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Dream ticket

Luxury brands have a habit of relentlessly pursuing perfection. This was recently demonstrated by the tie-in between British business class-only airline, Silverjet, and restaurant legend, Le Caprice.

While inflight meals have now progressed from being the aeronautical equivalent of school dinners there’s still room for improvement, especially for premium passengers paying premium prices. It was an issue that vexed Silverjet, an airline which in its debut year has revolutionised business travel - a private haven of a terminal at Luton Airport , arrival just 30 minutes pre-flight to be ushered through security, flat beds and comprehensive on-board entertainment systems for all passengers.

With all these business service boxes ticked, restless Silverjet CEO, Lawrence Hunt, applied his scrutiny to one area. “It was while having yet another faultless lunch at Le Caprice that I realised what we had to aspire to,” says Hunt. “So we asked them if they could help us get there.”

They did. Jesus Adorno, director of Caprice Holdings (the corporate umbrella which includes the Mayfair, the Ivy and J Sheekey) shared Hunt’s aspirations. “I’ve always wanted to work with an airline because I feel so frustrated about the food when I travel,” says Adorno.

The result is a new on-board menu designed and developed by Le Caprice. Working closely with Silverjet staff, the culinary partnership has created a selection of dishes on its exclusively business flights between London and New York.

Silverjet's Lawrence Hunt weighs up the issues

Signature dishes include salmon fishcakes, chargrilled squid with red peppers, Caesar salad and elderflower jelly with summer fruits. Le Caprice has also worked with Silverjet’s crew training programme to further develop their restaurant style service on board.

Naturally, discerning diners need the right wine to accompany their dishes and they can now raise their glasses to the appointment of Liam Stevenson, one of the youngest of only 255 Masters of Wine Worldwide. He continues his family’s three-generation pedigree in the wine industry and his passion for quality wine from independent producers across the globe is reflected throughout his choices.

“When you fly your palate is affected by dehydration, low humidity and the effects of altitude,” explains Stevenson. “What you’d normally choose on the ground won’t have the same taste at 30,000 feet. Wines become less fruity so it was important to source wines that remain full of flavour at altitude. I like wines with personality, that reflect where they come from and that exceed expectations.”

Commenting on the airborne liaison, Des McDonald, MD of Caprice Holdings said, “We are pleased to announce this partnership with Silverjet. We were very impressed with their dedicated private terminal and onboard service and are confident their customers will enjoy the dishes that we have developed.”