YVES MATTAGNE BECOMES BRUSSELS AIRLINES 8TH MICHELIN STAR CHEF TO CREATE NEW MENUS
(Posted 29th December 2016)
Good food has always been a hallmark of the Belgian flag carrier, back in the days of SABENA which in those days had one of the best First Class services in the business and then continued first by SN Brussels before the rebranded Brussels Airlines name emerged.
The ‘Savoir Vivre‘ of the SABENA days, regularly cited here, continues to this day and the Belgian national airline, though soon going into the Lufthansa fold after the announcement of a full acquisition by the German airline group, has always taken pride to give their passenger that unique, that special Belgian hospitality on board.
Having flown multiple long haul sectors with Brussels Airlines during the past year, one comes to appreciate the finer details of the meals offered on board, especially in Business Class – a match for any other globally operating airline given the award winning selection of wines on offer, besides promoting award winning Belgian beers.
A ‘Beer of the Month‘ and a ‘Wine of the Month‘ are carefully chosen to match the food theme of the month. A total of eight Belgian beers are offered to guests on board to choose from as are five wines, both figures including the month’s special.
Then await choices of starters, main courses, a cheese selection and a choice of desserts and, depending on the direction of the flight, either a light breakfast or a very substantial snack offering before landing either in Brussels or, in my case, in Entebbe.
From New Year’s Day 2017 to the end of June will Michelin ranked Star Chef Yves Mattagne delight the Brussels Airlines guests with his creations and those travelling in Business Class will be able to sample some of Belgium’s culinary delights before even setting foot in the European capital city of Brussels. Six different menu selections were created, one for each month, and only a visit in Yves’ Michelin two star rated ‘Seagrill’ will offer a wider range of his celebrated food art.
Mattagne is already the eighth Belgian Michelin Star Chef to create menus for Brussels Airlines. Other chefs that have worked with the Belgian airline include Peter Goossens (Hof van Cleve), Pierre Résimont (L’Eau Vive) and Geert van Hecke (De Karmeliet). ‘The concept is very much appreciated by passengers, but this time we added an extra touch, by choosing a chef from its capital Brussels‘ adds Grégory Baillet, Head of Product at Brussels Airlines, before adding: ‘We get to offer our passengers a high quality gastronomic experience at 30,000 feet in the sky and live up to our role as national carrier by being an international ambassador for a great Belgian restaurant‘.
‘I’m very pleased with this collaboration‘ said Yves Mattagne. ‘Creating gastronomy for an airline is not easy, but it was a challenge I gladly accepted for Brussels Airlines because with this collab we carry out the best of Belgium around the world‘.
The collaboration with Belgian star chefs is only one of many ways Brussels Airlines markets itself as thé Belgian airline. The airline also serves exclusively Belgian beers on board, its crew uniforms are designed by Belgian brands Xandres, Bellerose and Ambiorix and in the last two years Brussels Airlines has repainted three of its planes with special liveries dedicated to Belgian icons Tintin, Magritte, Red Devils.
Add to all this the arguably most important element of a flight, the crews. Notably are they on point even on the short sector from Entebbe to Kigali, where a crew change is taking place. After a flight of more than eight hours out of Brussels do their smiles still shine the way it can be experienced on the long sector and enroute home to Brussels are individuals like Fabien Rase, Senior Purser or Vincenzo Palermo a credit to their profession, cheerful, helpful, unfazed by extra wishes from passengers for another pillow, a second blanket or just to keep the tea or coffee flowing throughout the flight as they click away on their keyboards to prepare for the meetings in the morning when reaching their destination.
With now three destinations in North America, New York and Toronto and Washington is Brussels Airlines spreading its wings even further when flights to Mumbai commence in March 2017. In Africa does the airline, besides Entebbe, Kigali and Bujumbura in East Africa, also connect to all key West African cities. Overall does Brussels Airlines from their hub airport in Zaventem fly to a total of over 90 destinations, including an extensive European network, served by more than 300 flights a day.
Thumbs up for my choice of airline for direct flights to Europe which has delivered time and again and makes me look out for more ‘Savoir Vivre‘ in the air every time I have to travel to Europe.
