Elevating the dining experience
Air Canada-Hawksworth partnership
Air Canada recently hosted more than 100 guests at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music. They used the occasion to announce a new partnership with celebrated Canadian chef David Hawksworth, whose restaurant, Hawksworth, was named one of the top three restaurants in Canada in 2011.
Hawksworth has been tasked with designing signature dishes that will be featured on Air Canada flights in International Business Class and Maple Leaf Lounges. One of Canada’s most celebrated chefs, Hawksworth will collaborate with Air Canada’s flight caterers and Maple Leaf Lounge providers to create a selection of seasonal dining options including appetizers, salads, main courses and desserts, complementing the airline’s current route-inspired dining on international flights.
Lucky guests were the first to sample the chef ’s offerings: nine signature, contemporary creations for Air Canada including the following dishes being featured first on flights beginning Oct. 1: yellowfin tuna tataki appetizer served with scallion ginger vinaigrette, passion fruit and puffed rice; tamari roasted sablefish main course served with bok choy, brown rice and chili miso vinaigrette; decadent dark chocolate fondant with blackberry compote.
“We are thrilled to partner with chef Hawksworth to elevate our dining experience,” said Craig Landry, vice-president, marketing at Air Canada. “As a proud Canadian brand, we see the opportunity to showcase the very best of Canadian-influenced menus designed by one of Canada’s most respected and awardwinning chefs.
“We have a long history of showcasing the Canadian culinary scene through the annual Air Canada enRoute Canada’s Best New Restaurant Program. We look forward to presenting chef Hawksworth’s innovative, sophisticated dishes in our International Business Class cabins and in our Maple Leaf Lounges.
“This culinary partnership complements our investments in our state-of-the-art International Business Class product and service enhancements being rolled out across our Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner fleets.”
Bright lights in attendance included Benjamin Smith, president, passenger airlines, Air Canada; Meghan Markle, actress and founder of The Tig; Raymond Girard, president, content marketing, Spafax; Michael Liebrock, founding partner, Acasta Capital; Jean François Legaré, editor-in-chief, Air Canada enRoute; Annette Verschuren, chair and CEO, NRStor Inc.; Brett Marchad, president and CEO, Cossette; Greg David, president and CIO, GRI Capital; and Christina Woronchak, VP business development, American Express Canada.