Jaunted

The Star Chefs stand with George McNeill, VP of Culinary for Ritz-Carlton, Simon Cooper, CEO of Ritz-Carlton Hotels, and Wolfgang Mayrhuber, CEO of Lufthansa

We taste-tested our way through samples of what will soon be available to First and Business class passengers aboard Lufthansa flights from the United States to Germany, including some seriously succulent short ribs and our favorite, the chilled white gazpacho (hey, it was a hot day). After all the indulging and imbibing, Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber and Ritz-Carlton CEO Simon Cooper remarked on the collaboration and how much of a triumph it is to fit the haute cuisine of Ritz-Carlton into itty-bitty airplane kitchens.

We even succeeded in scoring Simon Cooper's first tweet! Watch out, modern technology, as this dashing CEO is coming to get ya!

Taste-testing the pomegranate martini and seared scallops

For those of you curious as to what will be presented on real plates this summer as part of the Star Chefs partnership, we managed to finagle a peek at the menu of the first chef up to bat: Andrés Jiménez of the Ritz-Carlton Denver. Set your tray table down and tuck in your napkin:

Dreamer's Delight Menu (first half of flight):
Cold gourmet plate of chilled white gazpacho, avocado and snow crab salad. OR Hot specialty of eggplant rollotini, fire-roasted pepper coulis, sun-dried tomato ricotta salsa and white bean ragout.
Cheese and dessert of manchego, quince, Roquefort stuffed dates, sun-dried grapes and walnuts. Tres Leches Cake, fresh berries.

Tuna tartare above Tribeca

Main Menu (last half of flight):
Choice of hors d'oeuvres: caviar, seared ahi tuna with tomato white bean salad, duck confit, or seared watermelon with goat cheese mousse (very good!). Seasonal salad with dressing.
Choice of main courses: Pan-roasted beef tenderloin with butternut squash cake and porcini mushroom sauce, parmesan-crusted halibut with basil risotto and white wine butter sauce, eggplant rollotini with fire-roasted pepper coulis, sun-dried tomato ricotta salsa and white bean ragout, and mustard-rubbed chicken breast with tomato green olive salsa.
Selection of cheese and dessert: Sage derby, Parmesan, Gruyere, Humboldt Fog (our favorite cheese in the world) and Cambozola cheese with grapes. Vanilla panna cotta with strawberry consomme, costa rican coffee ice cream with trio of dulce de leche cookies, and specialty dessert wines.

If you get so lucky as to find yourself winging your way to Germany on Lufthansa in First or Business, then you will be dining better than perhaps ordering meals a la carte at a Ritz-Carlton Restaurant. You see, the flight gives you an entire several-course tasting menu to enjoy without the distraction of paying the bill or entertaining fellow diners. It's just you, the food, and the sky, and we think that's the way it should always be.

To check out all of our pictures from the Lufthansa and Ritz-Carlton Star Chefs event, see the Flickr Set.

Related Stories:
· A Culinary Journey With the Chefs de Cuisine from the Ritz-Carlton [Lufthansa]
· Ritz-Carlton Food Will Fly the 'Freundlich' Skies [HotelChatter]
· Airline News Coverage [Jaunted]