On September 17, 2012, in Doha, Qatar, the luxury middle-eastern carrier, Qatar Airways announced that they would partner with four celebrity chefs:  Chef Nobu, Tom Akiens, Vineet Bhatia, and Chef Ramzi.  As of the first of September on Doha outbound flights, each chef has prepared a customized menu, tailor made to suit the tastes of Qatar Airways’ well-heeled passengers.

Under the careful watch of the CEO, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, the airline, has expanded from four aircrafts in 1997, to a fleet reaching over 100 countries and across six continents with 10 more gateways in the pipeline for 2013- including Chicago, Illinois.  (launching:  April 10, 2013).   Mr. Baker shared that his vision to partner with these four culinary experts from across the globe, came from the need to “Always be one step ahead of the competition and always providing what is best for his passengers.” 

Each chef was selected to offer a variety of cuisine representative of the people who fly Qatar Airways from Asia, the Middle East, India, Europe, North and South America. We had the pleasure of meeting the chefs, hearing more about the cuisine they specialize in and enjoy a sneak taste of what they have in store.

About the Chefs

Chef Nobu was born in Saitama, Japan.  In his 20’s he moved to Peru, which explains his unique style of Southern American ingredients being incorporated into his Japanese dishes. He later moved to Beverly Hills where he opened his first restaurant Matsuhisa where Robert DiNiro himself was a favorite customer.  So much so, that DeNiro became a business partner in the famous Nobu, Tribeca, NYC in 1993.  Chef Nobu currently has 22 restaurants carrying his name across the globe from Dallas to Dubai.  But the world was not enough and he has now set his sites on the sky with his partnership with Qatar Airways.

“I was impressed by the service on Qatar Airways.  For my customers, it’s always about great food and great service.  So now my meals include a plane ticket,”  Chef Nobu.

London based chef Tom Aikens, could be accused of being an over-achiever.  Aikens earned two Michelin stars by the age of 26 during his time at Pied a Terre as head chef and co-proprietor. He is lauded for his hyper-seasonal modern-naturalistic brand of cooking that he has implemented in his award winning restaurants, Tom’s Kitchen and Aiken’s Restaurant.  Outside the kitchen, he has published three cookbooks, works with organizations to improve school food and now works with Qatar Airways to set a new standard for airplane cuisine, from zero to a mile higher than the rest.  When asked about the challenges he has encountered with creating on-board menus, he shared that,

“Cooking at 30,000 feet is quite literally a different level. High altitude dictates how you shift your menu.  More spices are needed to bring flavor.  People remember a good meal vs. a bad meal and our menus will bring a consistent quality to the high service that Qatar Airways already delivers,”  Chef Tom.

Vineet Bhatia trained at Mumbai’s prestigious Oberoi Hotel School and later immigrated to England.  Unimpressed with the of the inauthentic Indian ingredients and lack of spice, he began to source local ingredients that he could adapt and improve upon and developed signature standouts like sweet fennel lollipops and carrot fudge.  Bhatia has published a cookbook, won two Michelin stars and opened several acclaimed restaurants from Moscow to Mauritius.  He finds the partnership with Qatar Airways,

“Both challenging and exciting—full of new frontiers and boundaries.  In my own travels I have seen a lot of shortcomings. I understand the palate of the Qatar Airways passengers, being one myself. Frequent fliers want simple comfort food.  So it’s our task to use products that retain shape well and dishes that won’t dry out in-flight,” Chef Bhatia.

Chef Ramzi Nadim Shwayri, a Beirut, Lebanon native is not onlyknown for his cooking, but developing catering schools, a TV personality and published culinary encyclopedia author.  He has been recognized as the top chef in the Arab world by the New York Times and CNN, received honorary citizenship from the Government of Argentina, launched a frozen ready-to-eat line and obtained three Guinness World Records for the largest servings of hummus (10.452 kg), tabbouleh (3.453 kg) and falafel (150.000 unit).   Chef Ramzi always enjoying a challenge,

“The recipes created for Qatar Airways passengers take the art of cuisine to a higher level, literally.  My dishes are inspired by a wide range of signature Arabian dishes using traditional blends of Arabian spices,” Chef Ramzi.

The “dream team’s” menus are served in first and business class cabins and currently only served on Doha outbound flights, though in the coming months will roll out network wide.  The menus will change periodically on routes to keep things fresh and expect more announcements from Qatar Airways in the coming months from cuisine representing other countries.  Though Mr. Baker wouldn’t confirm, I have a hunch an American and Italian could be in the mix.

On my non-stop 13.5 hour flight from Doha, Qatar to New York’s JFK, I sampled the cream cheese omelet with corn fritters, wilted spinach and tomato relish, the pea and mint soup and the black cod with lemon–which were delicious—even if I were on land and not 30,000 feet in the air.  My neighbor in seat 4K, enjoyed the apricot and celery salad with his smoked salmon and his Arabic mezze platter, but could have done without the bland spinach and cottage cheese patties.  All in all, the best plane food I’ve had to date, and for only a couple weeks in, Qatar Airways has all the perfect ingredients for a successful recipe to treat it’s well-heeled passengers right.

And that’s all that Qatar Airways has up their sleeve– as of mid-October,  members of Qatar Airways’ frequent flyer program will be able to earn and redeem rewards on any of oneworld alliance’s other carriers (American Airlines, Iberia, British Airways…) and top tier members will be able Qatar Airways to use the group’s 550+ airport lounges across the globe.