Johannesburg, 11 April 2024 | From April 2024, Air France will be unveiling new in-flight menus, created by distinguished new names in the world of cuisine. As an ambassador for French fine dining, the company continues to showcase French haute cuisine around the world.
On departure from Paris, the triple Michelin-starred French chef Arnaud Lallement will be creating exceptional new dishes in the Business cabin, alongside renowned pastry chef Nina Métayer. In the Premium Economy cabin, the single Michelin-starred chef Frédéric Simonin continues to delight the airline’s customers with his delicious new recipes.
To create these menus, the chefs work together with Servair, the world leader in in-flight catering, using fresh, local produce that change with the seasons. As part of the airline’s commitment to more responsible catering, the meat, poultry, milk products and eggs on each menu are of French origin, and the fish sourced from sustainable fisheries on departure from Paris. Vegetarian menus are also systematically available in the different cabins on all the airline’s flights.
Arnaud Lallement and Nina Métayer in the Business cabin on departure from Paris
In the long-haul Business cabin, the triple Michelin-starred French chef Arnaud Lallement is creating new culinary delights for Air France customers. The chef proposes a contemporary and gourmet cuisine infused with emotion, with a selection of nine new gourmet creations. Dishes including polenta on stir-fried vegetables, creamy eggplant and red pepper coulis, crab and shrimp ravioli, Brittany curry sauce, and stir-fried spinach will delight passengers.
“For Air France, I wanted to remember the seasons, to let my unconscious speak, as if in hypnosis. Sharing with travellers a gourmet pleasure marked by emotion and indulgence”, explained Arnaud Lallement.
In the Business cabin, since 2023, Air France has also been entrusting its dessert menu to a signature pastry chef. Crowned World Pastry Chef 2023, chef Nina Métayer will be signing three new sweet treats for the company’s customers. The chef’s caramel, hazelnut and velvety dark chocolate slice, coconut lime mango slice, and the “Individuel” gourmet chocolate delight are the irresistible delicacies that customers can enjoy during their trip.
“I created these desserts as real travel companions. My gourmet yet light pastries are designed to offer travellers a feast for the senses while evoking the charm of faraway destinations”, said Nina Métayer.
Frédéric Simonin in the Premium Economy cabin on departure from Paris
In the Premium Economy cabin, the one-starred chef Frédéric Simonin continues to delight Air France customers as part of an on-going partnership initiated with the company in November 2023. A perfectionist at heart, he has created a new series of dishes prepared with the greatest respect for the products chosen. The chef’s delicious new menus including mini scallops, citrus sauce with tapioca pearls and asparagus pasta, or peas with savory, spinach and glazed pearl onions are now available on board.
“For Air France customers, I have carefully chosen each product from our French regions that I can transform with delicacy and precision, for a special culinary experience”, says Frédéric Simonin.
ENDS
About Arnaud Lallement
Cooking was a childhood dream for Arnaud Lallement, born in the family restaurant l’Assiette Champenoise. After an apprenticeship with the greatest chefs, Arnaud Lallement was crowned with the title of chef of the year and 3 stars in the Michelin Guide before he was 40 years old. Today, Arnaud Lallement remains attached to his home region of Champagne, his family and his love of cooking. This is a constant tribute to the memory of his father who passed away in 2002. If his father is no longer here to see him flourish, this virtuoso has chosen to work with his family, surrounded by the three women in his life – his wife Magali, his sister Mélanie and his mother Colette, who ensure that the warm atmosphere and spirit of excellence of the Assiette Champenoise are preserved. The chef’s credo? A refined cuisine with no frills or fuss. Arnaud Lallement cooks the way he lives his life, concentrating on the essentials. His cuisine is “real food”, which is really important for Air France.
About Nina Métayer
Distinguished two years in a row as Pastry Chef of the Year, and crowned “World Pastry Chef 2023” by her peers, Nina Métayer followed dual training in baking and pastry-making. Inheriting from her family a taste for good things, after a year’s school exchange in Mexico, she decided to enroll on a baking and pastry-making course, with her mind already set on sharing this French know-how internationally. After completing her apprenticeship in La Rochelle, she went to Australia, practicing her craft in Melbourne before gaining experience as a restaurant pastry chef. Back in France, the young woman continued her training in Paris at the Ecole Ferrandi before starting her career in the Parisian palaces. She created her first signature dessert, The Exotic Floating Island, while working as head pastry chef at the hotel***** Le Raphaël. She then joined Jean-François Piège who entrusted her with the creation of the dessert menu for his new Parisian establishment, Le Grand Restaurant, which was awarded 2 Michelin stars six months after its opening. Luxury hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, pastry shops and bakeries have forged her insatiable curiosity for taste as a vehicle for emotion. The chef has started giving Masterclasses around the world and has joined the juries of prestigious competitions such as the Bocuse d’Or and the World Chocolate Masters. In 2020, Nina also took a gamble on the future by inaugurating her first pastry shop, initially a digital store, delicatisserie.com. This agile and flexible concept is consistent with her conviction that excellence, ecology and societal commitment are values that are as necessary for a sustainable future as they are economically viable.
About Frédéric Simonin
Frédéric Simonin is an undisputed Chef who has always demonstrated outstanding talent. First Young Chef of the year 2004, then Chef of the year 2011, he was awarded the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2019 and the Gault et Millau “trophy for culinary excellence” in 2022. At just 18 years old, he was named best apprentice in Brittany, so he packed his bags and went to Paris to train alongside some of the best. He started with Chef Ghislaine Arabian at the Pavillon Ledoyen. He then began his ascent, working in renowned establishments such as Le Meurice, Taillevent and then Le George V with Philippe Legendre where he rose through the ranks. At the age of 27, he was awarded his first Michelin star at the restaurant Le Seize au Seize. Keen on adventure and discovery, the Chef continued his career with Joël Robuchon who offered him the position of head chef at “La Table de Joël”. Frédéric Simonin was subsequently awarded 2 Michelin stars and opened two other restaurants for Chef Robuchon in London, each of which earned him a Michelin star. In 2010, he returned to Paris and opened his own restaurant for which he was awarded a Michelin star.
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