East Meadow, New York – Reported by Elite Traveler, the Private Jet Lifestyle Magazine
In response to overwhelmingly positive passenger feedback, Lufthansa and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company are extending their culinary collaboration for another 14 months. Through December 2011, premium travelers flying from the airline’s 17 U.S. gateways will enjoy dishes created by award-winning chefs from The Ritz-Carlton hotels in Denver, Battery Park (New York City), South Beach (Miami) and Laguna Niguel (Southern California).
“This expanded program is a testament to the unique and successful collaboration between Lufthansa and Ritz-Carlton, which has generated the highest customer satisfaction ratings from our passengers,” explained Nicola Lange, Director, Marketing & Customer Relations The Americas.
“The exceptional relationship forged between our chefs and the culinary specialists from Lufthansa and LSG Sky Chefs has allowed us to develop menu selections that are even more creative and enticing,” said George McNeill, Vice President, Culinary Corporate Chef for The Ritz-Carlton.
The new menus for dining at 35,000 feet were developed under the direction of McNeill, and showcase the talents of Ritz-Carlton Executive Chefs Andres Jiminez (Laguna Niguel and Denver), Jacques Sorci (Battery Park, NYC), and Thomas Connell (South Beach). The chefs considered many factors in creating these menus, and applied their singular culinary signature style to recipes that would appeal to fliers from vegetarians to hearty appetites. As just one example, Chef Sorci settled on pink peppercorn ahi tuna, Rivera style and fresh grilled halibut prepared with nutritious green lentils.
In order to ensure the menus would be adaptable to high altitude elements, the experts at LSG Sky Chefs in Dallas – Lufthansa’s catering group – oversaw menu implementation, providing expertise that helped The Ritz-Carlton chefs make the necessary adjustments to keep the meals fresh and exceptionally tasteful.
The Ritz-Carlton properties will be featured in two month cycles to keep the menus varied, especially for frequent flyers in premium class. November/December 2010 and July/August 2011 will feature the choices of Chef Andres Jiminez from Laguna Niguel. His menu choices range from grilled eggplant, ricotta, sautéed wild mushroom lasagna; whole grain and lime roasted chicken breast with rosemary potatoes; and grilled beef tenderloin served with Costa Rican style ride.
The March/April and November/December 2011 menu cycles created by Thomas Connell of South Beach can be expected to reflect the local ingredients and food traditions of the Cuban and Latin American restaurants that make Miami a popular dining destination.
Returning for a second year of participation in The Ritz-Carlton/Lufthansa Collaboration are the Denver and Battery Park properties. Menus with the hearty fare associated with the Rocky Mountains will be featured in January/February and September/October 2011. The Battery Park creations from Chef Sorci will be available on board May-June 2011.
www.lufthansa.com