Emirates’ Business Class customers can now enjoy another elevation of the inflight experience, as 18 new dishes paired with exclusive Champagnes debut onboard, across most medium to long haul flights globally. Customers can check their menu in advance of flying, to see which dish has been expertly paired with an exclusive Champagne. The new dishes are marked with a crown icon, indicating that they are part of the pairing menu.
Meticulously designed by Moët & Chandon’s Head Chef of Michelin star renown, Jean Michel Bardet and Emirates’ Vice President of Culinary Design, Doxis Bekris; each of the new dishes has been perfectly paired with an exclusive champagne, serving up the ultimate culinary collaboration in the sky.
The 18 new starters and main courses allow Emirates’ Business Class customers to enjoy a curated champagne and cuisine pairing for the first time in the air. The menu spent more than a year in development between Emirates master chefs and the Maison of Moët & Chandon in France, as the award-winning chefs were challenged to create refined dishes of culinary excellence with premium ingredients, that can also be scaled to meet the demands of the world’s largest international airline, serving 149 meals every minute, and totaling more than 77 million meals every year.
New Culinary Creations in Emirates Business Class
The new pairings will include starters like poached scallops served with green melon, blanched kumquat, lemon gel and roasted almonds, exquisitely paired with Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2016, where the delicately salted scallops complement the flavors and reveal the elegance of the cuvée. Green melon and kumquat enhance the radiant bouquet of the champagne, while basil adds a final contrasting touch. The new creations include vegan dishes too, like silken tofu, sliced and served with poached asparagus, soy emulsion with olive oil, lemon gel and cashew cream, paired with Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial.
Main courses are set to impress with pairings like roasted duck served with braised aubergine and chickpeas with raz el hanout-spiced couscous-jus and cherry tomatoes, paired with Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial. Another main course is the roasted turkey, sliced and served with sage chicken jus, mashed potato, braised fennel and almonds. This dish is paired with Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2016. Seared Chilean Seabass will tempt seafood aficionados, paired with Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial and served with artichoke puree, lemon grass sauce and buttered sugar snap peas. Vegan braised lentils with coconut served with steamed basmati rice, spiced cauliflower with green peas and naan, is paired with Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial.
Culinary Excellence at 40,000 Feet
Over the year of development, the chefs created the dishes in France and Dubai. While Chef Jean Michel was challenged to pair the flavor profiles of dishes with the exclusive Champagnes onboard Emirates, the Emirates team managed the issues of scale to ensure the dishes could be prepared for the large numbers of customers traveling to all sorts of global destinations.
The chefs also had to consider the ways in which Emirates’ world class cabin crew would be able to plate the food onboard, ensuring the Business Class customer has an outstanding experience every time.
Emirates has had a long 33-year partnership with Moët Hennessy. Moët & Chandon champagnes are a signature part of the Emirates experience and available in all Emirates Lounges, as well as served on a complimentary basis onboard First and Business Class, and for purchase in Premium Economy and Economy Class. As part of the ‘fly better’ promise, Emirates purchases more champagne than any other airline in the world and has exclusive rights to serve Dom Pérignon Vintage 2015, Dom Pérignon Vintage Rosé 2009, Dom Pérignon Plénitude 2 2004 moving to 2006 as of July, Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial, Moët & Chandon Imperial Rosé, Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Blanc 2016, Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label and Veuve Clicquot Vintage Blanc 2015. Emirates also serves Australian sparkling wine, Chandon Vintage Brut 2019 onboard as a global exclusive to customers in Premium Economy.
Photos courtesy of Emirates
