Should you Book the Cook on Singapore Airlines?

Book the Cook spiced braised chicken

As someone with an interest in good airline food, I had been wanting to try Singapore Airlines’ Book the Cook option for many years. However, as a tiered Oneworld frequent flyer I never seem to have found the right opportunity to fly Singapore Airlines. But I decided 2024 was the time to try Book the Cook and so when I needed to head to the UK I made sure I booked a Singapore Airlines flight.

What is Book the Cook?

Singapore Airlines’ Book the Cook is an option given to premium classes of travel departing from certain airports where passengers can pre-order “a meal created by a celebrated chef” from an additional menu to the onboard menu. Singapore Airlines describes the service on their website as “Fine dining at 30,000 feet.”

My Book the Cook experience flying from Melbourne Australia to London

On my flight from Australia to London via Singapore I made sure I chose Book the Cook on one leg (ex Singapore) and then ordered from the ‘normal’ onboard menu for the other leg. This was so I could closely compare Book the Cook with the onboard menu offerings closely together, of course noting there will be differences due to catering out of different ports.

Melissa Adamski trying Singapore Airlines Business class and book the cook
Excited to begin my Singapore Airlines flights from Australia to the UK


I ordered my meal from the onboard menu in advance for the Melbourne to Singapore flight, frankly because the Book the Cook options (there were 8 meals grouped into two cuisines: Asian and Western) did not appeal to me at all. Yes, there were fancy chef names listed on the menu as having been involved in the development of the meals. But when I compared the options to the meals on the onboard menu nothing stood out as being particularly special. I was not dazzled in other words. So, I chose the beef ribs from the onboard menu and pre-ordered them in advance. And I have to say they were delicious! I was not disappointed with my choice to order from the onboard menu. Singapore Airlines is renown for it’s food and this experience did not disappoint.

Book the Cook Melbourne to Singapore Business Class menu April 2024


Flying Singapore to London Heathrow I thought was the perfect time to have my first ever Book the Cook meal – try it from Singapore Airlines’ hub! And I am glad I did as the list of Book the Cook options was extensive- it was truly impressive. The list of meals was broken down into seven different cuisines (Western, Singaporean, Malay, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Deliciously Wholesome, Meatless and Asian) and there were a number of choices under each cuisine.

Book the Cook Singapore to London Business Class menu April 2024

Now one of the first section that grabbed my attention was the Deliciously Wholesome section on the Book the Cook menu (basically described as being a selection of nutritious meals). As a travel dietitian I thought fantastic, this is excellent to see. So of course I wanted to try something from this part of the menu for the main meal in the first meal service. And lets be honest, I was pretty excited to have a meal both nutritious and delicious in the air. But unfortunately I was disappointed with the meal – Spiced braised chicken. Nothing stood out as chef quality at all – if I didn’t know it was a meal from Book the Cook I would not have guessed. I don’t know what I was expecting, but not this. To me it was just like any other airline meal and of similar quality as the previous onboard meal I had on the first leg. Now you might think well it is because I ordered a ‘healthy’ meal, but I nutritious/healthy meals can also be delicious – it does not mean it has to be bland. And the description on the menu certainly didn’t give off the idea of it being bland. However unfortunately I found it was. I was disappointed it didn’t come with the ‘cooling coriander yogurt’ which was listed on the menu as it was very spicy. From the description I thought it was going to be more fragrant spices. The spinach, sugar snap peas and rice were fairly bland.

Book the Cook Spiced braised chicken
Book the Cook – Spiced braised chicken


Second meal on the Singapore to London flight I also ordered a Book the Cook meal in advance – this time I ordered a steak from the Western cuisine menu. And it was great – absolutely delicious! But not really different from other steaks I have had onboard other airlines. I didn’t really see what was ‘chef’ inspired about it. Basically it was just a steak with a small spoonful of red wine sauce on the side, creamy polenta and steamed vegetables. Again, if I was blinded I wouldn’t have known I had ordered off the Book the Cook menu. It seemed very reasonable it could have been a meal from the onboard menu.

Book the Cook Beef Steak
Book the Cook – Beef Steak

So would I Book the Cook again?

Maybe…


I wouldn’t necessarily be running back to do it, especially if the meal descriptions didn’t appeal to me, and I would always check the onboard menu too to see what was on offer there.


Don’t get me wrong they were great meals while flying – Singapore Airlines food is great. But I think my expectations were set a little off from the start. From the name I had imagined the meals to be more like high end restaurant quality or perhaps even cooked by a chef onboard (maybe this was because I was flying business class not first class?). Singapore Airlines’ website talks about the meals in terms of “A restaurant setting, a world class dish… You’ll find everything you need to enjoy an unforgettable dining experience in the air with ‘Book the Cook’.” So in my head I thought I was getting an experience that would be different to the onboard menu (even though the onboard menu is already high quality).
To me Book the Cook meals were just really nice airline meals. I’ve had similar great quality meals on other airlines too. Book the Cook is described as being “a meal created by a celebrated chef”, and while this is amazing other airlines also have celebrity chefs involved in their meal development. Maybe it was because I hadn’t ordered the incredibly popular Lobster Thermidore… lol


The Book the Cook menu out of Singapore is impressive – this sheer variety is outstanding and is so great to help passengers to get a meal that they really love. I think this is where Book the Cook really shines – it helps deliver passengers a high-quality experience by incorporating choice into their dining experience.


I think it is a fabulous initiative by Singapore Airlines and provides some great innovation for passenger’s onboard experience. But is it as fancy as the name suggests – not necessarily.

I look forward thought to seeing Book the Cook evolve and grow!

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