Inflight culinary specialist On Air Dining (OAD) is embarking on a ‘Farm to Flight’ initiative by launching a new menu and encouraging crews to visit farms and kitchens to meet its suppliers. The initiative has been created in the response to the growing farm-to-fork movement and the increasing interest by consumers in learning the provenance of what they are eating.

OAD hand selects small businesses in the UK as suppliers, which allows it not only to maintain quality standards but also to help support other small businesses, use sustainable and naturally sourced products, and minimise the environmental impact of mass farming.

Many customers are choosing quality and sustainability over ease and accessibility, and CEO Daniel Hulme says that, from a taste and nutritional perspective, there is no denying food is best when it is fresh and in season: “Since the beginning we’ve been known throughout private aviation for providing our customers with only the finest, highest quality products,” he explains. “Farm to Flight is the next natural step for us and we are happy to open our doors and invite our customers to join us on this journey. As a small business, it is our privilege to work with local farmers and other small businesses. We feel that we not only have a responsibility to our customers to provide the highest quality cuisine, but we have an obligation to the planet to do what we can with regards to using local, organic and sustainably sourced products; as well as doing what we can to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Executive chef Mark Brega adds: “In today’s world most industries are focused on mass production and speed, but the culinary world seems to be going in the opposite direction. As a chef I’m excited to partner with the country’s finest and think it is very important for my team to know where our food is coming from and how it has been raised as they are the chefs of the future. Farm to Flight helps us to tell a story through our menu and gives our customers the opportunity to experience the best of what the region has to offer.”