JAPAN AIRLINES TEAMS UP WITH FOOD STYLIST IILJIMA

[dropcap size=small]J[/dropcap]apan airlines have teamed up with the famed food stylist Nami Iijima whose works have been featured on advertisements, and also movies, such as “Kamome Shokudo”, “Shinya Shokudo”, and “Umimachi Diary”. From September 1, passengers flying JAL in premium economy and economy class on select flights will sample a new range of meals that have been produced by Iijima.

Meals will be available from Japan only and will consist of popular Japanese home-style favourites which passengers will find simple in style and very tasty. Options will include:

Braised Meat & Potatoes, Nikujaga with Green Soybean Rice

Cabbage Roll with Tomato Rice

Passengers on the below flights can expect these unique dishes:

Flights from Tokyo (Narita) to Chicago, Boston, New York (JFK), Los Angeles, San Diego, Vancouver, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Paris, Sydney, Moscow, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Delhi, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok.

Flights from Tokyo (Haneda) to London, Paris, Singapore (JL037) and Bangkok (JL031).

Flights from Nagoya (Chubu) to Bangkok.

Flights from Osaka (Kansai) to Los Angeles.

AIR SERIES MEALS

Furthermore, the airline has yet again teamed up with the popular Japanese restaurant Yoshinoya to create the 4th collaboration of AIR-series meals called Air Yoshinoya. These meals will be served in Premium Economy and Economy Class during the second meal service inflight.

The beef sukiyaki aged beef dish has been specially created to be eaten at 35,000ft, and will be served on the following routes from September 1 until November 30 2015:

Flights from Tokyo (Narita) to Chicago, Boston, New York (JFK), Los Angeles, San Diego, Vancouver, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Paris and Sydney,

Flights from Tokyo (Haneda) to London and Paris,

Flights from Osaka (Kansai) to Los Angeles.

Nik Loukas

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.

LAN TO OFFER PERUVIAN DISHES ON SELECT FLIGHTS

[dropcap size=small]L[/dropcap]an Peru will offer passengers a unique taste of Peruvian cuisine options on flights from Lima to Madrid, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. The airline is hoping to improve inflight service levels with these new dishes and is using them as a test to perhaps implement more passenger meal experience improvements. The airline will then collect feedback to see which dishes will be served permanently on the inflight menu.

Peruvian dishes offered on these flights will include causa limeña, ají de gallina, papas a la huancaína, Arroz a la chiclayana con Pollo y salsa de Seco and Arroz chaufa with breaded chicken in a peach sauce.

Causa limeña

Is made of layers of cooked, mashed yellow potatoes filled with a variety of vegetables and usually served cold.

Ají de Gallina

A much-loved dish on cold days this shredded chicken dish is served in a spicy sauce with cheese, garlic, nuts and Peruvian chilli peppers.

Papas a la huancaína

A Peruvian dish of boiled yellow potatoes in a spicy, creamy sauce.

Arroz chaufa
A Peruvian fried rice dish that mix of Peruvian and Chinese cuisine.

Ají de Gallina
A much-loved dish on cold days this shredded chicken dish is served in a spicy sauce with cheese, garlic, nuts and Peruvian chilli peppers.

Nik Loukas

NEW BELGIAN STAR CHEFS FOR BRUSSELS AIRLINES

[dropcap size=small]B[/dropcap]russels Airlines has traditionally showcased Belgian quality products on long-haul flights with passengers treated to a range of Belgium beers and wines, pralines, waffles, cookies and, of course, their signature Belgian Star Chef program. The star chef program highlights some of the best Michelin-starred Belgian chefs who focus on creating unique dishes using only local, regional produce; these dishes will be served aboard flights to Africa and the USA.

Long haul passengers travelling in business class, from the 1st May, will be sampling meals that have been created by Namur based chef Pierre Résimont of restaurant L’Eau Vive. Six dishes have been created that will be served on flights from May until November 2015.

An appetiser of asparagus with Muscat wine, followed by foie gras served with rhubarb and lemon gingerbread, for the main course a fillet of cod in a Vieux Brugge crust.

In a press release the airline said:

“We are delighted that we were able to yet again work with a very talented and enthusiastic chef for our Belgian Star Chefs program. For the fifth time, the cooperation has been very successful so far.”

“We look forward to hearing the feedback of our Business Class guests”, says Anne Tricot, VP Customer Experience Brussels Airlines.

Are you flying business class short-haul? You can pre-order a deluxe business class meal for your flight, click here to find out more.

Photos courtesy: Brussels Airlines.

Nik Loukas

NEW MOS INFLIGHT BURGERS ON JAPAN AIRLINES

[dropcap size=small]P[/dropcap]assengers in Economy and Premium Economy class on select Japan Airlines routes will once again be tempted with inflight burgers courtesy of Mos Burger. This is the fifth time that JAL and Mos Burger have collaborated to create the Air Mos Burger series, the program will run from the 1 March until 31 August 2015.

The “Air Mos Burger – JAL Special” will be served to customers as a second meal offering on the following flights:

Tokyo Narita to Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Boston, New York, Frankfurt, Paris, Helsinki, Sydney, and Vancouver.

Tokyo Haneda to London and Paris.

Osaka Kansai to Los Angeles.

Note that on flights from Tokyo to Vancouver the program will run from 1 June, and on flights from Osaka to Los Angeles the program will run from 20 March.

JAL is always on the lookout for innovative inflight meal offerings that can be served to customers inflight; you may recall that the airline offered KFC as an inflight meal up until 2014.

MORE BURGERS INFLIGHT

Late last year EVA Airways announced an inflight burger offering to Royal and Premium Laurel Class passengers on routes from Taipei to the USA, Canada and Taipei to Paris. The EVA Air offer is a burger containing fresh green vegetables, beef, and fragrant cheese; all served on a grilled bun accompanied by french fries, feedback about the product on Flyertalk has been positive.

Photo courtesy: EVA Air

Nik Loukas

SWISS HOSTS POP UP RESTAURANT INFLIGHT

[dropcap size=small]A[/dropcap]pop up restaurant inflight? That’s exactly what happened last month on Swiss International Airlines flight LX16 from Zurich to New York. In a world-first, Michelin Star Chef Andreas Caminada from Schloss Schauenstein, a historical castle which features his award-winning restaurant, teamed up with Swiss to create this inflight culinary adventure.

Planning for the “SWISS Meets Caminada” flight commenced 12 months before the flight to ensure a smooth and enjoyable inflight experience for everyone on board.

No duty-free trolleys loaded onto LX16 as they would take up too much space, so they were left behind. Equipment from galleys was also stripped to a bare minimum to provide Caminada and his team ample space to work in the galleys. The preparations and practice for the final flight commenced two days before departure at the Gate Gourmet Zurich Airport facilities. As you will see, the result is quite spectacular!

BOARDING TIME

Caminada and his team were there to meet and greet passengers with champagne and breakfast snacks before the flight and offer them a taste of what’s to come during their journey to New York.

INFLIGHT

Passengers in First Class were offered an 11-course meal while Business Class were offered ten courses, and Economy Class passengers were tempted with some unique meal creations. Dishes in Economy included items such as Char with Marinated Carrots, Mackerel with Radishes and Horseradish and Langoustine on Pumpkin.

Work in the inflight galleys was non-stop to provide the meals for everyone onboard, with no chance of even the slightest break for the cabin crew or Caminadas’ team.

Feedback from passengers was well received, and towards the end of the flight, Andreas Caminada passed through all cabins and farewelled and thanked passengers for joining the special flight. Every passenger walked off the aircraft with a gift bag containing Swiss Chocolates and a wool hat.

THE CAMINADA GALLERY

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Nik Loukas