Air France
I have always maintained that there are few meals as perfect as warm bread and salted butter. Even better when it’s golden Isigny butter from Normandy liberally smeared on a fresh seeded roll—30,000 feet in the air.
This was my first bite on a recent Air France flight from New York to Paris, and if it was the only good thing I ate that night, I wouldn’t be mad—not least because it was preceded by a flute of Taittinger Brut Reserve. But it was just the beginning.
For the next hour, I tucked into a brand new business class menu courtesy of French gastro royalty Daniel Boulud and Dominique Crenn. While Crenn has been an Air France partner since 2024, Boulud, who heads up an empire of high-profile restaurants, catering companies, and private label wines, is the latest inductee into the airline’s culinary Hall of Fame. Boulud joins a host of chefs around the world who collaborate on the airline’s in-flight menus, including Julien Royer, the chef-owner of two Michelin-starred Odette in Singapore, and Montreal-based Olivier Perret in Canada.
Air France has selected French culinary expert Daniel Boulud to create its upper cabin menus on all flights out of the United States.
Christophe Leroux/Air France
Freshness and nutrition, along with classic French technique, are key pillars of the new menu, according to Boulud. In business class, that could mean a braised lamb shoulder with root vegetables or duck confit with pearl barley, vichy-style carrots, and parsnips. For passengers in La Première (the airline’s brand new and very stylish first-class cabin, known for its private suites): dishes like chicken with saffron, turnips, pumpkin, and green olive semolina or lamb shank with rosemary sauce, and Swiss chard.
“We also wanted a seasonal menu that would allow guests to enjoy different recipes throughout the year, especially if they are frequent flyers,” says Boulud. Dishes will be rotated monthly, allowing flyers to “discover new ones every time they’re on an Air France flight,” he adds.
Boulud’s menu is currently offered on flights leaving from New York-JFK, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and Washington-DC, but starting November 2025, will be extended to departures from all the airline’s US destinations.
Each dish, Boulud says, is designed to express a contemporary take on French roots.
Air France
Air France has a long history of calling upon Michelin-starred chefs to design its menus, underlining its assumed role as an “ambassador for fine French dining.” Over the years, long-haul menus have been entrusted to recognized names in the culinary world like Anne-Sophie Pic, the late Joël Robuchon, and Michel Roth. Other airlines have launched similar programs, pairing off with well-known chefs and restaurants; two years ago I sampled a menu designed by Duddell’s, a Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant in Hong Kong, for Cathay Pacific. In June, Qatar Airways announced its collaboration with French celebrity chef Yannick Alléno, which included the opening of a restaurant at one of its airport lounges in Doha.
Cooking for the skies isn’t as straightforward as it sounds, even for a hotshot chef. Meals have to be prepared, stored, chilled, and reheated. They have to be consistent in presentation, even at the hands of time-pressed flight attendants. Then, there’s the array of safety standards and space limitations to adhere to. “Sure, we’d love to serve something with a tableside preparation, like our filet mignon aux cinq poivres with a classic flambé to burn off the alcohol—but not on a plane,” says Boulud.
Recipes must also take into consideration how flying alters our sense of taste and smell, credited to cabin pressurization and a lack of humidity. Even the best Fourme de Montbrison cheese or périgueux sauce tastes different when you’re floating above the clouds. With this in mind, I was especially wowed by the Coeur de Bretagne, a quintessential Breton dessert with a textured layering of salted butter caramel, milk chocolate, and crispy hazelnut biscuit. All of Air France’s dessert menus are currently designed by celebrated pastry expert, and Breton native, Laurent le Daniel, and as it turns out are the perfect complement to Boulud’s dishes.
My dinner in Air France business class
Burrata and fresh fig salad with avocado cream
Poultry with mild spices, served with root vegetables and rice pilaf
Trout in vin jaune sauce with carrots, green vegetables and hazelnut crumble
Chocolate and caramel pudding
As someone who travels in economy far more often than in upper cabins, I would’ve thought I’d happily trade in my onboard meal for a few hours of sleep on a flatbed, but I found myself in no hurry to lay down and knock off. Instead, I stretched out my meal to cover half the length of Une Pointe d’Amour, which I watched on my 17.3″ 4K screen; sipped on an expressive Burgundy chablis paired with the cheese course; and finally when the last tray was cleared, slept soundly until the overhead announcement alerted me to our imminent arrival into Charles De Gaulle airport.
My only regret? Asking the attendant to let me sleep longer before landing—you can signal this to them at the start of the flight—opting for what they call “Cafe Comptoir” (tea or coffee with a pastry) instead of a full breakfast.
Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler
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