Passengers checking in or transiting through Paris CDG might notice something different. As ambassadors of ‘French lifestyle and superior savoir-faire’, Air France and the Palace of Versailles share many values and help to promote France’s influence throughout the world.
As a result, they have created a unique partnership to create and offer Air France’s La Première customers an immersive and refined culinary experience, before their trip in the airline’s most exclusive travel cabin.
There is an air of exclusivity and elegance. Boxed orange trees, belonging to the Palace of Versailles botanical collection, are on display in the entrance to the vestibule of the Air France lounge surrounding a décor representing the green ornamental patterns of French landscaped gardens.
Customers can then enjoy a unique, refined culinary experience at lunch or teatime, inspired by the Ducasse restaurant at the Palace of Versailles.During lunch, Air France’s La Première lounge Chef Teddy Merienne invites customers to discover one of the exceptional dishes created for the exclusive dinner parties staged at the Palace of Versailles by the Ducasse restaurant – Turbot with tender Swiss chard.
But the real winner is served at tea time. La Première customers can enjoy “Les Délices de Marie-Antoinette” comprising a marble cake, chocolate chip brioche and a Louis XIV, the signature dessert of the Ducasse restaurant at the Palace of Versailles.
These are all served with a coffee or hot chocolate, which was the custom of the queen. For the occasion, all the dishes are exceptionally served on tableware from the Ancient Royal Manufacture of Limoges, in identical reproductions by Maison Bernardaud and also used at the Ducasse restaurant in the Palace of Versailles.
La Première lounge customers will be able to enhance their experience by perusing Alain Ducasse’s Cuisine de Roi à Versailles cookbook and co-publications offered by the Palace of Versailles in the La Première lounge’s fine art book selection.
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For knowing Air France’s First class clientele as much as I do, I doubt that this ‘’Versailles kitsch’’ concept is compatible with the traditional elegant sobriety, sophistication and refinement the airline has been known for since its highly influential Golden Parisian / Parisien Spécial product, proudly launched in the mid-fifties aboard Lockheed Constellations (between Paris – Orly and New York – Idlewild), that had set the (highest) standards, throughout the industry, in luxurious cabin environment, passengers’ comfort and amenities while positioning strongly their First class product’s brand and reputation in sight of their Tourist class service implementation, introduced in 1952, with a fair share of reluctance. Very concerned by the decrease of their First and Premium Business class market share, nowadays, to the profit of Emirates and Asian airlines, Air France’s efforts to keep its head up is obviously lacking efficient creativeness and leading yet innovative edge. Maybe it is time for them to go back to their roots.