{"id":41259,"date":"2025-09-24T19:38:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/41259\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T19:38:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:38:11","slug":"qatar-airways-partners-with-acclaimed-kiwi-chef-michael-meredith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/41259\/","title":{"rendered":"Qatar Airways partners with acclaimed Kiwi chef Michael Meredith"},"content":{"rendered":"

It comes after fellow acclaimed Kiwi chef Sid Sahrawat earlier this year partnered with Singapore Airlines<\/a> for an exclusive menu in First and Business Class cabins for passengers departing from Auckland.<\/p>\n

The launch event started with a light and refreshing cured king salmon, wasabi and confit apple. It was a solid portion.<\/p>\n

The main screamed decadence: a braised beef short rib with truffle polenta and mushroom marmalade. (One diner exclaimed, \u201cOmg. The beef actually melts in my mouth. I\u2019ve never had that happen to me before.\u201d) <\/p>\n

\"TheThe decadent beef short rib. Photo \/ Qatar Airways<\/p>\n

The dessert stole the show: a semolina and pear pudding with honeycomb that surely reminded everyone of a Crunchie chocolate bar. It was delicate. It was teasing. It was easy on the eyes. <\/p>\n

\u201cFood has always been central in my life, and this partnership allows me to share my passion with Qatar Airways passengers, bringing a sense of home and the southwest Pacific hospitality to a global audience,\u201d Meredith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this menu, I wanted to honour the incredible ingredients on offer in Aotearoa and create something that is refined. I hope passengers feel that sense of care and connection in every bite. It was a real treat to give guests a taste of what the experience will be like on board.\u201d <\/p>\n

Xia Cai, Qatar Airways\u2019 senior vice-president for product development and design, said: \u201cExceptional on-board dining is an essential part of a premium travel experience. This new menu is more than just a meal, it\u2019s a celebration of storytelling through food, and a unique opportunity to bring the flavours of Aotearoa to the skies.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"TheThe superb dessert. Photo \/ Qatar Airways<\/p>\n

Airlines partnering with top restaurateurs provide several mutual opportunities, including showcasing cultural identity through high-quality food. Here are other recent collaborations you may not have heard of.<\/p>\n

Singapore Airlines<\/p>\n

Since March, passengers in First Class and Business Class on Singapore Airlines flights leaving from Auckland and Christchurch have had the opportunity to experience a wide array of exclusive dishes curated by renowned chef Sid Sahrawat, whose New Zealand restaurants include Cassia and The French Cafe.<\/p>\n

\"ChefChef Sid Sahrawat created an exclusive menu for Singapore Airlines’ First and Business Class passengers.<\/p>\n

The menu showcases New Zealand produce in several seasonal dishes, and includes an appetiser of poached crayfish with corn and spring onion hash, macadamia nuts and wasabi mayo, a main course of Canterbury lamb rack with roasted k\u016bmara and korma sauce, and a classic pavlova with salt-baked pineapple for dessert.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Herald<\/a> in February, Sahrawat said his personal favourite from the menu was the lamb rack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a blend of a lot of M\u0101ori flavours \u2013 like in the h\u0101ng\u012b, it\u2019s always lamb and k\u016bmara cooked together. So we\u2019ve brought in a little bit of that culture and a bit of sauce which has been very symbolic to Cassia, korma.<\/p>\n

\u201cKorma has got a lot of cardamom, a lot of almonds so that really lends itself quite well to lamb and k\u016bmara,\u201d Sahrawat explained.<\/p>\n

Qantas<\/p>\n

Top Australian chef Neil Perry has been collaborating with Qantas for nearly three decades \u2013 the longest partnership of its kind. Passengers on the airline\u2019s international flights enjoy Neil Perry-inspired cuisine that celebrates both Australian and the international destination\u2019s produce.<\/p>\n

On selected premium economy flights, you may get rich black pepper beef with oyster mushrooms. For Business Class, salt and pepper chicken with cabbage slaw and lemon could be an option. Some passengers flying in First Class may have the option of a Calvisius caviar tartlet with cauliflower cream and Ma Hor caramelised pork, prawn, pineapple and cashews.<\/p>\n

British Airways<\/p>\n

Michelin-star chef Tom Kerridge has partnered with British Airways since 2021. The English chef, who was previously a contestant on Great British Menu, creates gourmet meals for passengers flying on the airline\u2019s short-haul economy (Euro Traveller) class through its High Life Caf\u00e9. Food options include a variety of hot sandwiches, fresh salads, cookies, baps and drinks.<\/p>\n

Air New Zealand<\/p>\n

The national carrier\u2019s Taste of Aotearoa menu showcases a blend of indigenous flavours and contemporary cuisine for premium economy and business premier passengers. Some menu highlights have included smoked kahawai mousse with confit potato and seared Hauraki Gulf snapper with nori butter, green pea pur\u00e9e, fresh pea shoots, and crispy batter bits.<\/p>\n

Head of culinary Justin Koen oversees the catering behind its menus, which are refreshed regularly throughout the year. Previously, Meredith and celebrated chef Peter Gordon worked as consultant chefs for the airline, helping design its recipes.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Air New Zealand was named the best airline for food by Cond\u00e9 Nast.<\/p>\n

Varsha Anjali is a journalist in the lifestyle team at the Herald. Based in Auckland, she covers travel, culture and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It comes after fellow acclaimed Kiwi chef Sid Sahrawat earlier this year partnered with Singapore Airlines for an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41260,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[37111,25345,34596,169,194,37113,37112,5494,111,43,139,69,143,7917,37114,1680,102],"class_list":["post-41259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-acclaimed","tag-airways","tag-calm","tag-chef","tag-kiwi","tag-looked","tag-meredith","tag-michael","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-partners","tag-qatar","tag-remarkably","tag-wednesday","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}