Alaska Airlines Adds Taste Of San Francisco To Popular Route

Airplane food often has a pretty dicey reputation, as it’s known to not often be all that creative or high-concept…and doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being delicious. But over the years, airlines have tried to change all that by bringing on top sommeliers to revamp their wine list or celebrity chefs to upgrade their menu. Now, one airline is trying to do that in a pretty big way that is sure to get some attention.

Alaska Airlines has joined forces with a chef who has tons of star power – James Beard award-winning to Michelin-starred are among his credits – to add a serious punch of flavor to its first class menu on the airline’s popular San Francisco to New York City route.

Brandon Jew is a chef based in San Francisco, and is both owner and executive chef of Mister Jiu’s, a Chinese restaurant nestled in the heart of Chinatown inspired by the chef’s Cantonese heritage and local Bay Area ingredients and flavors. However, those who are on this flight route and who have not visited his Michelin-starred restaurant will now get a chance to experience some of his most famous dishes, from classic Chinese breakfast congee to slow-braised duck.

As airline food, even in the first class cabin, is often associated with dried out and over salted meats and carbs (not to mention sad variations on breakfast omelets), it’s worth noting that these dishes will also feature the same level of ingredients as those as Chef Jew’s restaurant. For example, the duck dish available on the lunch and dinner route will use poultry from Liberty Farms in Sonoma County, which is actually the same place the duck for Mister Jiu’s Peking Style Whole Roast Duck is sourced.

The revamped first class menu featuring Chef Jew’s dishes will be available beginning August 28, exclusively on routes between SFO and JFK, and feature a breakfast option of brown rice congee with soy cured eggs and braised pork belly that comes with turnip cake, pickled cauliflower, hoisin and a hot chili sauce. There’ll also be lunch and dinner choices that include a braised duck leg with sesame egg noodles and gai lan that comes with with wood ear mushrooms, tofu skin and cucumbers or roasted black cod that comes topped with ginger-scallion sauce and silken tofu and mapo sauce, paired with a quinoa and farro blend with roasted shiitake mushrooms.

“I’m so excited to partner with Alaska Airlines on their First Class flight menu, connecting my hometown of San Francisco with New York, a city where I’ve always dreamed of living in,” said Chef Brandon Jew in a press release. “Luxury begins with quality ingredients, which underscores our shared values. At Mister Jiu’s we are always evolving and defining Chinese American cuisine in the Bay Area while advocating for the global recognition of Chinese food — the partnership with Alaska Airlines elevates Chinese cuisine from coast to coast.”

Well, that’s certainly a way to start a trip off on the right foot.