Qantas’ in-flight and lounge menus are created in partnership with Australian celebrity chef Neil Perry, who was so impressed with the stir-fried black pepper beef in the Qantas Business Lounge that he launched “Chef Linda’s specials” on the debut menu of Qantas First Lounge when it opened in 2019.
Dry prawn and pork noodles, prawn paste chicken, stir-fried black pepper beef are a few of Sim’s hits that regulars order, and know to ask for even if they are not on the menu that week.
New recipes are discussed with Perry, Qantas’ creative director of food, beverage and service, and given a test run with the kitchen team before they become official dishes.
Sim likes to keep an open mind in these discussions. For example, she was sceptical at the addition of star anise and cinnamon to her laksa recipe but gave it a try anyway.
To her surprise, the ingredients gave a pleasantly unique edge to the broth. “I tell myself that Neil Perry has travelled all over the world, there’re definitely ideas we can exchange with each other.”
Sim likes to include unique local options while making creative variations of popular dishes (“Australians love pork!”) such as crispy and braised pork belly buns, snapper burgers and even a vegan version of nasi lemak with rendang using tofu as a meat substitute.
