OTG Restaurant at Jet Blue JFK Terminal

There are more and more alternatives for eating, dare I say, dining at the airport these days.

Restaurant Smart Brief contributor Janet Forgrieve has reported: “Airport restaurants run much like traditional eateries, with a few additional challenges. Airport restaurants benefit from delays and flight cancellations but all too often seats are filled with hungry, angry passengers. Among the many rules and regulations is the requirement for kitchen knives to be tethered at all times. Metal knives on restaurant tables are not permitted.”

According to OTG Management spokesperson Dave Allen, “We don’t have airport restaurants, we have restaurants at airports. Really, we operate our restaurants like they are in the restaurant districts in the very best part of the cities we are in.”

In fact, just last month, OTG announced it “will offer five chef-driven restaurants, an expansive food hall, fresh markets, the integration of Apple iPads, pop-up retail stores and more” for Delta Airlines at LaGuardia’s Terminal C.

Every new employee at an airport restaurant now must first undergo security clearance, while all food deliveries are carefully scrutinized for lethal bugs of all kinds.

Private plane chefs and caterers like Elaine Frances have a slightly easier time. They can supply elegant picnics or partially cooked food that is reheated aloft in microwave ovens for the crew and passengers. The ability to taste the food is greatly diminished at 30,000 feet.  (This is the reason airline often food tastes of — well — nothing at all.)

As you see, there are several opportunities for employment in the airport arena. They range from: menu planning, recipe development, recipe testing, financial management and waitstaff jobs.

Servers are required to have the patience of a saint as they placate and console the equivalent of teenagers in full heat.  In other words the job requires the skills of extreme motherhood. (A mother brings food, takes away the plate and sometimes suggests a little nap.)

If there is a small private airport near you, consider writing a plane catering business plan and bring tasting samples along. (ICDT!) I Can Do That!

No matter what else is in The New York Times, I always read Gail Collins (and Frank Bruni) first. For example, I love this quote:

“I always thought that the only kids getting their entire public schooling online were in the hospital, living in the Alaskan tundra, or pursuing a career as a singing orphan in the road company of “Annie.” Not so. There are now around 250,000 cyber school students in kindergarten through high school and the number is growing fast.”

–Gail Collins, New York Times Op-Ed Columnist

That leads me to ask: would you consider creating an online class based on your own unique experiences in the food universe?

Food-related classes are not limited to culinary schools. Community colleges are just one among many other opportunities.

Courtesy of the International Butler Academy

Don’t laugh. The rich are getting richer and along with extreme wealth comes the irresistible desire to flaunt it.  What could be grander than owning a small castle or a large mansion complete with a professional butler and a household staff?

At the French Culinary Institute in New York City, there are three classes each lasting 25 or 30 hours. Topics include Culinary Essentials, Essentials of Household Cleaning and Organization and Laundry Essentials.

The fees are $1,995 for culinary classes and laundry classes, and $1,750 for the cleaning class. It is recommended the student butler buy a $100 ironing board with a Teflon cover, rather than one with a cloth cover

If you aspire to the pinnacle of butlering at Buckingham Palace, Brian Hoey author of Not in Front of the Corgis tells us: “In Buckingham Palace alone there are 339 full-time staff, eating up to 600 meals a day in the kitchens, but only about a dozen come into regular contact with the Queen.”

He further reports: “The footmen and housemaids start on a basic salary of £13,634 a year (or approximately US $21,542), which can rise after five years by £2,000 a year. Upon promotion to senior footman, a salary of £15,634 (or approximately US $24,702) is paid.

A butler starts on an annual salary of £15,000 (or approximately $23,700), plus accommodation. For a liveried helper in the Royal Mews, who is required to have had some experience with horses and who will be seen riding behind the queen on one of the state carriages at official ceremonial occasions, the starting salary is £17,169 (or approximately US $27,127), with livery provided. Casual workers get £7.75 (or approximately US $12.24).

The queen’s royal chef is the highest-paid member of the domestic household, with an annual salary of £45,000 (or approximately US $71,100).”  The rate of exchange varies from minute to minute but (today is roughly) £1 = $.158.

If you’d like to live in a palace, a castle, a downtown or uptown abby,this is the way to go. ICDT! (I Could Do That!)

Matter of Fact:

• Walter Monkton was the butler for the Duke of Windsor. As such, he worked without salary for 20 years. On his retirement, he was rewarded with a cigarette case on which his engraved name was spelled incorrectly. Whether or not he smoked, we may suppose that he fumed!

Recommended book

Agar, Stanley. The Butler’s Guide to Clothes Care, Managing the Table, Running the Home and Other Graces. Simon and Schuster Publishers, 1981

Organizations To Know

You can find a worthy survey of professional butler programs at The Butler Bureau.