'Sir Richard, What Is That White Stuff?'

Airline chief Branson gets complaint about food

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 26, 2009 3:46 PM CST

(Newser) – Sir Richard Branson personally responded to a “constructive if tongue-in-cheek” complaint letter from a Virgin Atlantic passenger, reprinted in the Telegraph. The beleaguered (and unnamed) flyer likened the dining experience to an awful Christmas morning. “You open the present and it’s not in there. It’s your hamster Richard. It’s your hamster in the box and it’s not breathing. That’s how I felt when I peeled back the foil.”

“Is that Ray Liotta? A question I found myself asking over and over again throughout the grueling half-hour I attempted to watch the film” on “a crackling screen” that caused a “splitting headache.” Then, more food. “What is that white stuff? It looked like it was going to be yogurt,” but no. “It was a mixture between the Baaji custard and the Mustard sauce.” This left the passenger with one conclusion: Dinner at the Branson home “must be like something out of a nature documentary.”

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

"I can't imagine what dinner round your house is like," a passenger writes in a letter to Virgin chief Richard Branson. "It must be like something out of a nature documentary." (AP Photo)

Virgin Group Founder and Chairman Sir Richard Branson. (AP Photo)

Billionaire Richard Branson dressed as an Indian groom wearing a traditional turban. The offended passenger was on a flight from Mumbai to London. (AP Photo)

A British Airways Boeing 747 passing a Virgin aircraft as it takes off from London's Heathrow airport. (AP Photo)

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I had overheard that you could make a drink by mixing vodka and refreshers. When I attempted to make the drink in a big bowl it formed a cheese Richard, a cheese. That cheese looked a lot like your baaji-mustard. - Virgin Air passenger

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'Sir Richard, What Is That White Stuff?'