United Airlines Unveils In-Flight Dishes From Michelin-Starred Chefs
United is pairing its new luxe, lie-back seats with some scrumptious dishes.
The airliner has just unveiled its upgraded menu for those who fly in its Polaris suites internationally, and the meals have been created in collaboration with Chef’s Table—the company behind the popular Netflix docuseries that explores the kitchens of culinary superstars. That means you’re getting 30 dishes from 11 famed chefs around the globe, from Nancy Silverton to David Barzelay, inspired by United’s key hubs both stateside and abroad.
Kicking things off with the grande dame of Los Angeles fine dining, chef Silverton has whipped up an app, a salad, and a main for United’s new menu (as do all the toques), inspired by the acclaimed Osteria Mozza and her other restaurant hot spots. Fliers can opt for the Mozza caprese with slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, burrata, extra virgin olive oil, and basil pesto before moving on to a chopped salad and a spiral meat lasagna with passata and taleggio sauce for an entrée.
Barzelay’s grilled rack of lamb.
Wayne Slezak
Meanwhile, Barzelay, of Michelin two-starred Lazy Bear and the newly opened JouJou, brings the menu to San Francisco, serving up Dungeness crab Louis with bay shrimp, butter lettuce, deviled egg, smoked trout roe, and Ritz crackers alongside a roasted beets salad and a grilled rack of lamb with carrot barbecue sauce, cured carrots, and chicories. Across the country, chefs Isabel Coss and Matt Conroy of Maison Bar À Vins—one of our best new restaurants in America this year—are offering up a roasted beet and Asian pear app with yogurt, sesame salsa macha, mint, and smoked garlic as well as hamachi al pastor with a roasted pineapple puree and duck leg enchilada with queso Oaxaca, creama, roasted sweet potato, and salsa roja.
Across the pond, United tapped Tomas Perry of Michelin-starred Mountain and Brat in London to create dishes that pull from his Celtic and Welsh lineage. Expect grilled halibut with parsley garlic potatoes and seaweed sauce for the main, with a smoked trout and golden beetroot appetizers and a roasted pumpkin rosemary stracciatella with pickled apples, spiced pumpkin seeds, and hazelnuts. Chef Tashi Gyamts of Tokyo’s Jimgu is focused on farm-driven dining, with dishes such as ginger soy glazed chicken with Japanese curry ratatouille and a chilled buckwheat soba salad ready to enjoy on your next flight. Other chefs who whipped up dishes include Fariyal Abdullahi of New York’s Hav & Mar, Jenner Tomaska of Chicago’s Esmé, Justin Yu of Houston’s Theodore Rex, and Penelope Wong of Denver’s Yuan Wonton, and Manu Buffara of São Paulo’s Manu.
Matt Conroy’s hamachi al pastor.
Wayne Slezak
“At Chef’s Table, storytelling has always been at the heart of what we do, and our collaboration with United has been a great way to introduce millions of travelers to the incredible chefs we work with and the stories behind their food,” Justin Connor, president of Chef’s Table Projects, said in a press statement. “We’re excited to build on that relationship with new dishes from these chefs, giving travelers a chance to experience even more of their creativity and unique culinary perspectives.”
United’s new menu will officially hit the skies on November 1, offered on flights departing from each of the chef’s home cities.
As of late, plenty of airlines are stepping up their game by offering even more exclusive tiers aboard their planes—and that comes with some new menus, too. This month, Delta announced its own revamped culinary program for Delta One, which includes bites such as braised lamb, a seasonally rotating risotto, and a Champagne Taittinger float with a dairy-free sorbet for dessert. Sounds like whichever airline you choose, you’ll be flying good, eating better.
