First Class Nostalgia: A 1980's Airline Meal Preserved in Fake Food Prop Style

Back in the 1970's and 1980's, air travel felt like an occasion. Especially in First Class where passengers were treated to multi-course meals that looked more like fine dining than something served at 35,000 feet. I was contacted by a long standing employee and member of the airline industry who had, over the years, collected memorabilia from the airlines he connected with. He had preserved a menu and a set of dishes and glasses from Northwest Orient Airlines.

Antique Airline Dish Set

For this project, I set out to recreate one of the meals from the menu in PropChef style, fake food replica form. The client chose to have the Chicken Madeira selection replicated from the menu, which consisted of a chicken breast, sauteed to a golden brown and topped with a rich Madeira wine sauce. The accompaniments included long grain and wild rice and some baby broccoli florets and carrot tips. This was made using the rectangular dish. On the larger of the two round plates, I created a side salad with tomato and cucumber, dressed in a faux light oil and herb dressing. The smaller round plate housed a crusty roll and some butter pats.

The large glass is nearly full with a faux red wine, made from resin and the smaller aperitif glass was made as a scotch on the rocks cocktail, also with resin. A faux black coffee rounds out the meal.

Every detail of this spread was carefully recreated - from the glistening ice cubes in the scotch to the sheen of the Madeira sauce over the chicken. My goal was to capture the feel of what it was like to sit in first class in the golden age of air travel, when meals were meant to impress.

Fake Food Prop Meal

Creating replicas like these is part artistry, part puzzle solving. Each fake food prop item requires a different technique, and a different medium in some cases. Texture building, shading, layering is all a part of this amazing job that I have. I am blessed to have so many special clients just like this one, who are willing to share a piece of themselves and their history and ask that I recreate a piece of the past. Bringing back a piece of aviation history and representing the comfort, luxury, and the thrill of flying.

I just love my clients and their special orders! Keep 'em coming!! It never gets boring around my studio, and I love that. If you'd like more information on this or any replica item that I have created, please feel free to email me. I would love to hear your questions and comments.