Air New Zealand has announced it will begin rolling out a new premium inflight menu on long-haul services from October 25.
The menu will showcase New Zealand ingredients including Fiordland venison, South Island salmon, Bay of Plenty kiwifruit and Martinborough Pinot Noir.
Created by chef Josh Emett, who joined Air New Zealand as Premium Culinary Ambassador in May, the dishes will be served across premium economy, business premier and business premier luxe on long-haul flights departing Auckland and selected services from North America.
The Auckland outbound menu includes alpine salmon with saffron and chilli creamed sweetcorn, wild Fiordland venison with roasted beetroot and golden kūmara chutney, Martinborough Pinot-braised chicken and a kiwifruit dessert with Pacific vanilla mousse and crushed Anzac biscuit.
Flights departing Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Vancouver will feature dishes including smoked duck with pickled shiitake, New Zealand lamb rump with smoked aubergine and a breakfast of banana pancakes with poached pear and chia seed compote.
“The menu is a tiki tour around New Zealand,” Chef Emett said. “There’s salmon, wild venison, kiwifruit and Pinot Noir alongside lesser-known flavours that I love cooking with like kawakawa, horopito and karengo.”
Fiordland wild venison is being supplied by WithWild, which works with wild deer from Te Waipounamu and partners with the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation on deer management in Fiordland National Park.
Jeremy O’Brien, Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Digital Officer, said the partnership aimed to strengthen the premium onboard experience while giving international travellers an introduction to New Zealand food and producers.
“We serve millions of meals onboard each year, so showcasing New Zealand growers, producers and suppliers is a wonderful opportunity to have Kiwi products experienced around the world,” Mr O’Brien said.
