Luke Mangan: ‘If I’ve got anything to do with it, it’s going to be good’

The words “in-flight” and “fine-dining” are seldom heard together.

Just don’t mention that to Luke Mangan.

Since meeting and cooking for Richard Branson on his private island in the Caribbean back in 2003, the 45-year-old celebrity chef has been attempting to change the quality of aviation meals, collaborating with Virgin Australia across all of their menus.

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So far, Mangan is proud of the effort.

“I’ve got anything to do with it, it’s going to be good,” he says. “What we want to do is create a restaurant experience in the air. It’s difficult to do but we’re getting there.”

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Mangan says some of the biggest challenges stem from dependency on airline staff. “You’re relying on caterers and crew plating and things like that,” he says.

When he’s not striving to serve up top rate meals mid-air, Mangan can be found running one of his extremely successful restaurants around the globe, making regular appearances on TV or generally looking after his $80 million food empire.

But the celebrity chef also likes to give back – the Electrolux Appetite For Excellence awards, a national hospitality program co-founded by Mangan that supports young Australian chefs, waiters and restaurateurs, turns 10 this year.

Mangan says the awards are a way of encouraging people to enter the hospitality industry, while managing people’s expectations of what it takes to be successful.

“A restaurant is never just about food,” he says. “It’s about the business side of it - the service and the wine and the music and the lighting and the flowers. A lot of people think it is easy to become a chef - they see the TV and think ‘Oh, I can do that’. What they don’t realise is how physically hard it is. You’re on your feet all day, and you start off washing dishes and peeling potatoes. Now people want to skip all that and just be a famous chef.”

RECIPE: Luke Mangan's Spaghetti Bolognaise

Mangan says aside from teaching budding chefs all they need to know, the awards are a fantastic way of giving up and comers the praise and recognition they deserve.

“So many young chefs out there are great cooks and don’t get recognised,” he says. “Everyone has an ego.”

You can vote for your favourite Young Chef and Young Waiter in the Electrolux People’s Choice Award from July 8 by visiting Appetite for Excellence.

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