Traditional Austrian cuisine on Lufthansa flights

Cooking is a "splendid way of encountering diverse cultures for mutual enrichment", says Thomas Walkensteiner, the innovative Austrian gourmet chef. Mr Walkensteiner will be treating first and business-class passengers on long-haul flights from Germany to his exquisite creations as the new Lufthansa star chef during the Salzburg Festival in July and August.

As starters on the cabin menu, rabbit terrine in layered Baumkuchen cake will be served with pickled shallots and carrot mayonnaise or goat cheese pralines with beetroot and walnut dressing.

The choice of main course runs from wels in horse radish with pumpkin seed oil cream, root vegetables and Paris potatoes to guinea fowl in basil sauce with broccoli, sugared cocktail tomatoes and herb-flavoured gnocchi. As a delicious finale, passengers will enjoy a dessert of shredded Austrian pancake with roast plums or Schloss Fuschl gateau.

In-flight fare in business class starts off with mushroom aromatised roast beef with chive crème fraîche and bean salad or a main course of spinach bread dumplings with broccoli, oyster and eryngii mushrooms.

Also, first and business-class passengers on flights from Tokyo can look forward to culinary creations from Stefan Moerth, executive chef of the Park Hyatt Hotel Tokyo, and his kitchen chef lieutenant Kenichiro Ooe.

In addition, first and business-class passengers on flights from India to Germany will be savouring in-flight food from the culinary repertoire of Farman Ali and Surender Mohan. Both chefs work in restaurants run by the Indian Leela Group luxury hotel chain.