Food that requires assembly is often not a good choice to bring with you to eat on an airplane. On one flight I was on, a person brought what looked like a five-course meal with them. They first had a salad. I did not think salads needed much assembly, but this one did. It came in a hexagon-shaped plastic container with a clear plastic lid. She removed the lid and then reached into her lap where she had a dressing packet and croutons. The containers were already hanging over her tray table so I invited her to use mine during the setup. She was very grateful.
After placing the clear lid on my tray table, the chef removed the onions and small cherry tomatoes from the salad and placed them on the lid now in front of me. She then tossed the remaining parts of her salad and put the dressing on it. Next, she put the onions back on, spreading them out carefully, and took the cherry tomatoes one at a time, cutting each in half and arranging them on top of the salad like an artist. Last she opened the bag of croutons and spread them evenly on the top of the now reassembled masterpiece of color and texture. She then put the empty crouton bag on the lid in front of me next to the empty dressing packet and proceeded to eat the newly assembled salad which I have to say looked delicious.
With the first course now finished, she took the lid and all the leftovers, reassembled the container, and then placed it on my tray table and folded up hers to move on to the next course. Now reaching into the bag under the seat in front of her she pulled out a chicken salad sandwich and a fruit cup. Yes, there were more plastic containers!
She put her tray table back down and proceeded to eat the sandwich. After every few bites she took a stab at a piece of fruit and followed it with a small drink of water. This was done with one hand – the other was now busy playing a game on her phone. I did notice that the pace at which she ate depended on how the game was going – the more stressful the game became, the slower she ate. This seemed to be a fast-paced game, so this portion of the meal took about fifteen to twenty minutes. When she was done, she once again took the sealed container from my tray table and opened it to put the trash from the sandwich and fruit cup inside and placed it back on my tray table. She then put her tray table up and returned to the restaurant that must have been in her carry-on bag. This time she came back with a very large, soft chocolate chip cookie. She put her tray table back down, opened up a napkin, and proceeded to break this large cookie into several pieces. I commented on how good it looked and she replied that she visited the same store in the airport every time she flew and bought a cookie. According to her they were the best she had ever had when traveling. Unfortunately she did not get the hint and offer me a piece.
When she finished eating her cookie she did thank me for the use of my tray table and added the cookie trash to the salad container in front of me and then put it back under her seat. Watching all of this had made me hungry and as soon as I got off the plane I stopped and bought a large chocolate chip cookie similar to the one I had drooled over during the flight. It was very delicious and did not require any assembly.