Famous chef partnerships in the air

Over the years, airlines have partnered with chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants and TV shows to treat passengers on-board. We round up some of the latest initiatives on offer.

AIR FRANCE

The airline has a long tradition of working with chefs at the helm of Michelin-starred restaurants for its on-board menus. Last year Air France worked with 19 chefs, focusing on fresh, seasonal and local produce with a vegetarian dish in all travel cabins.

Most recently, Emmanuel Renaut has been entrusted with menus for La Première (first class) on flights departing Paris, where passengers can expect dishes such as farmhouse chicken confit with mushrooms and vegetable millefeuille, followed by a mango, citrus and cognac baba from pastry chef Angelo Musa.

Anne-Sophie Pic, meanwhile, is behind the long-haul business class cabin, with dishes such as chicken supreme with sake, followed by Philippe Urraca’s opera, black forest and yuzu entremet cake.

The airline is also offering dishes created by Jean-Charles Brédas for business class cabins on flights departing from Pointe à Pitre, Fort-de-France, Saint Martin and Cayenne, as well as on flights on the airline’s regional Caribbean network. These include a creamy risotto with coconut milk, pigeon peas, almond and giraumon (turban squash), or a roasted grouper fillet served with papaya sauerkraut and green sauce.

Premium economy customers on long-haul flights departing Paris can enjoy dishes from French chef Frédéric Simonin. Dishes include salmon risotto with orzo pasta, wild dill and lemon sauce, or trofie pasta bake with porcini mushrooms and hazelnuts.

ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS

The Japanese carrier works with a lot of famous chefs via its The Connoisseurs programme, including Toru Okuda, Yoshihiro

Takahashi, Ryuta Iizuka, Masayasu Yonemura and Hideki Takayama.

First class passengers on routes from Narita/Haneda to North America and Europe (excluding late night flights) can enjoy dishes such as grilled Japanese wagyu beef with miso and chopped shiitake mushrooms, accompanied by shrimp-filled fried crunchy lotus roots.

Business class passengers, meanwhile, are offered different dishes on routes from Narita/ Haneda to North America, Europe, Mexico and Oceania. Examples include a main of grilled lotus root tofu, served with Japanese Black wagyu beef in a wasabi-flavoured sauce.

BRITISH AIRWAYS

The flag carrier partners with chef Tom Kerridge to create a gourmet range for the its High Life Café.

The menu is offered to short-haul economy customers (Euro Traveller) and can be pre-ordered via BA’s inflight retail High Life shop website. Passengers can also purchase the products on flights that are over three hours.

Products on offer include a vegan sweet and spicy falafel wrap, and a ham hock and smoked cheddar sandwich.

BRUSSELS AIRLINES

The airline’s Belgian Star Chefs menu features a different Belgian chef from a Michelinstarred restaurant every year. The threecourse menus are on offer to business class customers on long-haul flights.

Michaël Vrijmoed, of the two Michelinstarred Ghent restaurant Vrijmoed, joined the roster in October 2023.

His menu showcases Belgian vegetables and rotates every three months “to make the most of seasonal produce”. Passengers can also enjoy Belgian beers and regional wines.

Examples include mains of braised beef jaw with root parsley, parsnip, roasting gravy and candied potatoes, or beetroot baked in salt crust with pearl onion, Bordelaise mushroom sauce and parsley potatoes. Dessert options include a Belgian cheese platter or a plate of fruit.

CATHAY PACIFIC

Cathay Pacific has partnered with a number of Hong Kong establishments for its inflight dining service, including the Michelin-starred venue Duddell’s.

Recently it has collaborated with vegetarian restaurant Veda for economy and premium economy passengers on selected long-haul and ultra-long-haul routes departing from Hong Kong. The menu offers a total of 16 dishes, comprising six appetisers and ten mains, including a cherry tomato, quinoa salad and a creamy South Indian coconut curry.

The airline has also partnered with Italian restaurant Pirata for a premium economy menu on long-haul and medium-haul flights departing from Hong Kong. Dish examples

include pork saltimbocca with mushroom jus, or Calabrian-style orecchiette pasta with Italian sausage, ‘nduja and cherry tomatoes. Meals are served with a glass of DOCG Prosecco from Italy’s Veneto region.

CHINA AIRLINES

The airline launched a new Cantonese menu last autumn, conceived by three Michelinstarred Le Palais restaurant in Taiwan and served in all cabins on long-haul flights departing Taiwan for Europe and North America. Previous dish examples have included ma po tofu lobster with rice (in business class), beef lo mein with seasonal vegetables and black bean spare rib clay pot rice in premium economy, and curry shrimp and fish egg noodles in economy class.

Business class passengers on all Japanese routes, meanwhile, are served a Japanesestyle banquet named “Autumn Beauty”, designed by Tokyo’s famous Toutouan restaurant using seasonal ingredients from Taiwan. Dish examples have included mains of wagyu beef and sesame seed teriyaki, accompanied by steamed rice cooked with mushrooms and shiitake.

China Airlines has also partnered with Michelin-starred restaurant Yangming Spring to introduce plant-based cuisine, such as truffle black pepper vegan steak, to its inflight dining menus.

When it comes to desserts, Le Ruban Pâtisserie has created a series of exclusive co-branded desserts, such as grapefruit mousse and lemon Chantilly, which are on offer on business class flights to Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.

DELTA AIR LINES

The airline has partnered with chefs for first class and Delta One (business class) passengers on select routes.

Delta One customers on transcontinental flights from Los Angeles can experience Italian-American fare from chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, with previous dishes including cacio e pepe lasagne with bechamel sauce, or braised meatballs with Bianco Di Napoli marinara.

First class customers departing from Atlanta on domestic flights over 900 miles can also enjoy Southern classics from chef Mashama Bailey, including curried chicken salad and a dessert of southern chess pie bar, served with Chantilly cream and pie crust crumble.

Delta One customers flying to and from China can opt for a Chinese rather than Western meal, curated by chef Jereme Leung.

Previous examples include poached chicken with preserved Szechuan pickles for starter, followed by a pork broth with Chinese yam, red dates and crispy rice.

JAPAN AIRLINES

The airline’s Sky Auberge BEDD by JAL “restaurant in the sky” features well-known chefs including Hideki Ishikawa, Koji

Koizumi, Shuzo Kishida, Jun Mishina,

Shinobu Namae, Daisuke Hayashi, Ryuji Teshima and Yuya Yamanaka.

First class passengers travelling from Tokyo to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London and Paris can enjoy delicacies from chef Ishikawa, known for his eponymous Tokyo restaurant, and chef Koizumi of restaurant Kohaku, both of which have three Michelin stars.

Owner/chef of Roketsu in London, Daisuke Hayashi, is also responsible for the first class and business class menus on routes from London, Paris and Helsinki, and Frankfurt to Japan.

QANTAS

The airline has collaborated with restaurateur Neil Perry since 1997 for an à la carte menu in first class on international flights, with a tasting menu available on select services. On previous flights, dishes have included Calvisius caviar tartlet with cauliflower cream, ma hor caramelised pork, prawn, pineapple and cashews, as well as plantbased options.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

The Singaporean flag carrier has its very own International Culinary Panel, made up of seven award-winning chefs from around the world: Carlo Cracco (Italy), Georges Blanc (France), Matt Moran (Australia), Sanjeev Kapoor (India), Suzanne Goin (US), Yoshihiro Murata (Japan) and Zhu Jun (China).

Dishes vary per route and are offered to business and first class/suites passengers. Previous examples on the London-Singapore route include George Blanc’s roasted stuffed chicken with forest mushrooms, accompanied by port wine sauce, sautéed spinach and parsley potatoes, while Matt Moran offers seared chicken breast with natural jus, barley risotto, broccolini and shimeji mushroom.

SWISS

The airline’s Taste of Switzerland concept has featured 82 chefs from all 26 Swiss cantons since its debut in 2002, with menus for first class, business class and premium economy on long-haul flights departing Switzerland. Menus change every three months and showcase regional and seasonal specialties designed by chefs whose restaurants have received Michelin stars and Gault&Millau points. The meals are accompanied by wines and cheeses from the region concerned.

The airline recently focused on the canton of Obwalden, offering first and business class passengers dishes from the Kempinski

Palace Engelberg’s executive chef, Michéle Müller.

Main course examples in business class include beef tenderloin with za’atar, date jus, mashed potato with harissa, carrots and romanesco, or pike-perch with red onion marmalade and saffron sauce accompanied by turned potatoes, glazed courgette and aubergine caviar. Dessert, meanwhile, is a carrot cake with mascarpone cream and carrot gel.

In first class, mains include veal fillet with jus, rösti, mushroom purée, sautéed king oyster mushroom and pearl onions; or salmon trout with beurre noisette and smoked almond cream, parsley potatoes, cauliflower, romanesco and baby carrot.

TAP AIR PORTUGAL

The airline’s Local Stars initiative has 12 local chefs preparing menus highlighting a “star ingredient” from their choice of Portuguese region. The menu is on offer to business class passengers on long-haul flights, and rotates every two months until April 2025.

Chef Óscar Geadas from Bragança was chosen for the start of 2024, with a menu paying tribute to the chestnut. Passengers are served a starter of fresh-water fish, beetroot and orange salad, a main of stewed veal, chestnut purée and mushrooms, and a dessert of almond pudding with Montesinho honey.

THAI AIRWAYS

The airline has an inflight menu curated by chef Duangporn (Bo) Songvisava – Asia’s Best Female Chef of 2013 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, who also appeared in Netflix’s Chef’s Table. The menu is available in Royal First and Royal Silk (business class) cabins on flights to Europe, Australia and Japan.

It is split into various sections – from “the roll” and “the pie” to the “Ochazuke breakfast” and “the heritage” series. Dish examples have included prawns in red curry with pineapple (gaeng khua), served with Thai jasmine rice, Thai turnip omelette, and stir-fried aubergines with sweet basil.