Cathay Pacific Partners with Mandarin Oriental For A Classical Twist On Inflight Dining

Cathay Pacific Airways has joined with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group to create a unique inflight menu featuring contemporary fine-dining with a classical twist. The menu will be offered to the airline’s passengers travelling in First Class between Hong Kong and London from September to December this year.

The ‘classically simple’ inflight menu created by the Group’s chefs aims to provide Cathay Pacific’s premium passengers with the ultimate inflight dining experience and will feature inspirational food created by two top Mandarin Oriental chefs. From 1 September to 31 October 2014, dishes devised by Chef Uwe Opocensky, Michelin-starred executive chef at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, will feature on flights from Hong Kong to London. Between 1 November and 31 December 2014, passengers travelling from London to Hong Kong will be able to enjoy a selection of dishes created by Dean Yasharian, executive chef at the acclaimed Bar Boulud at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London.

Dominic Perret, Cathay Pacific general manager inflight services, says: “At Cathay Pacific, we strive to deliver high-quality products and services, so it is exciting to join hands with Mandarin Oriental to feature their inspirational dishes specially created for our premium passengers. Mandarin Oriental and Cathay Pacific are both home-grown Hong Kong brands that share many of the same attributes and have built an enviable reputation for service excellence. We believe that Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is a natural fit for us and I am sure our passengers will enjoy these fabulous creations!”

Mandarin Oriental Hotel group corporate director of food and beverage, David Nicholls, adds: “Mandarin Oriental hotels have long been renowned for their excellence and innovation in food and beverage, and our dedicated culinary teams aim to offer stimulating and exciting dining experiences for guests around the world on a daily basis. We are delighted to partner with Cathay Pacific in order to extend these exceptional culinary experiences to the skies.”

Both chefs deliver thought-provoking and creative dishes for the promotional menu, employing cutting-edge culinary techniques at the same time as maintaining the core values of classical cuisine. All dishes are seasonally inspired and use quality organic ingredients.

The menu selections from Hong Kong to London will feature appetisers such as a Terrine of foie gras with winter truffle, Asparagus with freshly toasted brioche, and Home-smoked salmon with crabmeat and caviar. Main courses include Organic beef from the award-winning Brandt Farm in the US, perfectly balanced with a combination of celeriac puree and truffle jus, and succulent Organic chicken partnered by a wing bone foie gras. Desserts have been deconstructed and transformed into pure pleasure on a plate.

The menu selections from London to Hong Kong will feature traditional bistro appetisers such as fresh Dorset crab and duck liver terrine. Main courses consist of British-origin beef, slowly braised in a rich red wine sauce and complemented by a smooth puree of parsnips, and fillets of lemon sole enriched with a buttery but subtle Grenoble sauce. Desserts include a tart raspberry filling baked in crisp filo pastry, perfectly balanced with sweet milk ice cream, and a chocolate dome with a deliciously rich coffee centre.