Why this £685 train meal is better value than Avanti
The best train food I've had was cooked for me by Phil Howard on the Belmond British Pullman in May. Howard, of the Michelin-starred Elystan Street in Chelsea, was one of a series of guest chefs cooking on the train this year. You eat your meal in one of its ancient and beautifully decorated carriages while it trundles on a long loop through Kent: out through Lee, back through Sevenoaks.
The food has to be good to make up for the fact that you start at London Victoria and end up at London Victoria. Luckily, it was. There was a terrine of Dover sole, skate and smoked eel, a poached egg with an asparagus velouté, roast saddle of lamb and a rum baba made with Sauternes for 170-odd diners, somehow conjured up in a couple of little on-board kitchens.
We have been conditioned to think that food and drink on trains ought to be bad; there's no joke older than the British Rail sandwich. But why? Unlike on aircraft, where the cabin pressure ruins the palate, there is nothing to stop food on trains being as good as it is in a stationary restaurant. No rule says we must put up with the shuffling cart of doom, with its crisps and its unmentionable coffee.
At £685 per person, the Belmond Pullman experience is not for the faint of wallet, but it provides a benchmark for other trains. In May last year, LNER quoted a passenger £786 for two standard return tickets from Newcastle to London, or £1,049 to travel in first class. There were no chefs working on board, Michelin-starred or otherwise. A report in December found that GWR was the most expensive rail company in Europe, out of the 27 analysed. Avanti was third, just behind Eurostar.
I'm not saying every rail journey ought to include an on-board jazz band and end with port and cheese, but the levels of comfort and service were an unfortunate reminder of how uncivilised most rail travel in Britain has become. The conversation around rail travel tends largely to focus on speed, reliability and price – most obviously in the cost of HS2 being framed as helping passengers get from London to Birmingham 20 minutes faster. But the strength of the opposition to the project implies that not everyone believes that getting to Birmingham 20 minutes faster is especially desirable.
Instead, train companies should consider taking a leaf out of the Belmond book and think harder about comfort. Make the train nice and nobody will mind being late. You don't need a saddle of lamb, but a decent cup of coffee should not be beyond the wit of Avanti, nor a fresh sandwich or two. Wi-Fi, of course. A phone, Wi-Fi, a flat white and a comfortable chair: nobody could wish for more. You would hope the train got to Birmingham 20 minutes more slowly.
The second-best train meal I've had was paprika chicken on the spectacular Berlin-Budapest route, which takes in four countries, mountains and rivers. It was served in the dining car – less luxurious than the Pullman but perfectly nice. The train was a minute late; understandable after a 12-hour journey, although the conductor still apologised profusely for the inconvenience. I believe the whole thing cost me about €30.
Improving food and drink on railways isn't mere Epicureanism. It makes sound corporate sense. Anyone who has appeased a toddler with a biscuit knows that people will forgive almost anything for a delicious treat. And no business needs more forgiveness than British railway providers.
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