I was looking forward to trying KLM European Business Class food as this was the first time flying in business class with them and I was interested in seeing what their food offerings were like inside Europe. The food served in European business class on many airlines isn’t great and so I wasn’t really expecting much. I was transiting through Schiphol, Amsterdam and so I got to try both a breakfast meal and a lunch meal. So let’s see what these meals are like!
Main Meal Service – London Heathrow to Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Food was served just after takeoff and it was nice to actually receive a hard copy menu (see end of article). I haven’t been given a menu in domestic business in Australia or European business in a long time and so this was nice and refreshing. The menu also had an overview of the lovely white and blue box design and the inspiration from the history of the Netherlands. There was only one meal option being served even though there was a menu. The meal came in a box and so no changes were possible.
The breakfast meal consisted of a ‘fresh start’ which included granola, coconut yogurt and fresh fruit salad. The ‘main’ consisted of French toast served with strawberry jam. It was all included in the the one box and served cold.
Nutrition Comment
It was good to see a coconut yogurt served which means people avoiding dairy could eat it too. However just remember that because a yogurt is coconut based doesn’t automatically make it healthy. Some coconut yogurts can be high in additives, fats and sugar and so remember that when deciding how much to eat. This yogurt was served without the nutrition panel and ingredient list. The French toast was sweet and soggy. The bread seemed like a fluffy white bread and came with strawberry jam. Jams are high in sugar and white bread is low in fibre. So this part of the meal is a source of sugars and quickly digestible carbohydrates which can cause spikes in blood sugar levels which is not good for health if this happens often.
Main Meal Service – Amsterdam to Gdansk, Poland
Again, the menu and subsequent meal was served just after takeoff. The meal was described as ‘main’ of red quinoa salad with shrimps, mango, carrot, broccoli, kidney beans, soybeans, peas and red peppers. It was disappointing that there were only 2 shrimps served with the salad. It was delicious though. The salad was served with spicy fried fries which were cold and quite oily. A chocolate mousse was served as dessert and was very rich. This was all that was served on this flight, however the menu did state that an additional snack would be provided on longer flights (such as a quiche or cinnamon bun).
Nutrition comment
This was a great healthy salad; a source of protein, slowly digestible carbohydrates, and soluble fibre. The quinoa and kidney beans are a source of plant-based protein and the kidney beans, peas and soybeans contain soluble fibre. The mix of colourful vegetables provides a range of phytochemicals such as antioxidants which are good for health. It was also good the salad wasn’t drowned in dressing as this makes it a lighter salad. The spicy fries were quite tasty but very oily and so I didn’t eat them. Even though the spices on the fries was nice, the fries were cold and so I didn’t find them very appealing. So because they weren’t really that nutrient dense, for those calories I didn’t feel they added anything to the salad.
Final thoughts on KLM European Business Class Food
Ok the KLM European business class food was not too bad. The meals were a little light on but there were some tasty components to them. I think the descriptions on the menu were making the meals out to be larger than they were, with all the food served in one box with different sections. The French toast ‘main’ was a very small slice of bread and was served cold – this is not what I would have thought a main meal would have been. But the salad for lunch, while small, was delicious and very fresh.
To complement your food experiences on KLM Business Class Europe flights, I have reviewed the foods in the KLM Crown Lounge in the schengen part of Schiphol Airport.
NOTE: All pictures of KLM European Business Class food flying are my own and I review the food from the menu I was given and the food I ordered on my flight. There may be different options available at other times.
