Air France Introduces New Business Class & La Première Menus

One of the biggest perks of sitting in a premium cabin on an airline is the food — and airlines try to provide a restaurant-quality atmosphere to woo high-fare paying passengers.

As such, Air France has introduced a new long-haul menu, curated by French chefs Régis Marcon and Mathieu Viannay.

Where Will the Menu Be Served?

The new premium cabin menu will be served in business class and first class (La Première) on all long-haul flights departing from Paris.

La Première Dining

In the forward-most cabin, La Première, you’ll find 6 new rotating dishes by chef Marcon, including:

• Vegetable lasagna with tangy chive cream
• Braised veal shank with sage sauce and potato gratin with porcini mushrooms
• Beef tenderloin in red wine with sautéed potato and morel cake
• Pike and shrimp cake with lobster sauce with sautéed girolle mushrooms with tarragon and spinach
• Mixed scallops and scampi with truffles with a reduced jus and julienne vegetables
• Confit pigeon with apricot sauce, lemon bulgur, mushrooms, and butternut

Marcon is the owner of the 3-Michelin Star restaurant Le Clos des Cimes located in Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid in the Haute-Loire region of France.

Hot Tip: Air France flies from Paris (CDG) nonstop to several U.S. destinations. For full details, check out our definitive guide to Air France’s direct routes from the U.S., featuring plane types and seat options.

Business Class Dining

Chef Viannay is curating the business class menu, and you’ll find 8 new dishes there including:

• Penne pasta with arugula and spinach gratin as well as ricotta cream with lovage
• Risotto verde with vegetable Bolognese
• Beef tenderloin with macaire potato patties, roasted beet, and smoked meat juices
• Poultry fillet with morel mushrooms, spelt, and butternut squash risotto
• Poached cod fillet with baby vegetables and taggiasca olives
• Pike perch fillet with armorican sauce, yellow carrots, and herb semolina
• Braised veal shank with sweet spices, split pea puree, mange tout, and hazelnuts
• Roasted guinea fowl in coffee with celery confit and stewed autumn vegetables

Vianney has been named as one of the best chefs in all of France, winning the Meilleur Ouvrier de France award in 2004.

Final Thoughts

It’s certainly nice to see an airline improve its catering after significant cuts over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. These new dishes will be served to premium cabin passengers departing from Paris only, but hopefully, these will lead to new improvements for other cabins as well. Be sure to check out these new offerings on your next long-haul Air France flight!