Enjoy James Beard Award-winning Italian Dishes Aboard American Airlines

With a career that has included a 2017 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes, coming in as the runner-up on Top Chef: Texas, and serving as Executive Chef of the Michelin-starred Spiaggia, Chef Sarah Grueneberg was recently asked by her team at Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio  what she would like to accomplish next. Much to the surprise of many, the avid traveler answered that she’d love to see her dishes featured on an airplane. Just a short while later, her dream has come true, as this month, American Airlines is rolling out dishes by Chef Grueneberg in select premium cabin routes and Flagship lounges, as part of a new multi-year partnership with the James Beard Foundation.

While the two brands have worked together before, this new partnership designates American as the official airline of the James Beard Foundation, and a partner in the Foundation’s commitment to honoring “Good Food for Good” by focusing on broader diversity, female leadership, sustainability, and reducing food waste. On the flier side, passengers will find menus designed by James Beard Foundation’s portfolio of established and up-and-coming chefs both on-board (in select First and Business Class cabins) and in the Flagship lounges (both on the buffets and in the exclusive Flagship First dining room.)

First up is Grueneberg, who launched four dishes in the lounges on December 3, to be followed by two pasta courses for the on-board menus hitting the skies on December 11. Before earning this prestigious first slot in the partnership, the chef and her team had three weeks to come up with around 32 dishes to present to American Airlines and James Beard Foundation. “I felt like I was back on Top Chef,” she laughs. To create the dishes, the chef thought about the kinds of things she’d want to eat when traveling—namely, simple, ingredient-focused fresh flavors, with a perfect balance on the plate.

And Italian cuisine was ideal for this philosophy. “The thing about Italian food,” she notes, “is that if you can find the right ingredients, you can let them sing. The layering of flavors can take something that seems simple to another level, and if you just change the technique, you have a whole new dish.” Having worked in kitchens in Italy, particularly in Emilia-Romagna, Grueneberg is passionate about honoring the spirit of Italian cuisine—all the fresh pasta in her restaurants is made-to-order right in the central pastafico, as diners watch “the show”—and she wanted to translate both her dishes and the restaurant experience for passengers.

After learning about some of the ways air travel can affect your palette (our ability to taste salt and sweet go down by 30-percent while in the air, for example) and about how dishes are prepared and presented on-board, Grueneberg created two colorful, flavor-packed pasta dishes for the flights: an Artichoke Ravioli, with blistered cherry tomato sauce and green olive pistachio pesto; and a hand-rolled Spinach & Ricotta Rotolo Pasta, with pomodoro sauce, basil pesto, and pine nuts, “Since these dishes may cook longer while on board, they have time for what I call ‘the Marriage Ceremony’—the pastas continuing to cook in the sauce to create the perfect combination,” the chef explains. (Beginning in December, American Airlines will also introduce sommelier-picked wine pairings on board, for an even more elevated experience.)

Meanwhile, in Flagship First Dining, you’ll find Grilled Roman-style Artichokes with black truffle, fontina fonduta, and fresh lemon; Mushroom Bolognese with fusilli pasta, cremini and porcini mushrooms, peas, carrots, and Parmigiano Reggiano; and a Dark Chocolate Budino topped with candied citrus, feuilletine chocolate crunch, fresh whipped cream and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. On the lounge buffet, a beautiful Tuscan Kale Salad with beets, apples, goat cheese, spiced sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and tahini dressing helps power travelers for the journey ahead.