ATLANTA, Aug. 28, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) has tapped renowned chef Todd English to create selections for its new food-for-purchase menu being developed for customers flying in its Coach Class on flights within the United States. The new menu is part of an extensive upgrade to Delta's exclusive onboard offerings available to domestic Coach, First Class and international BusinessElite(r) customers this fall.
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On Sept. 13, Delta will begin offering a variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner entrees, as well as popular snack items, available for purchase on nonstop flights between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. Menu items will be priced between $2 and $10(1). In November, Delta's food for purchase program will begin featuring Todd English's signature creations on flights within the 48 contiguous United States of approximately 2,000 miles (four hours or more). As Delta expands the menu to more flights by spring 2008, the food for purchase will be available on flights of more than 750 miles, out of cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Boston, Houston, Phoenix, Portland, Ore., Tampa, Fla., Las Vegas and more. Customers will still receive complimentary snacks on all flights of more than 250 miles and on Delta Connection carrier flights.
"Delta's exclusive new menu selections will provide our customers with the chance to pair a great meal, snack or refreshing cocktail with a superior selection from our Delta on Demand in-flight entertainment system featuring movies, HBO programs, music, live television and more," said Joanne Smith, Delta's senior vice president of In-Flight Service and Global Product Development.
Delta's September food-for-purchase menu includes:
* Breakfast: Fruit & Cheese plate; Cereal with Fresh Fruit; Fresh Baked Bagel; or Breakfast Wrap (sun-dried tortilla filled with egg salad, turkey, cheddar cheese and roasted red peppers; offered with salsa) * Lunch/Dinner: California Salad (Earthbound Farm(r) Organic Spring Mix topped with grape tomatoes, cucumber slices, dried apricots, candied pecans and goat cheese); Chicken Caprese Sandwich (grilled chicken breast, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basica with pesto spread on herb focaccia bread); Asian Chicken Breast (served with Asian Slaw and Forbidden Rice Salad).
Todd English's signature creations will include a variety of fresh sandwiches, salads and light bites. Items being considered include: smoked salmon and egg salad croissant; roast beef steak cobb sandwich; chicken and avocado wrap; beet, walnut, manchego and spinach salad; and Olives' hummus, based on the recipe from English's restaurant of the same name.
The new onboard enhancements complement options available in Delta's terminal at New York JFK, including Balducci's Food Lover's Market, Todd English's Bonfire Steakhouse, Todd English's Bonfire Bar, The French Meadow Bakery & Cafe, Starbucks Coffee, Legends Sports Bar and a host of retailers.
Chef Michelle Bernstein designs domestic transcontinental First Class menus
Delta's BusinessElite celebrity Chef Michelle Bernstein, who has created the airline's menus for international business-class customers since 2006, is extending her culinary creations to Delta's domestic First Class customers as part of the airline's onboard enhancements. Starting Sept. 13, First Class customers flying between JFK and Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle will enjoy an upgraded dining experience featuring:
* A choice of two of six new Bernstein creations, such as short ribs in a red wine sauce with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and a zucchini/squash medley or fettuccine in a Porcini Mushroom sauce with sauteed mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes Julienne topped with parmesan cheese; * Hot fudge and caramel ice cream sundaes; and * Delta-exclusive pre-landing indulgences from the Godiva Chocoiste Collection, a new line of personal chocolates coming later in September.
Additionally starting this fall, domestic First Class once again becomes high class with customers on all flights enjoying pillows, glassware and metal cutlery, as well as Earth-friendly amenity kits -- made predominantly of all-natural, recycled/recyclable and biodegradable materials -- that include eye shade, ear plugs, a toothbrush, toothpaste and Lather body lotion.
Refreshed Michelle Bernstein menus in BusinessElite
Bernstein has refreshed her international BusinessElite menu for the next year with new entrees and side dishes available on flights between the United States and Africa, Asia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Europe, and the Middle East. Specialty entrees available during the following months include:
August, November, February and May
* Departing the United States: Braised beef short ribs served with beef sauce, mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts * Returning to the United States: Seared filet of beef with sauce au poivre, served with macaroni & cheese and sauteed spinach
September, December, March and June
* Departing the United States: Grilled chicken breast "Ras el Hanout" topped with yogurt sauce, served with pearl couscous with leeks & olives and sauteed zucchini * Returning to the United States: Pan seared flounder with grapes and capers, served with cauliflower puree and sauteed spinach
October, January, April and July
* Departing the United States: Grilled filet of beef & shrimp scampi, served with lemon risotto, sauteed zucchini and squash * Returning to the United States: Lamb chops with pomegranate glaze, served with rice pilaf with cherries, green beans and pearl onions
The Big Apple, Amarulla Wake-Up, and Caipirosca signature cocktails shake things up
Delta customers can toast to their travels with new creations from Midnight Sky -- the signature cocktail program created exclusively for Delta by nightlife proprietor Rande Gerber. Delta's signature cocktails are offered on board all domestic and international Delta mainline flights, select Delta Connection(r) carrier flights, and in the airline's Crown Room Clubs(r) and BusinessElite lounges. This fall, customers can choose from three signature cocktails, personally mixed by Delta flight attendants who have been specially trained by mixologists from the Gerber Group. Beginning in September, customers can choose:
* The popular "Big Apple" -- Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Stirrings Apple Martini mix and Cran-Apple Juice; * The new "Amarulla Wake-Up" -- Amarulla, served with coffee * The new "Caipirosca" -- Finlandia Vodka, served with Stirrings Caipirosca mix
The signature cocktails are available at no cost to Delta customers traveling in domestic First Class and BusinessElite, as well as in Crown Room Clubs(r) and BusinessElite lounges. International Coach Class customers will receive one complimentary signature cocktail, beer or wine selection during the main in-flight meal service. In addition, international and domestic coach-class customers can purchase signature cocktails for $5 each.
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) offers customers service to more destinations than any global airline with Delta and Delta Connection carrier service to 311 destinations in 52 countries. With more than 60 new international routes added in the last year, Delta is adding international flights at a faster rate than any other major U.S. airline and is a leader across the Atlantic with flights to 32 trans-Atlantic destinations. To Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta offers more than 600 weekly flights to 58 destinations. Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on nearly 15,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Including its SkyTeam and worldwide codeshare partners, Delta offers flights to 462 worldwide destinations in 98 countries. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.
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Todd English
Todd English is a celebrity chef, restaurateur, author, entrepreneur, and television star based in Boston, Massachusetts. He is currently the chef and owner of Olives in Charlestown, Massachusetts. In recent years, English has established Olives as one of the most prestigious names in the nation by opening other locations around the world: Olives New York in the W Hotel in Union Square, Olives Las Vegas at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Olives DC in the heart of Washington, DC, Olives Aspen at the St. Regis Hotel in Aspen, Colorado, and Olives Tokyo which opened in the spring of 2003 in the new Roppongi Hills development.
Todd has just been named to the James Beard Foundation's "Who's Who in Food and Beverage in America." English's television credits include his public television series, Cooking with Todd English, produced by Connecticut Public Television. He also now stars in Food Trip with Todd English, a half-hour program produced by WGBH that debuted in January 2007. On Food Trip, Todd travels to domestic and international locations (Tokyo, Nantucket, New York City, Boston, Phoenix, and Tucson) to explore different regional dishes and culinary traditions. At the end of each show he returns to his home kitchen at Olives in Boston to create a dish inspired by the ingredients and cuisine of each locale he has visited. Todd has authored the critically acclaimed cookbooks, The Olives Table, and The Figs Table and The Olives Dessert Table published by Simon & Schuster.
Chef Michelle Bernstein
One of the country's most prominent female chefs, Chef Michelle Bernstein is former chef of Azul at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Miami, the hotel's 120-seat signature restaurant. Azul was bestowed with the coveted AAA Five Diamond Award for 2003 & 2004, making it the only restaurant in Miami with this prestigious honor of culinary excellence. Under Chef Bernstein's helm, Esquire named Azul "Best Restaurant of the Year" in its 20th annual survey of the nation's best new restaurants and Bernstein's foie gras with chocolate mole was rated on of the five best dishes in the world by Vanity Fair.
Chef Bernstein trained with world renowned chef Jean Louis Palladin at the Watergate in Washington D.C. and honed her skills at Alison on Dominick and Le Bernardin in New York.
At her signature restaurant Michy's, in the new upper east side of Miami, Bernstein presents her unique version of luxurious comfort food that showcases her careful selection of only the finest and freshest ingredients, the whole menu being done in half and full portions.
Bernstein was a co-host of The Food Network's Melting Pot, a show that presented the traditions, stories and recipes of her Latin background. She also made a recent appearance on Iron Chef America where her team battled Bobby Flay and took home the winning title. Bernstein was named one of the Southeast's top chefs by Esquire, Food and Wine and Bon Appetite and also was nominated for the James Beard Award for best chef. Chef Bernstein is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University from which she holds an honorary doctorate.
Rande Gerber
Rande Gerber along with his brother Scott, are the founders and operators of The Gerber Group. The company, an evolution of their trademark brand, The Whiskey, was created to develop innovative nightlife, hotel, restaurant and lifestyle concepts. Rande Gerber founded The Whiskey nearly 15 years ago, and he has since become the most influential nightlife proprietor in the country. His extraordinary success with The Whiskey Bars has established Gerber as the pre-eminent tastemaker, with an uncanny ability to create chic, seductive bars with modern glamour that reflect the times and national moods. Since then, the Gerber's have expanded their nightlife brand and vision, developing hotel bars, lounges and restaurants with Ian Schrager, W Hotels, Hard Rock Hotels & Resorts, Sofitel and ME by Melia. The Gerber's have partnered with famed Modern Mexican Chef Richard Sandoval, to develop culinary destinations in Cancun, Chicago and Scottsdale.
The Gerber's latest locations are STONE ROSE Lounge at the recently renovated Sofitel Los Angeles, MIDNIGHT ROSE, a restaurant and lounge and THE PENTHOUSE, a roof top bar, in the historic Hotel Reina Victoria now ME Madrid, THE BEACHHOUSE, a modern Mexican restaurant, and ROSE BAR at ME Cancun, a luxury resort in Cancun, Mexico and a partnership with Maxim Magazine to develop Maxim Lounges the first of which opened at ME Cancun. For additional information, visit www.gerberbars.com
(1)Menu items will be subject to change and subject to availability.
Photos are also available via AP PhotoExpress.
