Air France elevates in-flight dining

When thinking about where to indulge in your next culinary experience, a variety of SA’s top restaurants come to mind. From the live-fire dining at Marble in Rosebank to World’s 50 Best contender FYN Restaurant in Cape Town, the options are endless. Rarely, however, would one associate haute cuisine with the confines of an aircraft cabin, where the meals can range from bland and uninspired to somewhat suspicious.

And yet, Air France is determined to challenge that perception. The airline recently announced the renewal of its collaboration with several of France’s top chefs to reinvent the menus served aboard its long-haul flights departing from Paris, transforming mealtime at 10,000m into a gastronomic affair.

While Air France has worked with acclaimed chefs before, this latest chapter sees an elevated offering. Triple Michelin-starred chef Régis Marcon, 2023’s World Pastry Champion Nina Métayer, and Michelin-starred chef Frédéric Simonin are now at the helm of the airline’s culinary experience. Alongside Servair, a leading in-flight catering company, these chefs are creating seasonal menus with an emphasis on quality and sustainability. All meat, poultry, dairy and eggs are sourced from France, and fish is procured from French or certified sustainable fisheries.

In the Business Class cabins, Régis Marcon, also a Bocuse d'Or winner, brings more than four decades of expertise. Inspired by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region where he was born, Marcon has created 16 new dishes, such as a Camargue rice trio with lemon, carrot and orange sauce, butternut and red beans, as well as a Royale of salmon and prawns with tangy sauce, snow peas and yellow carrots.

“Cuisine is always delicious when it's close to nature,” the chef says. “It’s this emotion that I wanted to convey to Air France customers.”

On the sweeter side, Nina Métayer continues her collaboration with the airline, which began in April 2024. The first woman to be named World’s Best Pastry Chef by both the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners, and 50 Best, Métayer brings her signature creativity and finesse with desserts like raspberry lemon delight and tatin-style crunchy delight.

Air France is also taking steps to reduce food waste. Business Class passengers are now able to pre-select their main course up to 24 hours before departure, ensuring their dish of choice is available while allowing for better resource management.

In Premium Economy, Frédéric Simonin, a Michelin-starred chef and holder of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman of France) title, continues his partnership with Air France, which began in 2023. His new rotation of four dishes features refined yet comforting options such as salmon in a shellfish sauce, and prawns with tomato and squid ink rice. “I have carefully chosen each product from our French regions that I can transform with delicacy and precision, for a special culinary experience,” Simonin noted.

By enlisting some of France’s most revered culinary talents, Air France is turning its flights into a showcase of the country’s gastronomic excellence, proving that great dining doesn’t need to wait until landing.