HAUTE CUISINE

To elevate their culinary offerings, airlines are now employing everything from Michelin-starred chefs to caviar tastings for fine dining in the sky

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Consider chef Jew’s menu for Alaska Airlines’ First Class cabin. Travelers not only get a taste of the ultra-premium ingredients Jew uses in his restaurant—such as Liberty Farms poultry featured at Mister Jiu’s as its trademark “Peking-style” whole roast duck—but they also enjoy dishes he created exclusively for dining in the sky.

`”Our chefs understand that dining at high altitudes is a unique experience,” says Mita Padhi, director of guest products at Alaska Airlines. “Flavors can be diluted at high altitudes, so chef Jew took great care to incorporate flavorful sauces, spices and ingredients that our guests can enjoy in the air.”

A Taste of the Michelin Stars

Even the finest chefs face challenges when designing dishes to be prepared and served on an airplane. The conditions at high altitude tend to dull the palate, presenting a unique set of issues when working with food.

Michael Pelzer, spokesperson for Swiss International Air Lines, explains the constraints: “In Business and First Class, we serve more than a thousand people and dispense around 660 bottles of wine daily.” Pelzer adds that the airline’s menus “are finalized at least 24 hours before they are served. This means that sauces must not leak, herbs must not wither, and much more.” Meanwhile, Air France, known for its deep bench of culinary talent, has partnered with Dominique Crenn, America’s only female three-starred Michelin chef (at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco).

Crenn admits that she had to approach the creation of in-flight cuisine differently. “We were designing meals for an environment unlike any other,” she says. “The challenge was to deliver quality flavors in reheated dishes while still telling a story. It pushed us to be creative and find new ways to bring the same level of excellence to in-flight dining.”