Excellent food in longhaul J

I just completed my fourth longhaul segment in the past couple of months and I am impressed by the quality of food they serve. Meals ex-CDG have been outstanding and good exEZE and HKG. The cold entrée (first dish) has been better and more innovative than in many one-star restaurants.
Of course, one can complain about a tiny cheese plate being put with the hot dish, service from a trolley (while most airlines serve individually from the galley) and the very poor quality of wines. But my criticism of AF is frequent enough that I am happy to insist on the excellent food they serve in J. As mentioned in other posts, quality (meaning money invested by AF) has really improved from past years.

Any pictures perhaps?

Last time ex HKG I got the Tournedos, it was definately not good and cold, maybe I was unlucky. What would you recommend ex-HKG this month ? Otherwise I second you, super nice food !! The Languedoc (aug) was fantastic..
Night time buffet ice-cream was not that good, can't remember brand..

Do not take the steak/tournedos (whatever they call it) on AF. The problem is not meat quality but their old galley technology. it cannot really grill the steak but more kind of microwave or boil it. So it is either cold and uncooked or dry and dark like a shoe. Unfortunately steak is your only option exJFK!
My experience from HKG is that their catering is not great, especially the sorbets. Still, I do not find the food inferior to CX in J.
I have not flown exHKG this month, so cannot make recommendation.

Their languedoc is quite good for a languedoc, but still not my kind of wine. Their red Bordeaux is some 2007 obscure (cheap) cru bourgeois, much too young. Their white bourgogne is cheap and tasteless. Their non-vintage Billecart Salmon champagne which can be found at €25 in supermarkets is unfortunately worth its price.

After disappointments on several airlines, I now always avoid steaks on flights. They are difficult to get right on a plane, at any rate if you like your steaks rare or bleu. Casserole-type dishes (plats mijotés) are more tolerant to brutal heat treatment and, as such, usually a safer bet. Fish dishes, while sensitive to over-heating, turn out OK more often than not.

But you are not referring to Michelin stars, when you compare and rank AF J food with and above "one star restaurants" ...?

Both the quality and quantity of the cheese plate decreased massively, the current mini-plates are a disgrace, same with the amenity kits, same with the old C seat, same with CDG and the lounges and also the same with most of the staff members...and yes I am booked on AF longhaul C four times in October

I like to eat my cow as close to alive as possible so I certainly sympathise! The only airline where I am consistently satisfied (by airline standards) by steak cooking is KE where they usually take your cooking order and respect it. I have had a couple of lucky occurrences on DL too. I have NEVER had a decent steak on AF, KL, UA, BA, AA and most others so try to avoid them if any other choice is remotely tempting.

AF long haul J food has very significantly improved in the past 8-9 months, however, I share FD1971's jaw dropping reflex if anyone says it compares positively to the food of michelin-starred restaurants (not that I would ever expect them to by the way! It is decent, and decent is not a bad standard to reach on a plane). Fully agree with brunos on the mediocre wines, although personally I quite like the Billecart-Salmon and think that out of AF's various rotated choices, it is one of the better ones (to me more refined and elegant than the Lanson they currently seem to have switched to).

I would certainly defer to brunos's wine expertise :-::-::-: and I would genuinely be interested in knowing which airlines (European, US, of course Middle Eastern and Asian) have markedly better Champagnes in long-haul J than the Billecart Salmon NV. BA, KL and LH do not come spontaneously to my mind.

BTW, I was slightly disappointed by my last visit to the S3 lounge as the Roederer 2003 had been replaced by an OK-ish Nicolas Feuillatte 2000. The Billecart Salmon had been replaced by a Philipponnat NV. Fully agree with orbitmic about the Lanson .

People will say that I keep praising Korean at the moment, but I personally find their Laurent Perrier one of the best (and certainly more expensive) J choices - almost all airlines chose NV in J and usually mainstream brands. Of such 'mainstream' maisons Champagne, Taittinger, Veuve Cliquot, Bollinger, and Laurent Perrier are my favourite and I can't think of any airline serving one of the first three. A few airlines occasionally servce Roederer which I personally like a little bit less but is also very good.

Sorry, I must have been jet-lagged. Thery were serving Lanson NV onboard yesterday.

On two different flights exCDG (with my beautiful wife), we recently had exquisite "entrée", very innovative, great taste, very elaborate. I would compare them favorably with cold entrées I had at several 1 or 2 michelin-starred French restaurant over the summer.
The main dishes were good, but not of similar quality.
I do object to the service from trolley and the micro plate of two semi-frozen cheeses served with the main dish (where to put them?). I do object to no-one coming around to refill glasses and the disppearance of FAs once desserts are served (making sure they only briefly show up with the trolley well after every one has finishd (would be bothersome to clean individually).
I do not object to the plate of small pastries, because the three of them are usually of excellent quality and with the addition of a sorbet and a couple of fruits that is already too much for my diet.

Still, my biggest problem in AF J is the lie-flat seat, while competitors, that I can choose, offer flat beds. But if the price is right.. and food is not a minus for AF but rather a plus.

Hi Orbitmic, if you praise KE you will double praise Asiana. They only serve Charles Heidsick in Biz, but their food/wine/service offering is admirable. And in F it is magnificent. I have taken them several times at meal time between HKG, ICN and PEK and their "shorthaul" offering in F or C is spectacular with Grand Cru burgundies and bordeaux.
I am not such a fan of Champagne, and hence not a great expert. But I hate low-quality champagne. Sad that AF, the French flag carrier, does not make a point of serving better quality wines.

Exactly. I agree with you. I think that AF wine choices in J, while 'occasionally' good, are often 'unsafe'. It is simply inexcusable in my mind for a French carrier to not serve excellent wine particularly in all of its premium classes (exactly as it is inexcusable for AZ to offer some of the worst coffee in the sky except in B777 in J). Indeed, I have heard great stuff about Asiana food!!! And very good about ANA too. As for wines, I agree that in a way Asian airlines offer an even bigger contrast with AF in first class. Virtually all Asian or Middle Eastern carriers offer Krug Grande Cuvee, Dom Perignon, or even Crystal in F and AF is nowhere near that. As for wines, indeed, my last KE upgrade (I promise I will try Asiana to compare! ) included a Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru and a Chateau Cheval Blanc. A quick look at AF's F wine list tells you very quickly that our beloved airline simply does not play in the same category, despite consistently asking for vastly more expensive fares. Anyway, I know we already had that discussion before and agreed on how hard it is to even 'want' to buy AF P class in this context despite the fabulous lounge.

brunos,

please do not tell the patrons running these 1 or 2 Michelin star restaurants that you actually prefer AF J class food to their meals...I fear they never allow you to enter France again...

What is so stunning about frisee salad, a cherry tomato, over-chilled foie gras or salmon with a shrimp topped with some mayonaise and kalamata olives served with stone cold hard bread ?

I can only assume that your wife is so beautiful that you have lost your senses... @:-)

Ok thanks , so no Tournedos on AF. I can't remember the alternatives, but have the menu, so I ask you when I find it,- before flying again next week.

"Their languedoc is quite good for a languedoc" what would you estimate is the price range for this languedoc ? Agree very good.. !

There is a website (I think you go to shopping from the airfrance website and select wine cellar or something like that) which sells (all?) of their business class and first class wines. Some of it makes for depressing reading!

I re-read Jouy31's post and was sorry to learn about the change of Champagne in S3. The vintage Roederer was an excellent addition ^, the vintage Feuillate is good (albeit not extraordinary) and I personally find the Philipponnat they often have very very far away from my personal tastes. It is like moving from one of their best draw to one of their worst one.

And like brunos, I do find the cigalus very pleasant for a Languedoc and I can completely understand why Poussier would feel proud of 'discovering' it, but I do think it is a very meagre outcome overall and that one rather pleasant surprise does not make up for otherwise very 'quelconque' choices.