A culinary collaboration in the skies
Dubai, UAE: Emirates' Business Class customers can look forward to yet another elevation of the inflight experience, as an array of 18 new dishes will be launched onboard this summer. Meticulously designed by Moët & Chandon's Head Chef of Michelin star renown, Jean Michel Bardet and Emirates' Vice President of Culinary Design, Doxis Bekris; each of the new dishes has been perfectly paired with an exclusive champagne, serving up the ultimate culinary collaboration in the sky.
The 18 new starters and main courses will be launched inflight on select routes from May 2025 onwards, allowing Emirates' Business Class customers to enjoy an expertly curated champagne and cuisine pairing for the first time in the air. The menu has spent more than a year in development between Emirates master chefs and the Maison of Moët & Chandon in France, as the award-winning chefs were challenged to create refined dishes of culinary excellence with premium ingredients, that can also be scaled to meet the demands of the world's largest international airline, serving 149 meals every minute, and totalling more than 77 million meals every year.
New culinary creations in Emirates Business Class
The new paired dishes will include starters like poached scallops served with green melon, blanched kumquat, lemon gel and roasted almonds, exquisitely paired with Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2016, where the delicately salted scallops complement the flavours and reveal the elegance of the cuvée. Green melon and kumquat enhance the radiant bouquet of the champagne, while basil adds a final contrasting touch. The new creations include vegan dishes too, like silken tofu, sliced and served with poached asparagus, soy emulsion with olive oil, lemon gel and cashew cream, paired with Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial – where the tofu is marinated in lemon juice and soy sauce, revealing the brightness and umami dimension of Brut Imperial. Dill introduces a vegetal contrast, while cashew cream adds a final creamy touch, bringing the dish to a harmonious finish.
Main courses are set to impress with pairings like roasted duck served with braised aubergine and chickpeas with raz el hanout-spiced couscous-jus and cherry tomatoes, paired with Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial, where the symphony of couscous flavours dances with the structure of red wine, and spicy notes add a touch of intrigue. The delicate acidity of cherry tomatoes weaves through the dish and Rosé Impérial into a seamless embrace. Another main course to look forward to is the succulent roasted turkey, sliced and served with sage chicken jus, mashed potato, braised fennel and almonds. This dish is paired with Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2016 - where the radiant bouquet is highlighted by the delicate vegetal notes of fennel, and the sage chicken jus imparts a sense of umami, culminating in a harmonious pairing. Seared Chilean Seabass will be a hit for seafood afficionados, paired with Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial and served with artichoke puree, lemon grass sauce and buttered sugar snap peas. Artichoke puree brings smooth texture and subtle taste harmonising with the Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial's elegance. Sugar snap peas add a crisp element enhancing the sparkling texture. Finally, lemongrass sauce provides a fresh connection, amplifying the Champagne's brightness. There are also vegan dishes, like braised lentils with coconut served with steamed basmati rice, spiced cauliflower with green peas and naan, paired with Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial. Coral lentils have a beautiful texture that plays with the elegant effervescence of the Rosé Impérial, while curry seasoning complements the fruity bouquet with a soft spiciness, and coriander creates a delicate contrast.
Culinary excellence at 40,000 feet
Over the year of development, the chefs collaborated and connected between France and Dubai, to create the dishes together. While Chef Jean Michel was challenged to pair the flavour profiles of dishes innovatively and bring out the notes of the exclusive Champagnes onboard Emirates, the Emirates team were adeptly managing the issues of scale, and ensuring the dishes could be prepared for the large numbers of customers onboard, travelling to a myriad of global destinations. Together the chefs brainstormed the ways in which premium restaurant quality cuisine could be recreated for the inflight experience – taking into account the impact of altitude, scale and pre-preparation of the food before loading onto the aircraft. The chefs also had to consider the ways in which Emirates' world class cabin crew would be able to plate the food onboard, ensuring the Business Class customer has an outstanding experience every time.
About Jean-Michel Bardet - Head chef, Moët & Chandon
To go with the thrill of a fine Moët & Chandon, Champagne-lover Jean-Michel Bardet invents dishes that will enhance in accordance with six fundamental principles: dialogue, chromaticity, simplicity, saltiness, texture, cooking. To create this dialogue, Jean-Michel calls on his experience in Michelin-starred restaurants, luxury hotels and private clubs, inviting French, Asian and Anglo-Saxon cuisine to wherever his talent leads him. With a degree under his belt, he started in restaurants on the Côte d'Azur before setting sail for the highly exclusive Yacht Club de Monaco. Next, he moved to a Vancouver Yacht Club, then made a stop-over in London, sharpening his knives at Claridge's, the Flocon de Sel in Megève, Lapérouse in Paris and Ma Langue Sourit in Luxembourg. Under Guy Krenzer, a Meilleur Ouvrier de France, he perfected his technique; with the three Michelin-starred chef Emmanuel Renaut, he learnt "to cook with the moment"; and in the Monegasque Métropole, he gained luxury precision. After teaching for almost two years at the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Academy in Shanghai, he joined the double Michelin-starred chef, Olivier Bellin, who opened a new restaurant in Hong Kong. 18 months and one Michelin star later, Jean-Michel returned to France. First, to continue polishing the Moulin de l'Abbaye in Perigord, then to rebuild the Domaine du Colombier, in the heart of Drôme Provençale. A unique opportunity then presented itself to this Champagne lover: to join the Moët & Chandon Maison, to invent dishes that spoke to its wine, symbols of French excellence and an openness to the world.
About Doxis Bekris – Vice President Culinary Design, Emirates
Appointed to his new role in February 2025, Doxis Bekris will be taking the Emirates culinary teams to new heights as the Vice President of Culinary Design. A seasoned and innovative chef, the Greek national is also a restaurateur, F&B consultant, author and culinary arts lecturer. He has launched and operated several renowned restaurants in Greece and around the world, as well as holding roles across the food and beverage and culinary operations of luxury hospitality properties worldwide. Doxis has a passion for originality in his recipe creations and an obsession with highest quality of raw produce, spending time researching the best-in-class ingredients worldwide. With a great respect for different cultures and their food, ingredients, cooking techniques and traditions used, he aims to incorporate these observations into menu designs across Emirates' myriads of destinations. Doxis joined Emirates in 2019 as the Vice President Culinary Shared Services & Concept Development where he was responsible for developing the direction of Emirates' iconic inflight catering, the regionally inspired meals that are served on 490 flights per day, and the 1400 chefs at Emirates Flight Catering Facility (EKFC), before taking on the role of Vice President of Culinary Design.
About Emirates' champagne offering
Emirates has had a longstanding partnership with Moët Hennesey for 33 years. Moët & Chandon champagnes are a signature part of the Emirates experience and available in all Emirates Lounges, as well as served on a complimentary basis onboard First and Business Class, and available to purchase in Premium Economy and Economy Class. As part of the 'fly better' promise, Emirates purchases more champagne than any other airline in the world and has exclusive rights to serve Dom Pérignon Vintage 2015, Dom Pérignon Vintage Rosé 2009, Dom Pérignon Plénitude 2 2004 moving to 2006 as of July, Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial, Moët & Chandon Imperial Rosé, Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Blanc 2016, Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label and Veuve Clicquot Vintage Blanc 2015. Emirates also serves Australian sparkling wine, Chandon Vintage Brut 2018 moving to 2019 as of April onboard as a global exclusive to customers in Premium Economy.
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