FOCUS ON Alpha LSG’s Premium Kitchen Food fashion show
Alpha LSG’s premium kitchen and its Culinary Academy are bringing glamour to onboard catering with Food Fashion Shows. Julie Baxter watched their latest creations shimmy down the catwalk
T
hink fashion and you probably think high heels and extravagant dresses, size zero models and designer style.
Think again. Alpha LSG’s premium kitchen director, Marc Warde, and his Culinary Academy colleagues are now bringing the fashion show concept to an onboard service near you. Warde explains: “If you say you work
in airline catering, people are generally dismissive, but there really is so much more to it than they realise. Our Food Fashion Show concept sets out our stall as a culinary innovator with people front and centre of our organisation. It provides us with the opportunity to change perceptions and showcase our skill and innovation, taking into account popular trends, local cultures and food philosophy. We are researching all the time for ideas, food trends and our own innovations that really make a difference to our customers and their passengers.” The launch follows the company’s £10m
investment in a state-of-the-art kitchen at Heathrow and the recruitment of Warde and chef Paul Mason to head up food and development for the UK. Warde adds: “We are looking at new opportunities in all sectors, not just airlines, to enhance our culinary credentials. We have also forged new relationships with the Craft Guild of
Chefs, the prestigious chefs’ association, and Westminster Kingsway, the UK’s premier catering college."
The Food Fashion Show – an actual
event backed by a website – showcases what’s on trend worldwide and what could be used in a practical way by the company’s airline partners. Warde says: “The team is looking 6-12 months ahead to bring these products to market with new twists on traditional foods. We also use the forum to introduce some of our new and emerging brands." The first show, in May, showcased cho cho puffs, a Japanese cream puff, and a patisserie brand, L’amore Sucre. The collection was inspired by researching food trends across the world, drawing on food fashion, what tastes and looks good, and what would be practical and seasonal to serve. Warde says: “We can customise any of our
show ideas to suit our clients' needs. The idea is to create a forum for foodies and allow our chefs to develop new collections." He is confident his innovative team can
raise the onboard game and says: “The restrictions onboard are mainly to do
with the transport (movement) and the cooking/reheating of the food by cabin crew, who with the greatest respect might not be natural cooks. We want to make our food onboard look as good as possible so are working on kits/cooking and plating directions that make it even simpler for cabin crew to put together and present to customers – making the food look fantastic, the way it was intended by the chef. So within those restrictions we really can be as creative as we like. “Airlines need to be in touch with their passengers – and the high street, farmers' markets and street food the world over is our competition. We want to showcase our world kitchen to them.”
Pictured: Seema Malhotra MP with Paul Mason, head of the Culinary Academy and premium kitchen director Marc Warde
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