Every six months, Brussels Airlines works with another talented Michelin starred chef from a different region of Belgium to prepare the menus for its Business Class on long haul flights. Starting this June, the airline’s culinary voyage continues in the province of Walloon Brabant, where two generations of the Marit family live up to a very high standard of fine dining at La Maison Marit in Braine-L’Alleud.
Two times a year Brussels Airlines works with a new Belgian top chef from a different Belgian province to create a premium dining experience for their Business Class passengers on board of their flights to the US, Canada and Africa. For the next six months, chef Dimitri Marit from La Maison Marit is the talented chef who has taken on the challenge to recreate his culinary menus for a dining experience at an altitude of 30,000 feet. With this collaboration, chef Dimitri and Brussels Airlines want to bring the best of Belgium to an international audience, to promote the culinary savoir-faire our country possesses.
A family-run restaurant (Chef Marit runs the restaurant together with his father Jacques and his wife Emmanuelle) La Maison Marit opened in 1991, and has held a Michelin Star for the past 15 years. Marrying his passion for local seasonal produce with hints from other cuisines, Chef Marit has achieved a refined balance between classic and contemporary as well as between creativity and advanced techniques.
Chef Marit has designed 6 menus for the Business Class guests on board intercontinental flights to Africa and North America using regional products from the Walloon Brabant region to create classic Belgian dishes with innovative touches. In June, the first menu includes dishes like smoked salmon bavarois with cucumber and herring caviar, lamb ravioli with parmesan sauce, snow peas and broad beans and a sole soufflé with grean peas, cauliflauwer and risotto.
The chef also selected beers from his region to serve with his menus, from the brewery Belgo Sapiens. A cheese selection is also available from the renowned Cheese Refiners Van Tricht in Antwerp. Since many years, Brussels Airlines wants to be a flying ambassador of Belgium. On board of its fights, the airline serves a large selection of Belgian beers and wines. Passengers can also indulge in Belgian pralines from Neuhaus.
Other chefs who have worked with Brussels Airlines previously include Pierre Résimont (L’Eau Vive), Geert Van Hecke (De Karmeliet) and Peter Goossens (Hof van Cleve).
“We continue to invest in the experience for our guests, both on the ground and in the air. Our customers really appreciate the premium dining experience our Belgian chefs offer them. It is a great challenge for a chef to create on board culinary meals, but Dimitri has done a fantastic job. The preparation for 6 menus like this takes about 5 months; to get it just right. It was a very intensive collaboration, but we can be proud of the result.”
— Grégory Baillet, Head of Inflight Product Brussels Airlines
“It is the first time that I had the opportunity to work with an airline. I was surprised by all the restrictions that come with onboard catering, but I am very pleased with what we have achieved. I look forward to promoting our Belgian cuisine on board Brussels Airlines’ flights and I’m curious to hear the reactions of their customers”.
— Dimitri Marit, Chef La Maison Marit
