Hawaiian Airlines prides itself on being the airline of Hawaii. The airline prides itself on providing local hospitality wherever it flies. Part of this philosophy, according to CEO Mark Dunkerley, is catering. Food is an important part of local culture, which is why the airline always continued to offer complimentary meals in all classes of service. But in recent years, Hawaiian has made strides to give its catering a sense of place. And now the airline is expanding this philosophy on one of its international routes, as Hawaiian Air partners with Korean Celebrity Chef Chang-Wook Chung.
Chef Chung is based out of Bistro Chaugi in Seoul, South Korea. He’s said to be an expert in Japanese and French Cuisine, but will be Pan Asian and island-style food for Hawaiian. Chef Chung’s menus will be available in all cabins on flights from Seoul to Honolulu only. So far, Pacific Business Reports that Business Class passengers will enjoy dishes like braised Korean kalbi (short ribs) with radish, miso soup, brown rice, kimchi and pickled radishes. Extra Comfort passengers will enjoy dishes like steamed beef with burdock and thin konjac, white rice, celery and pineapple salad, and a Honolulu Cookie Co macadamia nut cookie. No sample menu was offered for economy class passengers. Menus will be rotated every 6 months and adjusted to account for seasonal availability.
Currently, Hawaiian is running a special program featuring menus from a few local celebrity chefs. The program began earlier this year and will end in late 2017. The current featured chef is Andrew Le of my beloved The Pig and the Lady in Honolulu. Menus from these chefs are only available on routes out of Honolulu to the U.S. Mainland, and only in Business Class. Menus for all other routes and classes of service continue to be overseen by Hawaiian Air’s corporate executive chef, Chai Chaowasaree.
On my last flight with Hawaiian to the U.S. Mainland, I enjoyed the quality of my meal in economy. The flavors were vibrant and fresh, but the serving size was tiny. So my hope is that their meals in all cabins retain their existing quality, and ideally, become more substantial.