Can’t get enough airline food? There’s a cookbook for that

Airline food – what little of it is offered on flights these days – is not something most of us aspire to recreate. That’s why the idea of a cookbook inspired by airline food seems, well, odd. However, there is a segment of the industry where the food exceeds expectations. If you splurge for the high-end business class digs on United Airlines called Polaris, you might want a cookbook based on its food. 

If you fly Polaris, you can expect amenities like quilted duvets and throw blankets from Saks Fifth Avenue. The food is top-notch too, but even though the dishes are much more appetizing than standard airline meals, the reason behind the cookbook goes beyond recreating recipes served aboard flights. Some of the proceeds from the United Polaris Cookbook benefit the Trotter Project, a nonprofit organization that provides culinary and educational programs for students pursuing careers in the restaurant industry. 

United isn’t the first airline to release a cookbook. Back in 1987 Delta Air Lines’ flight attendants put together a cookbook of “first class meals,” and in 2006 Southwest Airlines released a book titled “Feel the Spirit, Savor the Fare.” Other airlines have also produced cookbooks, although unsurprisingly none of them became bestsellers.