MSN Travel talks to Heston Blumenthal about British Airways menu

Last night British Airways unveiled the first of its nine Olympic jets for the London Games, and MSN Travel got a chance to taste the food that will be served to its first class passengers. We were also lucky enough to chat to the man himself, Heston Blumenthal, about the dishes.

Before we delve into Heston's verdict on the in-flight delicacies though, it's worth mentioning that he wasn't the only famous name attached to the project. Artist Tracey Emin oversaw the new design (inspired by a dove) and Richard E Grant helped a scriptwriter to create a special in-flight movie, leaving Heston to work with and mentor Simon Hulstone to create the menu.

Hulstone, like Blumenthal is a Michelin-starred chef so the food was always going to be top-notch, but highlights included a particularly memorable chocolate and caramel dessert and a fresh salmon tartare flanked by tiny cucumber cubes.

The less said about the hake fish pie dressed with "parmesan pomme puree", the better, which (sorry Heston) had a touch of school dinners about it despite the fancy presentation.

A lemon cheesecake was delightful (and we took more than one) - fresh, fluffy with just the right amount of tang.

BA has set up a pop-up restaurant that resembles the interior of a plane, which will be open for the next two weeks, but these meals will be served to 3 million passengers in the run-up to the Games.

Blumenthal has spent a lot of time of late delving into the science of why airplane food tastes the way it does, looking into how the cabin pressure affects the nose, which in turn, affects the way we taste things.

Interestingly, the menu was inspired by the 1948 London Games and the food at the event looked and tasted great for the most part. However, as only first class passengers will experience it, I wanted to ask him about whether anything could be done to improve the dire state of economy class food served on many airlines.

Chatting to Heston, he said: "Yes, of course. All the prepping that we put into creating these dishes is important. You're essentially reducing the dish down to its essence, and that's the thing that we need to get right. You have to look at textures and the role they play.

"And imagine, you're in a plane, there are loud noises and the sound of the engine, so we have to intensify the flavours so they stand out more. There are also types of dishes that work better on a plane. The meat should ideally be braised and the fish definitely shouldn't be overcooked."

We have to hope that Heston's involvement in airplane food will somehow have a knock-on effect on food being served in economy classes across the airlines. I'll never forget the time when on an airplane, I was watching Hannibal on the in-flight movie, saw him unwrap his lunchbox of human brain and then looked down at my meal. It was no contest as to which looked better.