todd english

NEW YORK (AP) ― Delta Air Lines is launching a new upscale menu of in-flight meals designed by celebrity chef Todd English.
The menu includes Mediterranean salad with grilled shrimp, roast beef Cobb sandwich, chilled black olive spaghetti salad, cheddar-turkey bacon-apple butter croissants and Nutter Butter sandwiches. Items will sell for $2-$10.

The new meals will be introduced in November. By spring of 2008, they will be available on all flights of approximately 750 miles (about 90 minutes) in the contiguous U.S., serving markets like Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Boston, Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Portland, Ore., and Tampa

Customers will still get free snacks on all Delta flights over 250 miles and on Delta Connection carrier flights.

Delta has also hired Andrea Robinson, a master sommelier, TV host and author, to curate its wine offerings. Her selections debut in Delta's business class in February.

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Delta, based in Atlanta, emerged from bankruptcy protection on April 30.

Other airlines have also brought in well-known chefs in recent years. Air France's wine selections are overseen by Olivier Poussier, named the world's best sommelier in 2000 by an international sommeliers' association, while the French airline's first-class meal menu was designed by a renowned Paris chef, Guy Martin of Le Grand Vefour restaurant.

Jimmy Canora, whose NYC Culinary Events has catered the U.S. Open tennis championships, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Grammy awards, consults for Continental Airlines. On a recent episode of Bravo's Top Chef show, which is sponsored by Continental, Canora helped judge a contest in which the challenge was to cook a meal fit for Continental's first-class passengers.

Delta is offering free samples of the new Todd English menu at a temporary public lounge in Manhattan called SKY360, open through Nov. 10 at 57th Street and Sixth Avenue. The tastings will be offered Wednesdays. The lounge will also showcase Delta's new flat international business class seats, available on flights early next year, and a new on-demand in-flight entertainment system with movies, HBO programs, music and TV.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
One block from Carnegie Hall, four blocks from posh eatery Le Cirque, at the intersection of wealth and style, New York City has a new restaurant.

The menu? Airline food.

But Delta Air Lines says it's like no airline food you're likely to remember.

Yes, that Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines IncDAL
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[DAL 19.28 --- UNCH (0%) ], the one that was flying in bankruptcy for most of the last several years.

"There's a new Delta that has come out in the last few months," airline spokesperson Joan Vincenz tells CNBC, "and we want to get people in to experience it on the ground, so they want to experience it in the air."

"You've really got to talk to people and interact with them face to face. It's not about just ads any more, or advertising or posters. They really want to interact with the product," said Vincenz.

The interaction is taking place for the next five weeks at a public lounge in Manhattan called SKY360, and the upscale menu of in-flight meals is the work of celebrity chef Todd English.

The menu includes Mediterranean salad with grilled shrimp, roast beef Cobb sandwich, chilled black olive spaghetti salad, cheddar-turkey bacon-apple butter croissants and Nutter Butter sandwiches. "We're gonna use organic greens, tomato, cucumber, onion, some feta cheese," English promises.

The meals will be introduced next month, and by next spring, they will be available on all flights of approximately 750 miles in the contiguous United States. Items will sell for between two and ten dollars.

Delta has also hired Andrea Robinson, a master sommelier, TV host and author, to oversee its wine offerings, and nightlife entrepreneur Rande Gerber to create distinctive onboard cocktails. "We have everything with martinis, margaritas, mojitos, about seven or eight different specialty drinks now, and going forward, we'll add more to the collection," Gerber tells CNBC.

Delta is not alone in bringing good taste to the skies. Air France's wine selections are overseen by Olivier Poussier, named the world's best sommelier in 2000, and its first-class meal menu was designed by renowned Paris chef Guy Martin.

Jimmy Canora, whose NYC Culinary Events has catered the U.S. Open, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Grammy awards, consults for Continental Airlines. On a recent episode of Bravo's Top Chef show, which is sponsored by Continental Continental Airlines IncCAL
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We're live blogging this finale (a Margaret and Rachelle tag-team, old-skool style!), with frequent text-message updates from our correspondent in the field, food contributor Laura Oppenheimer, who's at the taping. Do we need to tell you that this post contains spoilers about tonight's Top Chef?

9:02 Dale's first Chicago shout out while riding the gondola. "We're riding up and we get higher and higher and higher. The view just gets more spectacular. I'm a flatlander, we don't see this kind of shit in Chicago"

9:08 Rocco?! Michelle Bernstein? Todd English? We think Dale lucked out.

9:10 Ugh, Marcel.

9:12 Laura in the field texts "We're all clapping like crazy every time Padma is on. Everyone is checking [the] Cubs score during the commercial."

9:15 It must be weird for the famous chefs to be listening to these guys. Rocco and Hung leeeeerrrrve tamarind. Hung says Rocco "understands my flavors." We're using that phrase all the time from now on.

9:17 "Pork belly is so tough." So true, Michelle. Casey, get it together!

9:19 Hung and Rocco planning their joint restaurant together. Aww. And Dale has made Todd English his "prep bitch."

9:20 WATER DOESN'T BOIL? Is that true? And didn't they know from the beginning that they'd be in Aspen?

9:21 Rocco's voice cracked. He's still cute. How come Todd English gets black chef..scrubs...? What are chef outfits caled?

9:23 From Laura: "All the other contestants booed [in the studio] when Casey said the weakest chefs would be the sous chefs."

9:26 Another text: "Marcel beams every time they show Hung."

9:27 Dale's menu sounds really good. Anything + bacon = the path to Chicagoist's heart.

9:28 Did Hung say "ocean-scented rice"? Why is he surprised that Chef Tom looks confused?

9:28 Dale's got a potty mouth. By our count this is his 3rd curse word already.

9:30 Howie *is* kind of a "messy cook" in Hung's defense.

9:33 Dale's being weirdly vindictive about his scallops. "Right back atcha."

9:35 Laura: "CJ and crew are very interested in how they look on TV." No worries, CJ, you look smokin' hot.

Want to understand the rest of our flavors?

9:40 We like how they don't even try to make Padma's dubbing seem real anymore.

9:42 First course!

9:41 Hung says "blah blah blah... one thousand ingredients.. and hamachi seasoned with olive oil and a little touch of.... love." You can hear Dale scoff.

9:43 FOAM. No more foam, Hung!

9:44 People love Dale's dish. What were the chef's budgets for this? These dishes are crazy expensive. Pretty sure Casey just served lobster in money sauce.

9:46 Three-star Michelin. Dayum. Aw, man, Dale's sauce is a palate-killer. Does this mean Hung is going to win?

9:49 To the shock of no one, Tom's really psyched about dessert. Except it doesn't blow people away, so, sucks to your assmar, Hung.

9:50 Why must Marcel be sitting spread eagle in the front row?

9:54 Bravo will do anything to make you watch Better Half, including show the cheftestants' audition videos. Apparently Dale's penchant for saying "bitch" is long-standing.

9:55 Judging!! Dale's getting his ass handed to him in a hat...and then they segue into telling him some of his dishes are a "triumph." Hm.

9:57 Laura: "Judges in the house! No Bourdain, just the standard 4. Colicchio just got powdered--just his face, not his head."

9:58 Casey's getting panicked.

9:58 Nasty! Tim Allen leans back and says, "Dale, you are one decadent boy!" Spank!

9:59 Hung time. "When planning the meal of a lifetime....a molten chocolate cake?" Snap, Gail! Snap. Snap.

10:01 The idea that Padma's ever had "a lot to think about" is really staggering.

10:02 C'mon, Dale! Two courses for him, two for Hung. Sorry, Casey.

10:03 Laura: "Screw the Cubs! Root root root for the home cheftestant!" Amen, sister.

10:04 Nail-biting begins in earnest in the Chicagoist offices. Well, living rooms.

10:05 Ugh, are they all in the same outfits from before? Yeech.

10:06 We really wish we could see Laura in the audience. Oh, well.

10:10 Laura: "All three hugged before running on stage. We love when everyone plays nice. But not as much as when they play bitchy."

10:11 Wow, Casey won the text-messaging vote. Sorry, America!

10:12 Dale "cooked [his] heart out this season." He's choked up. Aw, poor Casey knows she lost. But she's funny and gracious about it. Hung's proud to be here.

10:13 Tom Colicchio likes saying "fabulous."

Airline food has been the stuff of jokessince almost the dawn of aviation. But after many years of dulling passengers' appetites, a number of carriers insist they've gotten serious about upgrading the air fare, even in economy.

Following recent menu improvements in business and first class, Delta Air Lines (DAL ) is getting set to roll out cold entrées created for coach by chef Todd English, owner of six Olives restaurants. The initial selections--at $7 to $10, on a par with airport shops--include a roast beef Cobb salad sandwich, grilled shrimp salad, and black olive spaghetti salad. "We are trying to do a range of things that are familiar but push the envelope a bit," says English (right, with olive spaghetti salad). "You can't get too esoteric on a plane."

I tasted all three dishes, which will be available from Nov. 1 on longer domestic flights; my favorite was the roast beef. Then again, English prepared and served them at Olives in New York. Will the bread be as crisp and the ingredients as fresh when they come out of a cooler at 30,000 feet?

English, who took part in an ambitious catering venture for Northwest Airlines (NWA ) in the 1990s, says he and Delta thought long and hard about what foods would hold up well in the air. They'll soon see if customers approve.


AMERICAN
FRONT OF PLANE: A trio of chefs designs international fi rst-class menus that include entrées such as mojito shrimp with pineapple. Business class on Boeing 767s gets similarly enhanced fare.

MAIN CABIN: The buy-onboard service offers $2 to $4 snack options. "Fresh Light Meals" for $5, such as an Asian chicken wrap, are available on U.S., Caribbean, and Mexico flights of three hours or longer.

CONTINENTAL
FRONT OF PLANE: A "Congress of Chefs" highlights international flavors. For the Oct. 1 inaugural flight from New York to Mumbai, gosht pasanda (lamb chops in yogurt-cream sauce) will be served.



MAIN CABIN: It offers a rarity in 21st century domestic fl ying: complimentary coach meals. Sandwiches and salads are prepared by Continental's own division, Chelsea Food Services.

DELTA
FRONT OF PLANE: Miami chef Michelle Bernstein's menu items have been featured in international BusinessElite since August, 2006. She just moved into U.S. first class.

MAIN CABIN: Delta reinstituted a food-for-sale menu in September after offering only snacks since 2003. Todd English's entrées will appear on Nov. 1 for $7 to $10 each.



JETBLUE
FRONT OF PLANE: Passengers get a choice of snacks, including cashews, biscotti, munchies mix, and the carrier's signature Terra Blues potato chips. Wash it down with a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

MAIN CABIN: This is a one-class airline, so everyone gets the same food.

LUFTHANSA
FRONT OF PLANE: "Connoisseurs on Board" appoints renowned chefs to design menus for first and business classes. In October, David Bouley is the featured culinary master for all long-haul flights.



MAIN CABIN: Economy cabin has full complimentary service, with the number of meals depending on the length of the flight. If you don't

MIDWEST
FRONT OF PLANE: Chef Shawn Monroe of Mader's restaurant in Milwaukee helped develop the Best Care Cuisine program in 2005. October's menu includes a hot pulled-pork panini lunch for $10.

MAIN CABIN: This is a one-class airline, so everyone gets the same food.



Menu items are subject to change and may not be available