SKY DIETARY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18590, 28 December 1934, Page 11

SKY DIETARY

WHAT SHOULD YOU EAT ?

CAULIFLOWER MYSTERY

TONGUE UNEATABLE AT

70Q0FT.

What should the aeroplane passenger; eat?

More important still, what should hq shun? What food and drink may he — be the weather never so "bumpy” —I tackle with a light heart? These reflections arose as the writer talked to the man who probably knows more than anyone in England about gastronomic vagaries at various altitudes—i Mr. James E. Thorne, until a few weekq ago catering manager of Imperial Airways, and now at De Havilland’s Hatfield aerodrome restaurant.

Aerial matters have recently hulked; large in the public imagination. Speed,, performance, reliability—these things have been under avid discussion.

But to the ordinary traveller, he whoj knows nought of retractable under-' carriages, but stuffs cotton wool in hisj ears, hopes heartily for the best, and tries to persuade himself that the motion is not a bit like a Channel crossing —to him the matter of diet, may become the sad and central fact in a grey-greens world.

CALM HAY, BUT —- It is all old stuff to Mr. Thorne. Tluj little matter of cauliflower, for instance. To Mr. Thorne the cauliflower —aerially) speaking—is about as attractive as poison ivy. ‘‘l had it ont the menu one. day,” he said, ruminatiyely. ‘‘A beautiful calm; day. No bumps. The cauliflower was simply and attractively cooked. Nothing wrong that I couid see.” He paused, then added: “Out of 18, passengers the worst happened to alii but one.

“I couldn’t believe it. So the next day I took a trip myself, and bad eaulU flower served again. There were 10 of Us in the machine. . . . The worst happened to all but two—and I was not one of the two.”

“It was the smell, I think. The cauliflower odour is one of several that are definitely dangerous in the air.” . Color plays a big part in aerial catering, ho maintains. Food must, be pleas-i ing to the eye. It must also be “simple! and clean-looking.” An ideal meal for the queasy is a fresh lettuce and tomato salad. “The combinatioh of red and green forms a perfect color scheme.”-

, But not mayonnaise. Not only is it nch, but'yellow is almost always fatal. Custard is another spreader of .woe. ' -!‘A oice raw apple is usually safe. Applo tart, on the other hand, is more chancy. flam is a safe bet—if you take the fat off before serving. Tinned food is very dangerous.” The worst possible thing of all, and strahgely ehougli, the 'one thing everybody asks fot if they feel bad, is black coffee. It is absolutely fatal—the Germbns and Dutch agree with me on that, ' ! ; ! •:

AIRSICKNESS “INCURABLE” Alcoliol, too,- is inadvisable. A ‘gimlet” (gin and lime juice) is the best form. Champagne is good if alcohol I ( nu i s .t be taken, “but much better n °L Soda-water should be shunned. Nothihg, Mr. Thome, will stop air sickness if you are prone, to if. He thinks it is caused by nervousness and is incurable.

Women passengers, he says, keep their color much better than men, but get ‘ much sicker.” Men, on the other hand, get “ashen pale” but keep better control of their internal economy. 1- Wink we iiiight well follow the EES. airlines and engage a Hractive stewardesses, > for it would obviate at Bast 75 per cent, of airsickness. i

. “People must not be allowed to think flying is a great adventure. If they see only official-looking uniforms they get excited then sick. Some pretty stewardesses chatting easily and cheerfully would soon put them in a better frame of mind.” 1 ' Y * "iv

Food plays strange tricks at various heists. Above 10,000 ft. many foods will ‘go off” in half an hour or less. At 70QQft. tongue becomes black, leathery and uneatable. At 2COOft. thermo-containers with tea, hot milk and other liquid often explode violently.