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For the past two years, JetBlue has been named the number one airline for first and business class customer satisfaction—and part of that reason is likely due to its impressive food offerings. Strategic partnerships with name-brand snacks available to core seating passengers, and more elevated offerings for premium Mint passengers, are the crux of why the airline was named the number one airline for in-flight food.
To build on that momentum, the airline has teamed up with restaurants in one of the country’s most prominent food cities—New York—to craft exclusive menus for its Mint class passengers on select domestic and transatlantic routes. Developed in collaboration with Kent Hospitality Group, the new menus will bring Michelin-starred restaurants to the skies. (Brb, packing my bags!)
Forget stocking your carry-on with munchies; airplane food is no longer the grim pickings they used to be. Instead, fliers can enjoy elevated offerings created with the chefs behind Michelin-starred Crown Shy and Birdee—two esteemed New York City locales.
At a private luncheon hosted at Crown Shy, I got a taste of what’s to come and the future’s looking hot! Lunch and dinner menus on board will feature spicy dishes that are anything but the bland plane food you’ve grown accustomed to. Fliers will start off with a warm Parker House roll served with an olive labneh spread and then choose from a selection of creative, flavorful mains, including chicken with citrus-marinated thigh and hot sauce vinaigrette, pork katsu with hot cherry glaze and scallions, razor clam chowder with roasted carrots and thyme, and sweet potato lasagnette with pecorino cream and chervil.
Truly keeping its customers at the forefront of its menu design, JetBlue seamlessly accommodates those with dietary restrictions, with easily identifiable vegetarian (V), nut-free (NF), dairy-free (DF), and gluten-free (GF) selections.
Breakfast also brings with it tasty nibbles—ones you won’t mind waking up early for. Birdee’s offerings include twists on morning classics, like strawberries & cream croissants, mochi waffles with butter and maple syrup, bacon, egg, and cheese on Parker House rolls with harissa aioli, and shakshuka with a pepper cherry relish and feta.
If all of that’s not enough to tide you over for the duration of your journey, there’s also dessert. Decadent options include warm chocolate chip cookies (a classic), strawberry olive oil shortcake with meringue and crème fraiche, and chocolate tart with sabayon and port wine syrup.
Many people think vacation doesn’t start until you arrive at your destination, but with these new menus, it starts as soon as you open your tray table. Trying out the new menu at a Michelin-starred restaurant, I’d never have guessed that my meal was anything other than a specialty of Crown Shy. With this new partnership, JetBlue is truly redefining what it means to dine in the sky and break the stigma of airline food.
To add to the excitement, additional concepts from Kent’s strategic partner Four Clovers Hospitality Group, including Red Hook Tavern and Hometown Bar-B-Que, will be joining the Mint lineup early next year. I don’t know about you, but I’m stoked for this New York-style menu makeover. After all, as the saying goes, “New York or nowhere.”
