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 chefs Glenn Viel and Arnaud Lallement will be creating exceptional new dishes in the La Première and Business cabins, alongside renowned pastry chefs Philippe Rigollot and 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.
Glenn Viel and Philippe Rigollot in the La Première cabin on departure from Paris
For the very first time, the triple Michelin-starred French chef Glenn Viel is signing the entire menu in the La Première class, the company’s most exclusive travel cabin. Ingeniously combining his Breton roots with Provençal cuisine, this lover of local produce has created a total of twelve exceptional dishes to be enjoyed over the coming months, including Mediterranean bread with preserved peppers and rosemary, cream cheese, rocket and pickled lemon, sea bream fillet, fondant potatoes, mussels and lemon sauce, and guinea fowl topped with a crunchy zucchini mosaic, and caramelized onion compote.
“I am proud to be working with Air France, which has established itself as the flagship of French aviation and highlights our country and French gastronomy throughout the world. For the company’s La Première customers, I wanted to highlight the French art de vivre, high standards, elegance and refinement”, stated Glenn Viel.
As for desserts, the Meilleur Ouvrier de France and world pastry champion Philippe Rigollot will take over the French dessert menu, featuring a selection of lightly-textured, delicious sweet pastries. Strawberry gateau, Black Forest gateau, and an apricot tartlet and rosemary whipped cream are among the six desserts to gradually appear on the menu.
“For Air France, I worked on light treats made of cream and sugar. I wanted to introduce different flavours and textures to the travellers of our wonderful airline. It’s a pleasure to serve you!” said Philippe Rigollot.
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.
Signature dishes on departure from destinations worldwide
Air France is continuing to develop its exceptional partnerships on departure from its international stations.
On flights departing from its stations in the United States*, the company is offering menus signed by triple Michelin-starred French chef Dominique Crenn in the La Première and Business cabins. Since February 2024, the chef’s dishes have been available on departure from Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York-Newark, San Francisco and Seattle. Starting in April 2024, they will also be available on departure from Detroit, Washington, and New York-JFK.
On departure from all the company’s Canadian destinations (Montreal, Toronto, Quebec and Vancouver), French chef Olivier Perret has been signing French dishes featuring local and seasonal produce for the Business cabin menu.
Air France is also offering dishes signed by Martinique chef Jean-Charles Brédas in the Business cabin on flights departing from the French West Indies (Pointe-à-Pitre, Fort-de-France, Saint-Martin) and French Guiana (Cayenne) to Paris, as well as on flights in the Caribbean Regional Network linking Cayenne to Fort-de-France, Pointe-à-Pitre to Miami and Pointe-à-Pitre to Montreal.
On departure from Réunion Island, Air France entrusts the menu in its Business cabin to chef Jofrane Dailly, who highlights the island’s culinary heritage combined with his Indian origins.
On departure from Singapore, the triple Michelin-starred chef Julien Royer signs a selection of original dishes on the menu that is regularly renewed for Air France’s La Première and Business customers travelling to Paris.
* gradual deployment on departure from all Air France destinations in the United States, excluding seasonal stations.
About Glenn Viel
Originally from Brittany, Glenn Viel is passionate about local produce and enjoys mixing his Breton roots with Provençal culinary traditions. Since 2015, Glenn Viel has worn the stars of the gastronomic restaurant “l’Oustau de Baumanière” and works with his team to inspire dreams and arouse emotion in each guest who comes to his table. In January 2020, he and his team won the 3rd Michelin star at Oustau de Baumanière. At the same time, he obtained the green star, awarded to restaurants in the Guide's selection, rewarding the Chef's commitment to sustainable cuisine, and in September of the same year, he was named “Chef of the Year” by his peers, winning the “Le Chef” trophy at the 34th edition. Over the years, chef Glenn Viel has worked on several projects. For example, he has developed a unique seasoning system by concentrating ingredients (celery, mushrooms, langoustines, etc.) in his “seasoning stones”. Plants are also important in the eyes of the chef who took over the Vegetable Menu from Jean André Charial (owner of Oustau de Baumanière) to delight the taste buds of the finest gourmets. Today, this can be accompanied by a “Plant Accord” whose aim is to offer an alternative to alcoholic drinks with meticulous work with spices, plants and fruit. In this way, the chef won the prize for best vegetarian menu in France and 5th internationally. Since 2022, he has also been a member of the jury for the show Top Chef.
About Philippe Rigollot
Philippe Rigollot has been passionate about pastry-making since childhood. After obtaining his vocational diploma as a confectioner-chocolate maker and a master’s qualification in baking, chocolate-making and catering, he joined Lenôtre at the age of 20, where he worked for seven years in the dessert department. He then went to work alongside the two Michelin-starred chef Frédéric Anton as head pastry chef at the Pré Catalan before taking charge of desserts at the Maison Pic in Valence for ten years. During this time, Gérard Gautheron became his mentor and taught him everything he needed to know to achieve culinary excellence. During his time spent working alongside the Meilleur Ouvrier de France chef, he developed his taste for challenges and competitions. He likes to challenge his own limits, test new techniques, experiment and is constantly on the lookout for innovations in his trade. In 2005, he won the title of world pastry champion with Christophe Michalak and Frédéric Deville as partners, before becoming one of the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France in 2007. In 2010, with his wife Elodie, also a pastry chef, he moved to Annecy to open a first boutique-tearoom, followed by a second in 2017. Since then, with his team of chefs including Fabien Carré, his head chef who worked with him in Valence, he has been creating gourmet and refined desserts which are renewed each year for his two autumn-winter and spring-summer menus.
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.