Air France Business Dinner JFK-CDG on May 9, 2024. No one was allowed to pre-order. Because my party of three was moved (due to plane change) from row 4 to row 8 (out of 9) we were next to last to order. I enthusiastically ordered the lamb in the herb crust, it sounded wonderful. As my FA started to explain to me that they were out of it, the purser had a few words with him and I was allowed to order the lamb.*
My companions were told the only meal left was squash and mushrooms so they had that.
The Roast Beef appetizer was good, and I'm glad I ate it, because the lamb, in a word, was horrible. It tasted like it had been cooked/microwaved frozen and the inside was mushy and watery. I don't even know if the gamey tasting meat was rare or raw. The "crust" was a coating of green slime. After one bite I was done with the whole thing. If Dominique Crenn is putting her star chef reputation on this dish, it is forever ruined.
My daughter and niece said the veggie dish was "gross" (sorry no photo). I had salted away a couple sandwiches from the AF lounge, because not knowing what we would be served for dinner made me cautious. The girls ate them happily. It was their first time abroad, first time in Business and they were super impressed. The poor quality food was a non-issue.
* When boarding I gave the purser a can of high quality chocolate dipped pretzels from Bridgewater Chocolate. She seemed surprised and thanked me profusely. I don't think AF crews get as many passenger gifts as Delta. I think she may have told the FA to give me the lamb dinner. Seeing that I didn't eat much of it, they both asked if I wanted something else... no thank you. After service, I had a nice conversation with them about how this was my daughter and niece's first time in Paris and how I was their tour guide. During the downtime, they compiled a list for me of some of their favorite attractions and restaurants in Paris. I was so touched by this kind gesture, that the taste of the vile lamb was long forgotten.
Dinner Menu
Roast Beef and Salad were fine.
The Cafe de Paris butter sauce was good but couldn't hide the mushy gamey lamb.