Sirloin steak with sautéed potatoes is on the Arik business class menu
Stories by Demola Ojo
Nigerian travellers flying Arik Air business class will now have a fully Nigerian-centric menu to choose from on flights from Lagos to London, New York, Johannesburg and other destinations.
According to Senior Vice President, Standards and Service Delivery for Arik, Rodger Whittle, the dishes are made specifically for Nigerians by Nigerians with Nigerian ingredients. He explained that the menu was introduced after taking the airline’s expansion drive into consideration.
The indigenous Nigerian dishes include appetizers like hot goat pepper soup or fish cake and beetroot towers.
For the main course, Arik will provide pan-fried sirloin with rosemary sauce served with sautéed potatoes and honey glazed carrots, or seared chicken breast in orange citrus sauce served with fondant potatoes, carrots and poached cucumber. Other alternatives are beef suya and jollof rice or fried croaker fish with yam porridge.
Fresh fruit plate or lemon posset tart with homemade ginger bread biscuit is available for dessert.
All menu items are free of alcohol and pork. Regardless of passengers selection, jollof rice will always be available upon request.
For afternoon tea, the airline will offer on its flights to London and Johannesburg a selection of sandwiches or chicken and Mediterranean vegetable kebab.
Approximately one hour prior to landing, Arik Air has assured passengers of continental breakfast of orange juice or wake-up cocktail juice, fresh seasonal fruit bowl, selection of breakfast pastries or warm beef sausage, turkey bacon and egg roll with coffee or tea.
Whittle added that the menu will be on its business class cabinet for domestic services as well as its regional central west Africa west coast services.
“Our kitchen is going to be very busy. As a company, we have always thought of having a catering arm which may be available to other carriers or customers but for now we are limited to our own,” he disclosed.
“Prior to this time, we were outsourcing foods. The new development also offers a very significant cost savings for us. The quality is fantastic. Obviously, it comes with a cost and no matter what we do with flight originating from other countries, our Nigerian customers always say it never quite tastes as it does at home.”
