Brussels Airlines' Belgian Star Chefs treat themselves to their very first female Chef

20/12/2017

Launched in 2013, Brussels Airlines' "Belgian Star Chefs" offer its first-class passengers the chance to savour dishes prepared by Belgian Michelin-star Chefs. Stéphanie Thunus will be the first female Chef to join these internationally famous Belgians.

It is Stéphanie Thunus' turn to take over the "Belgian Star Chefs" and prepare the food for Brussels Airlines' intercontinental flight passengers throughout 2018. It is a first since it is the first time that a female Chef is taking part in this gastronomic project in which Brussels Airlines gives centre stage to Belgian cuisine and its different provinces by calling upon the services of top Chefs: Geert Van Hecke ("De Karmeliet" in Brugge, 3-star restaurant but currently closed), Peter Goossens ("Hof Van Cleve" in Eastern Flanders, 3 stars) and Pierre Résimont ("L’Eau Vive" in Namur, 2 stars), to mention just a few.

The Province of Hainaut will also be given centre stage over the next four months (namely one per quarter) through the menus of the Hainaut Chef Stéphanie Thunus. Her selection of gourmet dishes will comprise local and seasonal products: quail mousse, veal cheek with a tarragon sauce, violet mustard and pollock with a saffron sauce.

An original menu which poses a challenge since it had to be adapted, among other things, to the limits of an airport kitchen. Indeed, in order to be able to serve food at an altitude of 10,000 metres, it is best that a dish is not prepared with raw fish or meat and that it is not accompanied with a whipped butter-based sauce. Another added difficulty is cooking food at a low temperature, a very popular cooking method at the moment, which should also be excluded.

For Stéphanie Thunus, this culinary adventure constitutes a "wonderful exercise in style, an interesting experience". For her, it is also an original way to offer her Michelin-star restaurant "Au Gré du Vent" in Seneffe greater visibility.