Established by New York stockbroker Juan Trippe in 1927, the story of
Pan Am is the story of US-led globalisation and imperial expansion in
the twentieth century, with the airline achieving the vast majority of
'firsts' in aviation history, pioneering transoceanic travel and new
technologies, and all but creating the glitz, style and ambience
eulogised in Frank Sinatra's 'Come Fly with Me'.
Bryce Evans investigates an aspect of the airline service that was
central to the company's success, its food; a gourmet glamour
underpinned by both serious science and attention to the detail of fine
dining culture. Modelled on the elite dining experience of the great
ocean liners, the first transatlantic and transpacific flights featured
formal thirteen course dinners served in art deco cabins and served by
waiters in white waist-length jackets and garrison hats. As flight times
got faster and altitudes higher, Pan Am pioneered the design of hot food
galleys and commissioned research into how altitude and pressure
affected taste buds, amending menus accordingly. A tale of collaboration
with chefs from the best Parisian restaurants and the wining and dining
of politicians and film stars, the book also documents what food service
was like for flight attendants, exploring how the golden age of airline
dining was underpinned by a racist and sexist culture.
Written accessibly and with an eye for the glamour and razzamatazz of
public aviation history, Bryce Evans' research into Pan Am airways will
be valuable for scholars of food studies and aviation, consumer,
tourism, transport and 20th century American history.
