Poached cod with coconut milk and creamy venere rice by Anne-Sophie Pic (top left), steamed chicken with flower honey and lemon by Régis Marcon (top right): Air France is pulling out all the stops by calling on the great names of French haute cuisine to compose the menus in its First and Business cabins. Using signature chefs is one of the biggest trends among airlines today.
It's become a serious business. Every year, the best cooking and lifestyle magazines - Conde Nast Traveller, Vanity Fair and the American edition of Saveur - take a delightful look at the menus of the world's airlines. Not to mention the bible of air transport rankings, the Skytrax consultant, which grills those airlines that know how to offer their passengers a real taste experience. Almost everything is rewarded: first and business class dishes, economy class services, of course the wines served on board, but also the sandwiches served by low-cost carriers. The same airlines invariably top the culinary charts: Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Swiss, Lufthansa and Air France.
In addition to these outstanding players, almost all carriers have invested in their in-flight services in recent times. If good food is now one of their main concerns, it is also and above all because the subject has become an essential expectation of passengers. For several years now, passengers have been demanding ever more from their in-flight services. This is undoubtedly due to social networking, which has considerably changed the situation. A bad meal on the plane? Twitter, Facebook and the like will immediately be abuzz with reports of junk food... Which can effectively jeopardise the seductive efforts made by airlines. There are even specialised sites such as airlinemeals.com and airplanetfood.com which list the carriers' meal trays. These sites collect thousands of photos of in-flight meals for travellers. So you can get an idea in advance of what you'll find on your tray.
Far from softened sandwiches and undercooked or overcooked pieces of meat drowned in a rough sauce, we are now returning to a very classic concept of in-flight food. We're getting back to what was done in the 50s and 60s, during the golden age of aviation, before the advent of mass air transport. "Espresso coffee was served from a percolator. Today's airlines haven't invented anything."A few years ago, a British airline director who was a flight attendant in the 1960s recalled.
Flavour, authenticity and a balanced diet are the buzzwords of today's in-flight culinary world. Since 2013, Air France has seen itself as a true ambassador of French culture throughout the world, and has placed at the heart of its programme to upgrade its long-haul offer a gastronomic heritage which now has its place on UNESCO's World Heritage List. As the CEO of the Air France-KLM group, Alexandre de Juniac, explained at the time, the aim is to offer a very high quality product in all classes of travel. Air France is one of the few airlines to offer champagne to all passengers, including those travelling in economy class on long-haul routes.
However, despite all the efforts made by airlines around the world, many passengers are still convinced that eating on a plane is not a gastronomic experience. Probably because these travellers are far from aware of all the constraints inherent in air travel that can affect the perception of in-flight catering. Firstly, because a plane is not a kitchen and a huge number of customers have to be served in a minimum amount of time, sometimes more than 500 as on the Airbus A380.
What's more, despite all the little touches that airlines like to use to personalise their culinary offer, it's complicated to offer cuisine that resembles a "small provincial inn" when you consider, for example, that Servair, Air France's catering subsidiary, has to prepare almost 85 million meals a year.
Delicate cooking
Altitude is another determining factor that alters the passenger's sensations. Cabin pressurisation and very low humidity dry out the taste buds and desensitise the senses. This explains why airlines resort to dishes in sauces, such as light curries, or make greater use of salt. Finally, the cooking of food is also specific to aircraft because of safety constraints. No rotisserie, of course, but convection ovens to reheat lightly pre-cooked dishes in first and business class, or frozen dishes in economy class. The art of cooking just the right amount of food is probably one of the most delicate issues for flight attendants. They often have to reheat trays containing both meat and fish in the same ovens. With the risk of overcooking - or undercooking - the food. Only a few airlines can claim to cook on site, in the cabin. This is the case, for example, on the Four Seasons private jet, where a dedicated chef works directly with fresh ingredients.
Some specialities are also difficult to offer in flight. This is the case, for example, with sushi, the emblematic delicacy of Japanese gastronomy. "To avoid health risks, raw fish cannot be served on board. Instead, we serve lightly cooked sushi or sushi made with fresh vegetables.We don't like raw food," explains a chef from Japanese airline All Nippon Airways. For safety and hygiene reasons, raw foods such as carpaccio or oysters are generally banned from the cabin. Other items excluded on board are cauliflower and pulses, which are difficult to digest, products with too strong an odour, and fish that has not been de-headed, to avoid any incidents. So when preparing their dishes, chefs have to deal with a multitude of parameters, thinking about the practical side with meat that is preferably boneless, while avoiding low-fat meats that would dry out in the air.
The world's largest canteen
With authenticity now one of the criteria demanded by passengers, airlines are playing the local card, reflecting their country of origin. Asian carriers have a real advantage in this area, with specialities that are often simple but tasty and highly identifiable. Light curry on Indian airlines, for example, a small pot of fermented cabbage on Korean Air, fried rice noodles on Chinese carriers, fish with green curry on Thai Airways or satay brochettes on Malaysia Airlines: all these dishes - which are not very expensive to prepare - represent the first contact with the culture of the airline's country. In the same way, Air Austral offers "non-alcoholic punches, for example, or authentic Creole specialities from Réunion Island accompanied by the inevitable rougail. It's a way of affirming our Réunionese authenticity."says Jean Marc Grazzini, the company's marketing vice-president.
In Europe, each airline has its own specialities. Turkish Airlines offers the full range of Turkish cuisine, from kebabs and köfta to desserts that are sure to please even the fussiest passengers. SAS Scandinavian Airlines, for its part, has recently revamped its menus, which are lighter and fresher, in the image of Scandinavia. Salmon, prawns and fresh vegetables are now on offer. For its part, Finnair is working with four of Helsinki's best restaurants to create exclusive dishes using seasonal ingredients, such as this autumn's pumpkin velouté and braised roast pork with barley pumpkin concocted by chef Ari Ruoho. As for Austrian, this company taps into the Viennese subconscious with traditional desserts such as the unmissable strudel or chocolate cake. Regional smoked meat specialities are also on the menu, with Austrian using the services of Do & Co, a Vienna-based caterer.
At Swiss, we serve - unfortunately only in First Class! - the famous Balik salmon, a product prepared in Switzerland and considered to be one of the best in the world, or smoked venison. The airline's website uses the rather ungracious term "Swissness" to detail the culinary specialities served on board its aircraft. You'll find local butter, craft beers and Valais wines, not forgetting the unmissable chocolate offered to all passengers. Because great traditions are not lost. In addition to champagne, Air France serves viennoiseries in all classes, emblematic of the French art of living, and British Airways has not forgotten Afternoon Tea, served in Business and First Class with sandwiches and scones.
Still on the subject of tradition, but in the wrong sense of the word, in-flight catering on American airlines has long been the subject of ridicule. Even though American Airlines launched a "conclave" of top chefs in 1988 to improve the service. Passengers used to transatlantic flights remember above all the sad packets of peanuts or pretzels, the result of a fierce competition which for years saw in-flight services reduced to a minimum. All the same, this ugly page seems to be turning, as the American carriers have finally listened to their passengers' complaints. They are now often linked up with major catering groups and, without offering an unforgettable gastronomic experience, menus now include pizzas, hamburgers, mixed salads and even Starbucks branded coffees.
Rain of stars in the air
In business class, the American majors also work with famous names. Delta Air Lines, for example, has been working with top chefs and master sommeliers since 2007. The airline offers "New American Table" menus concocted by the renowned Richard Sandoval and Marcus Samuelsson. Using star chefs is also a major trend in the airline world. Long prepared in the secrecy of catering companies, airline cuisine has been "labelled" for the past two decades. Neil Perry, the most fashionable culinary personality in the Anglo-Saxon world at the end of the 90s, began working on Qantas menus. Nearly twenty years later, Neil Perry's philosophy is still at the service of the Australian carrier.
However, one of the first airlines to use renowned chefs was Air France, back in the 1950s. At that time, the airline recruited chefs from the great palaces and cruise liners to cook on board its first cabin. Today, Air France still works with some of the most famous French chefs. Some of the dishes offered on board are the work of Alain Ducasse, Guy Martin, Régis Marcon, Joël Robuchon and Thibaut Ruggeri. Just recently, Anne-Sophie Pic also started cooking for the French company. The only woman with three Michelin stars in France, voted best chef in the world in 2011, has concocted exclusive dishes for first-class passengers, such as her free-range poultry with pepper chutney and dates, her semi-cooked lobster with celery and her langoustines seared with sweet spices.
At present, the most spectacular development for passengers is the presence of guest-star chefs in the First and Business cabins, wearing chef's hats. You'll see them on Lufthansa, Austrian, Etihad Airways and Jet Airways. It's even a real ceremony on Turkish Airlines, where a chef from the catering company Do & Co, in his dazzling white coat, comes to prepare the food served to passengers in high contribution class. Air France, for its part, has adopted an educational approach. With the "Chefs à Bord" operation, the airline brings in a chef from its Servair subsidiary to share his experiences with passengers and talk to them about the art of in-flight catering. Last June, for example, Servair chef Michel Quissac went out to gather the impressions of passengers flying between Paris and Dakar.
And why not have reality TV interfere with in-flight gastronomy? That's the idea that occurred to British Airways in 2012 during the Olympic Games. In front of the Channel 4 cameras, Michelin-starred chefs Heston Blumenthal and Simon Hulstone came to recompose the palette of the British airline's menus. The result is "Height Cuisine", a highly elaborate gastronomy designed to maximise in-flight flavours, including the famous Japanese fifth taste, "Umami", the indescribable aroma of certain foods such as parmesan, dried tomatoes and sesame. Their principles are still applied in the composition of the airline's menus three years later.
The cream of the crop
Celebrity chefs know no borders. For almost a decade, Yves Mattagne, a Belgian chef with two Michelin stars - and an Indian wife - has been concocting the Western dishes served on board Jet Airways aircraft, while Arun Harnu, chef at the famous Bombay Brasserie in London, has been introducing passengers to the flavours of Indian cuisine. Qatar Airways also works with the crème de la crème of the culinary world. Japanese chef Nobu and Indian chef Vineet Bhatia work together on menus that blend the subtleties of Oriental and Western cuisine.
But Singapore Airlines probably has the largest number of chefs working regularly with the airline. There are eight of them, coming from the four corners of the globe to create what the airline calls its "World Cuisine". Due to the inflation of chefs working for the Singaporean airline, Singapore Airlines came up with the idea of offering dishes that could be ordered in advance. First and business class passengers can reserve their favourite dish up to 24 hours before departure. The concept, which has been adopted by Malaysia Airlines, Taiwan's Eva Air and more recently by Air France and Jet Airways, allows passengers to sample the specialities of top chefs working for the airline. What's more, the concept has now been extended to Economy class. For a supplement, you can now improve on the ordinary on Air Austral, AirBerlin, Air France, Austrian, KLM or SAS. Gourmet meals, light meals, fish menus... the choice is endless. And what if flying became a real pleasure for the palate?
Air France: wine stories
As part of its French tradition, Air France has a reputation for offering one of the best in-flight wine cellars in the world. Every year, the airline opens 1.5 million bottles of wine, including 800,000 bottles of champagne. The wine list is regularly renewed, generally every two months. Since 2014, the sommelier who signs the company's wine list is Paolo Basso, named best sommelier in the world in 2013, all in collaboration with Bettane & Desseauve, authors of the Grand Guide des vins de France. Their shared aim is to promote France's wine heritage through the wide variety of wines on offer on board, with special favourites and discoveries, as well as special cuvées for Air France, taking into account the particular conditions to which in-flight wines are subjected. In first class, vintage wines and exceptional champagnes are selected by the team of sommeliers. Here again, the wines are chosen for their ability to adapt to the constraints of the cabin environment, with dryness and pressurisation reinforcing the 'hard' parts of the wine, such as tannins, acids and mineral salts. The natural aeration that takes place when the wine is served, however, enables them to quickly regain their full complexity.
Chefs at the top
Some of the great names of Michelin-starred chefs to be found on airline menus around the world. For the happy few in First and Business class...
AIR FRANCE
- Régis Marconthree Michelin stars. Air France long-haul business class
- Lenôtre for desserts
AMERICAN AIRLINES
- Richard Sandovala chef rewarded for his new Mexican cuisine in his New York restaurant, which propelled him to the title of best American chef in 2006.
CATHAY PACIFIC
- Thierry Marx, Uwe Opocensky, Christian PratchHe is also a chef at the Mandarin Oriental group hotels in Paris, Hong Kong and New York.
DELTA AIR LINES
- Michelle Bernsteinowner of Michy's, one of the Top 50 restaurants in the United States.
- Michael Chiarelloone of the celebrities of American gastronomy, with a dozen award-winning restaurants.
EMIRATES AIRLINES
- Mike Bosdorfchef at the Grand Hyatt Dubai, Hyatt Regency Kiev and Park Hyatt Moscow
FINNAIR
- Matti JämsenChef of the G.W. Sundmans restaurant in Helsinki. Chef of the Year 2005 and 5th at the Bocuse d'Or 2011.
JET AIRWAYS
- Yves Mattagnetwo stars at the Sea Grill restaurant in Brussels.
LUFTHANSA
- The Chefs from Mandarin Oriental Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington in First and Business between the United States and Germany
- Bastian ManteyChef at the St Regis Hotel Bangkok, on Bangkok and Singapore.
QATAR AIRWAYS
- Nobu MatsuhisaHe has been recognised several times as one of the world's top chefs.
- Vineet Bhatiathe only Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star for his restaurants in Geneva and London.
SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS
- Reuben RiffelHe is recognised as one of the best chefs in the south, with a multi-award-winning restaurant in Cape Town.
- Benny Masekwamengone of the celebrities of the South African culinary world, who has become a national icon...
SWISS INTERNATIONAL
- Florian Trentinochef of the Peninsula Hong Kong.
- Linda Mühlemann and Antonio Colaiannione Michelin star; ranked by GaultMillau in Zurich.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES
- Carlo Craccotwo Michelin stars in Milan.
- Suzanne Goinchef of three award-winning restaurants in Los Angeles.
Awarded the title of Best Chef in California in 2006 by the James Beard Foundation.
