In a country that takes its food as seriously as France, should it be any wonder that the national airline partners with famous chefs to create its meals? Since 2009, Air France has forged relationships with celebrated chefs to design dishes for its business- and first-class menus. No less luminaries than Joël Robuchon and Daniel Boulud, among others, have been known to cook up special plats du jour for passengers, while Alain Ducasse catered to first-class fliers in the airline’s flagship La Première lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Today, Air France announced its newest chef partner, Daniel Rose. An American, Rose made a name for himself with the upscale, seasonal gastronomy at his former Paris restaurant, Spring. Most recently, he earned a Michelin star at his newer New York boite, Le Coucou, which has been riding a repopularization rage of French cuisine in the U.S. Rose is also the chef-owner of first arrondisement mainstay, Chez La Vieille, which is in a house dating to the 16th century, and the casual brasserie La Bourse et la Vie, both in Paris.
“I am honored to be partnering with Air France, the airline that set me on my culinary journey 21 years ago,” said Rose. “We look forward to sharing our version of classic French meals at 30,000 feet that are as comforting and as delicious as in my restaurants.”
Rose, who hails from Illinois, enrolled at the American University of Paris before studying French cooking at the Institut Paul Bocuse in one of France’s most famous foodie cities, Lyon. The chef then apprenticed at various restaurants around France for six years before opening his own restaurant, Spring, in 2006. The 16-seat restaurant became a pioneer of epicurean seasonal in the French capital, capitalizing on unique foods sourced from around the country, and exceptional wines from all over France.
Starting in September, business-class passengers will begin seeing his culinary creations on board. Folks flying out of Air France’s North American gateways – Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, as well as the Canadian cities of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver – will find his dishes on their flights to Paris with three new dishes every two months.
Among the delights in store from September-October 2019 and March-April 2020 will be a rich poultry gratin with onions, while those on board in November and December as well as May-June might enjoy a hearty poultry pâté with foie gras. Among the other palatable plates to peruse will be cod filet with turnip and beurre blanc sauce.
Aside from Rose, passengers can also find menu options by other much-lauded chefs, including Guy Martin, Anne-Sophie Pic, and Andrée Rosier on various other international routes.
