12 hours ago
Inside the world's only airline with 'flying chefs' cooking up Michelin-quality meals at 38,000ft - and it has even been voted 'best in Europe'
'Can you tell me how to pronounce your surname, Miss,' the onboard chef, Salih, kneeling next to me asks.
He's dressed head-to-toe in chef's whites, hat and all, and chats enthusiastically about the menu which sounds as though it could have been plucked from a Michelin-starred London restaurant.
We've been on board for just a few minutes and we've already been presented with glasses of champagne and soft, hot towels which smell like clementine.
I'm onboard a 777-wide body to test out Turkish Airlines' Business class offerings, both short-haul and long-haul, on a whirlwind return trip from London to Tokyo via the Turkish capital.
First up is long-haul. The plane has two business cabins, with seats arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration, which seems unfortunate for whoever is stuck in the middle of the three-seat rows.
But the seats are big. I mean really big, with a 78-inch pitch and 22-inch width, and a screen door which offers a decent level of privacy if you're sitting next to a stranger.
I'm with my husband, Dan. We're seated in 1A and 1B (always a joy) and find Denom noise-cancelling headphones that would sell for up to £400 a pop in a pocket to our right.
We place all our hand luggage in the huge compartment by our feet (meaning we don't need to store anything in the overhead bins) and find slippers and a blanket on top.
The red-lipped cabin crew, dressed in grey and red dresses, hand out his and hers leather amenity kits to each passenger.
Mine is bright red and comes with face mist, body lotion and lip balm by the high-end Italian brand Ferragamo, as well as toothbrush, paste and ear plugs.
But what really makes the experience special and different to any other business class experience is the onboard chefs.
As I sip on a Tattinger (served in glasses, not plastic), they take orders from the passengers who appear to be a mix of tourists and international business travellers and seamlessly switch between English, Turkish and Japanese.
The chefs are responsible for cooking and overseeing in-flight food preparation and taking passenger orders.
Turkish Airlines offers this service in business class cabins on flights longer than eight hours.
And, given that Turkish Airlines flies to more destinations than any other airline in the world (353 destinations and counting), that's a lot of chefs in a lot of cabins.
It's 'dine on demand', so Salih asks when we'd like to eat. We go for after take-off in the hope we'll spend the rest of the flight sleeping in the sumptuous lie-flat beds.
Fine dining in the skies: MailOnline's Head of Travel was impressed with the airline's culinary prowess - the brand is the only airline to have chefs on board
Once we're in the air, we're given bottles of water and asked for our drink preferences.
The cabin crew attach the mattresses to our seats and place padded duvets by our feet for when we're ready for some shut-eye.
Then, it's onto the food. Grey tablecloths are placed on our fold-down tray tables, along with tiny fake-flamed candles.
I opt for a glass of Chablis to go with my starter of Turkish mezze, which is followed by wild sea bass served with a delicious celeriac mousseline and lemon caper butter, and finished off with a mix of sticky honey baklava.
It's a delicious feast and I eat every crumb.
We're addressed as 'Mr Williams' and 'Mrs Sime' throughout the flight. 'Tea or coffee, Mrs Sime?,' 'More bread, Mrs Sime?', the service is attentive - but not too attentive - and the questions seem to land at the perfect time.
The seats may have seen better days (the airline's business cabins are getting retrofitted this year) but they're among the comfiest beds I've experienced.
They lie flat at the click of a button by our elbows, and the padded mattress, duvet and acres of space around me allow me to spend a very decent eight of the 12-hour flight sleeping.
Refreshing drinks - and a decent array of fresh bread - also featured during the meal service
We wake with two hours to go and are offered hot towels before trays of breakfast are brought to our tables.
I go for the mango coconut smoothie, which is delicious and served with overnight oats, a fruit salad and warm croissant. It's the best breakfast I've had on board.
More hot towels are offered before the captain signals it's time to land. I disembark feeling refreshed and ready to tackle one of the world's greatest cities.
SHORT HAUL
'I feel like I'm about to travel to the other side of the world,' I say to Dan, as a member of the cabin crew hands us white towels and three-course menus.
But we're far from doing that. In fact, we're flying just 3.5 hours, from London Heathrow to Istanbul.
The 321Neo slim body seats are arranged in a 2-2 configuration, with economy set out in 3-3 behind.
I tend to find flying short-haul in business a total waste of money, with all but a lack of middle seat and mediocre food and drink differentiating between the front and back cabins. But this is different.
The cabin could easily rival some long-haul business offerings and must be the best short-haul business cabin in the business. No wonder it's won so many accolades in recent years.
As soon as we take our seats, a member of the cabin crew appears with a colourful tray of homemade lemonade with fresh mint, sparkling raspberry juice, freshly squeezed orange juice and water, followed by a pair of headphones.
As we sip on our drinks, we peruse the menu and get acquainted with our seats, which feel more like thrones.
Although the seats aren't lie-flat, we both have acres of space in front and either side of us and my husband can stretch out his 6ft 1in frame.
We flick through the impressive film selection with the highly-responsive console to our right and are delighted to find the IMDb rating below each film, avoiding the frantic googling of films before I switch my phone to flight mode.
To my right is a large pocket where I place my laptop and passport, alongside three buttons which recline the seat back to 8 inches and push the footrest up, and a set of USB and plug points. To my left is the tray table, which pushes up slickly at the click of a button.
There's no amnesty kit. But that's not to be expected when flying short-haul.
Once we're in the air, we're handed more towels to freshen up and asked for our food and drink preferences. I go for the chicken eggplant and tomato salad, followed by homemade ricotta ravioli with asparagus, black olives and a parmesan sauce, and a strawberry cream roll.
As we fly over Germany, we tuck into our starters and mains and are offered warm bread from a wicker basket.
I go for a sesame baguette, which I use to mop up the salad and creamy ravioli sauce. Even the butter is fancy, presented chilled in a little ramekin. Again, it's delicious and as food as any fancy London restaurant.
The other passengers appear to be a combination of business and leisure travellers from the UK and Turkey and the crew seem to seamlessly switch between friendly and formal, Turkish and English, depending on the requirements of the passengers they're serving.
Once our trays have been cleared, we're given packets of roasted Turkish hazelnuts, more hot towels and offered more drinks. The flight goes by in a flash.
And, before we know, we're touching down in Istanbul and reluctantly disembarking, discussing how, hands down, it has to be the best short-haul flight we've ever experienced.
We spend as much time during our 1.5 hour layover in the airline's hugely impressive lounge, where guests play golf (yes, really), sip on hot brews in the dedicated tea room and pursue the museum.
It's smart but full of character and like no other lounge I've ever been - but what makes it really stand apart is the food.
Every station is overflowing with local Turkish treats and dishes, which makes you feel as though you're walking through a souk.
We drag ourselves away from the lounge reluctantly - a very rare occurrence - when we're told it's time to board for the second leg of our journey.
