According to Richard Foss, author of Food in the Air: The Surprising History of Food and Drink in the Skies, United Airlines served the best airborne food in the 50s when commercial flying was really beginning to take off. It even ran an Executive Flight exclusively for men, between Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as between Chicago and New York, every weekday at 5pm from 1953 to 1970. ‘Picture a gentlemen’s club, but with wings,’ writes Foss. ‘The flight attendants were single and hot, the gin martinis were cold, and your cigar was free. Oh, and of course, a steak dinner was served table-side by two stewardesses.’

This 1950s menu card features the delights awaiting passengers when they landed at LAX. Sunbathing, hiking, playing golf, riding in the desert, seeing a show and, naturally, there was a nod to the motion picture film industry. The Hollywood Menu was created by Max Burkhardt, a Swiss-trained chef who managed the United Airlines flight kitchen in Los Angeles and oversaw all the West Coast facilities – including those Executive Flights.

United Airlines was founded in 1926 as Varney Airlines in Boise, Idaho, and became the world’s third largest airline after merging with Continental in 2010. United was the last legacy airline to operate its own kitchens, closing them in 2021.