Hong Kong is one of the world’s great culinary capitals. And as its flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific embodies that same food heritage through its dining experiences.

Post-pandemic, while other airlines have cut corners on hospitality, Cathay Pacific has instead doubled down on the quality of its culinary offering.

‘The Difference is in the Detail’ dramatises the passion, care and rigour that goes on behind the scenes in order to deliver delicious, authentic dishes on every flight.

All footage was shot in-camera (ie. no CGI), with four days of pre-shoot testing. The film is an exercise in patience and practical effects.

Organic elements like food never behave quite the way you imagine, so they demand a degree of inventiveness. Each shot presents its own unique challenge – especially with Phantom cameras that require a lot of light and induce high temperatures.

For example:

- The Enoki mushrooms were so fragile, they would last less than a minute in the heat before wilting.

- To achieve the ‘dancing’ movement of the Garlic Chives, we had to work in a water-filled aquarium, while making the water invisible with no air bubbles present.

- For the Coriander, we tied the plants by the stem, upside down, and wrapped around a very wide-angle lens, which then gave the impression of trees swaying in the breeze.