Spring Clean for Virgin Trains’ Best of British First Class Menu

LONDON - Virgin Trains is introducing seasonal fresh ingredients to its First
Class menu. The Spring menu starts on 1 April and continues the commitment
ensuring that only produce from entirely British sources is used, which can
be traced from farm to plate. The catering offer is provided on a
complimentary basis to passengers travelling First Class.

The new menu continues to offer our passengers only the finest British
products. Virgin Trains researched the ideal menu and have ensured that
everything we use can be traced and authenticated through the entire food
chain.

New this Spring for the Light Bites menu is a Honey-glazed Scottish ham
sandwich, which comes from Highland Country Foods in the heart of the
Scottish Highlands. Their superb Heather Honey Roast Ham is produced from
outdoor bred pigs and is liberally coated with Highland Heather Honey and
roasted to perfection.

Also on the Light Bites menu is a Salmon and cream cheese sandwich, made
in the North Warwickshire town of Atherstone, which Virgin’s train services
to Manchester, Liverpool, North Wales and Scotland speed through at up to
125mph. The poached salmon is Scottish farmed, caught and smoked in Fort
William, close to the foot of Ben Nevis.

A new addition to the Evening Meal menu is British beef cannelloni, which
comprises hot oven-baked cannelloni pasta filled with Somerset Select free
range beef with chunky vegetables in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce. The beef
comes from a herd made up of Limousin, Charolais, Aberdeen Angus and Hereford
breeds which are reared at the foot of Glastonbury Tor. On our North Wales
route the beef for the Cannelloni comes from Headland Foods, who source the
beef from herds reared in the rolling fields of Haverfordwest, Dyfed in the
south of the Country.

For the Evening Meal menu a range of deserts includes Summer mango and
raspberry pudding, coffee and mascarpone trifle or chocolate millionaire
desert. The selection of cheeses offered on a rotation basis will include
Somerset Camembert, Coastal Cheddar, Blue Wensleydale and Smoked Cheddar.

Nic Cuthbertson Virgin Trains Product Development and Purchasing Manager
said: “We have spent many months finding the highest quality ingredients from
the highest quality producers, and this concept has been further developed
for our Spring menus. We have also worked closely with our staff to develop a
range of menus that can be prepared and served in the limited confines of a
train.”

The popular Great British Breakfast remains available using the highest
quality pork sausages, from outdoor reared pigs, made with fresh herbs and
natural casings, and served on all Pendolino trains to and from London Euston
until 09:59 on weekdays. The sausages will be served alongside outdoor reared
sweet cure Suffolk Crown bacon with free range Yorkshire Farm eggs on a
potato rösti.

The meat for the sausages comes from outdoor reared Hampshire Cross Bred
pigs, sourced from a number of farms in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and East
Anglia. The bacon is also from outdoor reared pigs and is processed by
Suffolk Crown in Bury St Edmunds. The free range eggs come from Yorkshire
Farmhouse Eggs, based in the Vale of York at Thirsk.

Improvements have also been made to enhance the First Class experience.
WiFi is now will is available in all our First Class Lounges at stations and
will be introduced soon onto our Pendolino trains. Enhanced mobile phone
reception is also now available on all Pendolino trains.

It does not cost a fortune to travel in First Class luxury. We have a
range of Advance single fares available from just GBP26.50 London to
Birmingham; from GBP34 to Manchester or Liverpool; from GBP52 to Glasgow and
from GBP34 to Chester.

And the final word on our First Class food goes to respected ‘Caterer and
Hotelkeeper’ magazine who said: “Virgin Trains is head and shoulders above
the rest [train operators] in first-class accommodation.” The magazine goes
on to say: “…all [menu items] are excellently sourced, and makes the extra
money for first class almost pay for itself.”

Virgin Trains Media Information

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Virgin Trains is the brand name of Virgin Rail Group. We have operated
the West Coast passenger train franchise since 1997; the current franchise
runs to March 2012.

Virgin Rail Group is owned 51 percent by Virgin Group and 49 percent by
Stagecoach.

Virgin Trains has been listed as the Best Train Operator in a survey by
the Institute of Customer; voted Best Rail Company by Travel Weekly
magazine; Best UK Domestic Train Service by Business Traveler magazine and
favorite train operator by readers of the London Evening Standard.

Source: Virgin Trains

For further information please contact the Virgin Trains Press Desk on +44(0)845-000-3333 or visit virgintrainsmediaroom.com