these are deployed again to show the moving map. It is always nice to see your flight progress.


Cabin crew come around and hand each passenger a menu. On the shorter flights this is not a part of the service so you know you’re on a flight with the good food when the menu is presented.


Immediately my thoughts turn to the beef cheek which I have to admit sounds pretty stunning. Will it live up to my expectations? Hopefully so!

A Weary Bathroom

Before the service commenced I decided to hit the facilities. The Airbus A319 I am on must be one of the hardest working in the fleet, judging by the bathroom.


Permanent stains are around the rim of the toilet and the sink features more cracks than some roads. It looks like it is time for the bathrooms to be refurbished as it is not pretty.

The Stunning Meal Begins

Drinks and nuts are first cab off the rank in the service. I selected a Champagne along with a sparkling water. Nuts are also distributed in their little packets.

Once the drinks pass is complete, the crew come by again. The tray is delivered next with the Beetroot and Goat’s Cheese starter, the dessert course and the cheese.


Beetroot is something I quite like and the pairing with the herbed goat’s cheese is very good. After this a drinks top up and the starter plate is swapped for the main plate.

The crew member remarked that the beef cheek was a very good choice and is quite popular. I took this as a good omen and it was placed before me.

The Beef Cheek is a Winner!

When a dish looks good it usually is. In this case, the Beef Cheek with Celery Mash, Turned Vegetables and Thyme Jus lived up to my expectations.


Absolutely stunning! The beef is tasty, falls apart at the merest touch of a fork and having it with mash makes for perfection. I devoured it with relish. It is an excellent meal! Once I cleaned my plate, I turned my attention to the Banana and Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Tower.


Dessert is fine, though I expect more of a pop with the taste. The cheese course is terrible though. Oat cakes? Really? They taste like sand and it didn’t get any better with the cheese. The Brie was very tired like it had been sitting out too long. Not great at all which is a shame.

Everything is cleared up and after a few more top ups of Champagne – from the big bottle on long flights, no piccolos here – it is time to land in London.

Overall Thoughts

I am delighted I got to experience a stunning meal in Club Europe. The catering department hit it out of the park with the beef cheek. Expressing my happiness when the tray was collected, the crew member remarked everyone said that. She lamented she had not yet been able to try it as there was never any left at the end of the flight.

Despite the mediocre dessert and woeful cheese, overall I am very happy with the experience. Passengers on the long British Airways European sectors are not being short changed by the meal quality or quantity, so well done. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Aero Icarus from Zurich, Switzerland via Wikimedia Commons.