How Airlines Make Inflight Meals - AFAR

"Taken onboard through a partnership with a major carrier, the chain’s burger—a beef patty on a toasted potato bun—was developed over nearly two years to be offered as a preorder option for first-class passengers and has become the carrier’s top preordered item when available. Delivering a comparable taste at altitude required reverse engineering the recipe and supply chain: patties are cooked on the ground, flash-frozen, and reheated in flight, and airport kitchens were outfitted with specialized bun-toasting and buttering equipment. Flight crews also used in-flight tests to refine service techniques. French fries are notably absent for now because the reheating process makes achieving ideal crispness difficult, though that remains a possibility for the future." - Chris Dong