Whenever Chloe Gray travels for more than a few hours, she always brings food with her
The night before her most recent flight, she headed to Whole Foods and decided to purchase a full rotisserie chicken for the journey
Gray recently went viral on TikTok for telling the story of how she got the food through TSA
If Chloe Gray is flying for more than a few hours, the New York City local always brings food with her.
Recently, Gray flew Alaska Airlines from Newark Airport to San Francisco International, with a connecting flight to John Wayne Airport in Orange County. Knowing she’d be traveling for more than eight hours, she made sure to pack something to eat.
“I get scared at the thought of being trapped for hours without something to eat — you could call it food anxiety,” Gray tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I wanted to have a nice experience without paying for first class.”
“For health reasons, specifically managing my blood sugar, I usually try to bring something on the healthier side to give me clean energy,” she adds. “That might be a salad with protein, or a side of vegetables and protein like ribeye steak or chicken. Often, my snacks include avocados or cucumbers. I always bring at least one healthy option, and sometimes I’ll add a seasoned nut mix. I’ve worked with a nutritionist to understand what my body needs.”
But this time, she wanted to switch things up. The night before her flight, she headed to Whole Foods and decided on a full rotisserie chicken.
The next day at the airport, security was light and the lines were short, so the process moved quickly. Her luggage passed through without any issues — but her personal item was flagged for inspection. The reason? Her bag with the chicken.
“The agent was very gentle, went through the food, and asked what it was,” she says.
“She looked at it and said, ‘That’s crazy!’ ” Gray recalls. “Then she smiled, handed it back to me, and said, ‘Here you go, baby.’ And I was on my way!”
Since Gray shares so much of her life on social media, she figured why not share this, too? It was a very real moment, and bringing food on flights is something she does all the time. “Maybe not always an entire chicken,” she admits, “but I am very food-centric.”
So she posted about the experience on TikTok. To her surprise, the video went viral, amassing more than 500,000 views and hundreds of comments.
“I live to eat. I love a culinary experience, and I always make sure I’m eating something I enjoy,” she says. “I didn’t expect it to get the level of attention that it did — but hey, my rotissy was a star!”
Courtesy of Chloe Gray
Chloe Gray holding up rotisserie chicken
What did surprise her, though, were some of the negative reactions.
“I was shocked by how many people were upset,” she says. “To me, it’s just chicken — one of the most basic proteins anyone can eat. It’s universally loved! Most of the criticism was about the smell, but by the time you’re on the plane, it’s not hot anymore and the scent has mostly passed.”
Gray adds, “I was looking at it from the lens of, ‘People are often served food on flights.’ And if you’re in first or business class, it’s usually a great meal. In economy, it’s more of a medium experience — and the food probably isn’t organic. I’ve had elevated dining in first class, and I just wanted something I actually wanted to eat.”
Still, the response wasn’t all negative. “A lot of people said they would’ve loved to sit next to me and even ask for a piece, which I would’ve gladly shared! I had a whole chicken, after all.”
Gray says many commenters shared their own in-flight snack strategies or praised her commitment to staying nourished. She adds how, “several flight attendants and crew even chimed in to say they do the same thing and that bringing a rotisserie chicken on board is actually pretty normal for them.”
One commenter joked that it was the best Vogue “In the Bag” video they’d seen. Others called her an icon for flying with a “rotissy” in tow.
“I grabbed the chicken because it was conventionally packaged, it has a chic top handle which makes it easy to carry throughout the airport and it’s easily disposable,” she continues. “Some people travel with designer bags but my designer bag just happened to be a bag of rotisserie chicken.”
“I prefer that over traveling with bulky Tupperware so if I happen to be in a pinch again, I could see myself opting for another rotissy to go,” she adds.
Read the original article on People
