Fine Dining At 30,000ft

Fresh from his restaurant being awarded Asia’s best, chef Julien Royer is now creating dishes for Air France.

- Weets Goh

As of the writing of this story, the waitlist for a table at chef Julien Royer’s contemporary French restaurant, Odette, stands at about three months. This comes as little surprise, given that the two-Michelin-star restaurant recently also clinched the number one spot on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list – knocking out Bangkok’s Gaggan, which had previously held the title for four consecutive years. On Air France’s Singapore to Paris leg, however, Royer’s cuisine is a matter of course.

The topic of airline food might be a dated, low-hanging fruit for comedians, but it is serious business for France’s national carrier, which has a long history of working with renowned chefs as part of its “Oh My Chef!” programme – names on the roster include Anne Sophie Pic of the three-Michelin-star Maison Pic; and French-American restaurateur-chef Daniel Boulud.

Until the end of next March, Air France will be serving 12 main dishes created by Royer as part of its “Oh my Chef!” series of collaborations. Each dish will be on the in-flight menu for two months before changing, with six created for business class, and six slightly more luxurious ones for La Premiere — the French airline’s equivalent of first class.

CALLED TO SERVICE

The carrier’s collaboration with Royer began when its country manager for Singapore, Nicolas Ricard, first tasted the chef’s food. “I first discovered Julien’s food when he was at Jaan, and followed his career to Odette.” After hosting some very well-received meals for Air France’s clients at Odette, the decision to go with Royer for the collaboration was clear.