The Inflight Feed Take
This isn’t Air France’s first rodeo; they’ve been rotating Michelin-starred chefs through their cabins since 2009. What stands out here isn’t the scale; it’s the loyalty: Lallement, Adamski, and Simonin are all repeat names rather than fresh faces brought in to make headlines.
Air France clearly isn’t chasing novelty for its own sake; it’s building relationships with these chefs over years, and that consistency is arguably harder to pull off than a flashy one-time stunt.
Air France is partnering with six chefs across French gastronomy to create new menus for La Première, Business, and Premium cabins on long-haul flights departing Paris, rolling out over the coming months.
La Première
Arnaud Lallement, the three-Michelin-starred chef of L’Assiette Champenoise in Reims, has created more than thirty dishes for La Première’s first and second services, developed in collaboration with Servair’s Culinary Studio.
The menu includes lobster poached in court-bouillon with tender potatoes and a paprika sauce, created as a tribute to Lallement’s father, and a Swiss chard stew with chickpeas and a yellow wine sauce.
Lallement said: “For Air France customers, I wanted to draw on memories of the seasons and let my subconscious speak, almost as if under hypnosis.”
Desserts continue a partnership with Claire Heitzler, named Pastry Chef of the Year by Gault & Millau in 2013.
Four new desserts will be introduced over the coming months, including Racine, a Caribbean dark chocolate mousse with Madagascar vanilla cream, and Planifolia, made entirely with Bourbon vanilla.
Business
Mathieu Viannay, chef of the two-Michelin-starred La Mère Brazier in Lyon, has created more than twenty dishes for Business, including, for the first time, hot dishes available during both services.
These include creamy fregola with Mimolette cheese, arugula, roasted butternut squash, and preserved lemon, and glazed salmon with a lemony soy-butter sauce and green Puy lentils.
François Adamski, Servair’s Corporate Chef, created the breakfasts and brunches served on flights departing Paris no later than 9:30am.
Dishes include Chimay-style stuffed eggs with truffle béchamel sauce and mushroom polenta, and a buckwheat galette filled with mushrooms and spinach, served with Mornay sauce and toasted hazelnuts.
Adamski said: “For these new dishes, I drew inspiration from the traditional principles of French gastronomy while adding a modern touch. For me, the simplest things are sometimes the best.”
Desserts continue a collaboration with Nina Métayer, named World’s Best Pastry Chef.
New additions include Instant poire-chocolat, pairing pear and chocolate, and Parenthèse mandarine-amande, featuring mandarin and almond.
Business cabin passengers can pre-select their hot meal up to 24 hours before departure.
Premium
Frédéric Simonin, chef of his eponymous one-Michelin-starred restaurant, has created the Premium cabin menu, with passengers choosing between two regularly updated hot dishes, including a vegetarian option.
Dishes include conchiglie with chanterelle mushrooms and herb cream, and shrimp with tomato and squid-ink rice.
Photos: Air France
Nik founded Inflight Feed in 2012, blending his passion for inflight dining with over a decade of experience in the airline industry. For the past 13 years, he has travelled the world, exploring and reviewing airline meals across countless carriers.
CNN Travel, The New York Times, and BBC World News have featured Nik’s expertise. When he’s not on the ground, you’ll find him at 35,000 feet, camera in hand, capturing the unique flavours of air travel. Follow his inflight meal adventures on Instagram: @InflightFeed.