Lufthansa has tapped Michelin-starred chef Alexander Herrmann to create a new in-flight children’s menu.
The menu, which includes dishes such as a rice pudding “mouse” (a mouse-shaped composition of creamed rice pudding and raspberries), and “dragon feet” (poultry sausages served with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes), will be available starting July 1 for all children under the age of 12, according to a press release.
During the testing phase, the chef presented around 40 dishes to an international panel of taste-testers — all of them kids.
The children, aged 4 to 9, voted for their favorite dishes and the winners were incorporated into the menu.
“We just want children to be happy up there,” Herrmann said in a YouTube video uploaded by Lufthansa. “And that involves good food on board.”
Herrmann, a father of two, believes in teaching children to enjoy quality, healthy food at an early age, the release states.
In order to ensure the meals are part of a balanced diet, only “high-quality fats such as olive oil are used and only in reduced quantities.”
Herrmann and his team spent months experimenting before presenting the dishes to the kids. “The children’s menu isn’t something you create off the cuff,” he said in the video. “You need professionals.”
The chef’s dishes are colorful and playful — an intentional choice by Herrman, who made each dish with children’s preferences in mind. The rice pudding “mouse” has raspberry ears, a cherry nose, and a drizzle of chocolate for a tail; while the “dragon’s feet” has a body of mashed potatoes and sausages for legs.
Working with the kids was an entirely new experience for Herrmann, who said he now has “an even better understanding of children’s likes and desires” when it comes to food.
Herrmann — a German celebrity chef, cookbook author, and restaurateur — has appeared on various German cooking shows. He also owns and operates three restaurants and a cooking school in Wirsberg and Nuremberg, Germany.
https://www.insider.com/lufthansa-michelin-star-chef-kids-menu-2019-7
