Cathay Pacific Partners with Michelin-Starred Chef

Cathay Pacific Partners with Michelin-Starred Yat Tung Heen to Elevate Inflight Dining

Cathay Pacific is bringing the flavours of Hong Kong’s culinary scene to the skies with an exciting new partnership with Michelin-starred restaurant Yat Tung Heen.

Beginning January 2025, Premium Economy and Economy passengers on select flights from Hong Kong will experience classic Cantonese dishes crafted by Chef Tam Tung.

This collaboration is part of Cathay’s “Hong Kong Flavours” initiative, designed to celebrate the city’s diverse food culture and deliver authentic local cuisine to passengers across all cabins.

Bernard Mills, Cathay’s Head of Dining and Hospitality, highlighted the significance of this partnership, stating, “Yat Tung Heen shares our vision for showcasing the best of Hong Kong’s food culture. It’s about authenticity and quality, and we’re thrilled to offer these flavours to our customers.”

Cantonese Excellence at 35,000 Feet

Passengers can look forward to a thoughtfully curated inflight menu featuring signature dishes from Yat Tung Heen.

In Economy Class, the highlight is a chilled marinated cherry tomato appetiser with preserved plum – a tangy starter meticulously adjusted to account for flavour changes at altitude.

For mains, Economy passengers will enjoy baked chicken with aromatic ginger and aged mandarin peel or the iconic gu lou yuk – sweet and sour pork coated in a rich orange glaze with fresh pineapple and bell peppers.

Premium Economy offers Chiu Chow-style smoked duck breast served with pickled mustard greens marinated in galangal and heartier options like braised beef brisket and tendon in chu hou sauce.

The menu also includes crispy halibut with soy sauce, braised bamboo pith, and baby choy sum.

“Creating consistently exceptional meals in Premium Economy and Economy is no small feat,” Mills remarked.

“The challenge lies in producing dishes at scale while maintaining the quality that Cathay is known for. Yat Tung Heen was an ideal partner, bringing expertise and creativity to the table.”

Chef Tam and Cathay’s inflight dining teams worked closely to fine-tune each dish for inflight conditions.

“We wanted to bring Cantonese culinary heritage to travellers, and the process involved countless tweaks to ensure the right balance of flavours at altitude,” said Chef Tam.

This isn’t Cathay Pacific’s first foray into Michelin-starred inflight dining.

Previous partnerships have included esteemed Hong Kong restaurants like Duddell’s and Louise, but this is the first time such focus has been placed on Economy and Premium Economy cabins.

Passengers from Hong Kong can look forward to sampling these Cantonese delights on select routes in 2025, further enhancing Cathay Pacific’s reputation for delivering exceptional inflight experiences.

(All photos courtesy of Cathay Pacific)