Lufthansa has engaged a talented, celebrity chef as the airline’s Star Chef for the months of March and April. David Burke – a highly decorated chef and creative cookbook author — constantly takes on new challenges and masters them with aplomb.

Lufthansa has engaged a talented, celebrity chef as the airline’s Star Chef for the months of March and April. David Burke – a highly decorated chef and creative cookbook author — constantly takes on new challenges and masters them with aplomb. This spring, Lufthansa passengers in First and Business Class on long-haul routes from Germany can look forward to his innovative dishes as well as his mouth-watering desserts.

Starters on the First Class menu are smoked tuna with citrus salad and watercress; pastrami and sauerkraut presented with Russian mustard sauce; and rice paper wrap with Asian vegetables, angel hair noodles, mango and soy sauce with toasted sesame. To follow, there is a choice of Boston clam chowder or a classic Caesar salad. As a main course, passengers can select pepper-crusted swordfish and light bell pepper sauce presented with potato and mushroom stew; ravioli filled with Mozzarella cheese and basil, stewed rucola and tomatoes and butter and lemon sauce; or trio of duck breast, meat loaf and ravioli served with cranberry relish, leaf spinach, sweet potato and vanilla mash. In March, the “Lufthansa Classic” dish in First Class is Wiener Schnitzel (escalope of veal) with cranberries and potato salad, and in April, marinated spare ribs with corn-on-the-cob and oven-baked potatoes with crème fraîche. The tempting desserts include the cheesecake lollipop tree (cheesecake with white chocolate, chocolate chips, raspberries or coconut) and apple and blueberry crumble with whiskey ice cream. A range of select cheeses from France and Switzerland with curry chutney, grapes and pecan nuts will also be served.

There is no shortage of culinary delights in Business Class either. These include king prawn confit with melon balls in tomato and soy sauce presented with apple and fennel salad, followed by red snapper with tomato and mint sauce, vegetable spaghetti and basmati rice. The “Lufthansa Classic” main dish in Business Class in March is spaetzle cheese noodles with fried caramelised onions, and in April, penne all’arrabiata. For dessert, various cheesecake lollipops, one of David Burke’s specialities, will be offered.

David Burke is one of the most successful pioneers of American cuisine. He trained at the Culinary Institute of America and soon thereafter headed to France to hone his skills working with some of the big names in French cuisine. Later, he was appointed Executive Chef of the River Café in Brooklyn, New York, where he experimented with novel ingredients and cooking techniques that would revolutionise upscale American gastrono-my. In 2003, he opened David Burke Townhouse on the Upper East Side. He has since opened restaurants around the country and strengthened his reputation as an award-winning chef.

Outstanding Indian specialities will continue to be served on board in 2011
Lufthansa passengers travelling First or Business Class to India will continue to be gastronomically spoilt by Farman Ali and Surender Mohan, two top chefs from India’s luxury Leela hotel chain. Their latest menu creations will be served on board from March. Each has his own individual strong points but both are committed to the culinary traditions of their native India and cherish the regional variety of the cuisine between the Himalayas and the Gulf of Mannar.

Collaboration with Korean star chef prolonged
The collaboration with Hyo Nam Park, Executive Chef at the Millennium Seoul Hilton, is being extended for a further year in First and Business Class on flights to Korea following the positive response from passengers. Hyo Nam Park is renowned in Korea for his culinary skills and is considered one of the driving forces of international cuisine in that country. From March 2011, Lufthansa passengers can look forward to his new creations and his love affair with French cuisine, which he adapts to his own innovative style by integrating subtle Asian flavours.

The Lufthansa Star Chef programme
Since January 2000, when it launched its Star Chef programme, Lufthansa has been taking its passengers to new culinary heights. Imaginative menus, created by top chefs from all over the world, make a Lufthansa flight a truly heavenly experience. To date, such international celebrities as Harald Wohlfahrt (Baiersbronn), Dieter Müller (Bergisch Gladbach), Daniel Boulud (New York) and Paul Bocuse (Lyon) have been engaged as Lufthansa “Star Chefs”. In addition, since the beginning of 2005, internationally renowned chefs have created special menus on selected long-haul routes from Germany to reflect the culinary tastes and traditions of the respective destination. Moreover, since November 2010, the monthly changing Lufthansa Classic menu has featured traditional German dishes.