And that’s just the latest news: for ITA Airways Business Class has cooked some of the greatest chefs in our country. An idea that started in 2022, with the declared intent of bringing Italian haute cuisine on the flight, inaugurated by the menu of Enrico Bartolini, the Italian chef with the most stars. Then came Giancarlo Morellia Michelin star at Pomiroeu in Seregno who has thought of other wonderful dishes (“Ratatouille”, “Beef in oil” and, finally, the dessert “Milk and mint”). And again, among others, for ITA Airways they cooked Ernesto and Alfonso Iaccarino of Don Alfonso 1890a boutique hotel and famous restaurant (two Michelin stars before the recent renovation) in Sant’Agata tra i due Golfi (Massa Lubrense, Naples) who presented their sustainable and respectful cuisine with four other creations: “Lobster salad with citrus fruits, yogurt and pink pepper”, “Strascinati from the Sorrento Peninsula, with light tomato ragù”, “Rediscovering rock fish in crazy water”, “Traditional lemon delight”.

Michelin Stars in Flight: A French Idea

The idea of ​​bringing starred cuisine on board was the French, and the national airline AirFrance. In 2019, it entrusted the creation of the new business and first class menus to starred chefs Régis Marcon, Emmanuel Renaut, Guy Martin and Andrée Rosierand since then it has periodically relied on new chefs (among the latest Dominique Crenn).

The new examples

Since then it has been a crescendo, and now the list of companies that offer haute cuisine on board is very extensivealso because the chefs – together with the carriers – have developed new techniques and trained the cabin crew so that the dishes maintain their aromas and flavors even in flight. All this – for those who can afford business class, that is – has contributed to making the gastronomic experience central, giving it back its shine after years in which we were used to eating very cold bread and frozen butter while traveling, along with overcooked vegetables and steamed chicken.

And it’s nice to know that Italians are the main protagonists of this new wave and have a new way to let the world taste their dishes. Another example is The Company, the first company (also French) with only business seats, which has started the “Chefs&Co” program by entrusting Italian chefs with the menus, or some dishes, to be offered to passengers flying on its direct flights from Milan to New York. For now, Lorenzo Cogo, Felix Lo Basso, Chiara Pavan, Isabella Potì and Floriano Pellegrino have cooked for La Compagnie, and who knows what other surprises the next trip will have in store for us.

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