Since its founding in 1933, Air France has been thorough in bringing the country’s synonymy with elegance and style to the skies. The company has seen renowned designers craft the airline’s interiors – Charlotte Perriand, Andrée Putman and Jean Prouvé among them – as well as sleek cabin crew uniforms designed by Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga and Christian Dior in the 1960s, and by Nina Ricci, Christian Lacroix and Olivier Rousteing in more recent years. Meanwhile, its in-flight menu is crafted by a roster of esteemed chefs including Jean-Charles Brédas, Jérôme Banctel, Nina Metayer, Olivier Perret and Jofrane Dailly.
Now, Air France has partnered with chef-mixologist Matthias Giroud to design a new collection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, served exclusively in its La Première cabin and inspired by the company’s core values: ‘elegance, pleasure and respect’.
Air France's new signature cocktail collection by Matthias Giroud
To capture such intangibles and package them up into a signature cocktail is not an easy feat. Having started his career at the age of 16, in Toulouse, at the Papagayo bar, Giroud went on to develop numerous bar concepts around the globe, including co-founding L’Alchimiste Group in 2019. His cocktail creations are inspired by his travels, and in his workshop, he keeps a collection of over 150 flavours, including herbs, flowers, and peppers from around the world.
When creating the collection of three new Air France cocktails, Giroud started by focusing on French ingredients to deliver authentic flavours that tightrope between familiarity and modernity.
‘Belle Époque’ is a bitter and zesty alcoholic cocktail, a reinterpretation of the negroni with orange hydrosol; ‘Parfum de France’ is a sweet and fruity low-alcohol cocktail, inspired by the world of wine and featuring raspberry liqueur and a hint of verbena; and ‘L’Éveil’ is a tangy and spicy alcohol-free cocktail, made from cranberry juice infused with mint, lime juice, aromatic leaf bouquet and ginger.
The collection is presented to La Première guests in a custom-made box, and glasses designed to enhance the taste.
Alongside the new tipples, La Première offers an onboard dining menu crafted by triple Michelin-starred chef Arnaud Lallement and World Pastry Chef and Meilleur Ouvrier de France, Angelo Musa. The marriage of French mixology and gastronomy is a perfect distraction to speed up any long-haul flight.
La Première is available on departure from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Abidjan, Dubai, Los Angeles, Miami, New York-JFK, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo-Haneda and Washington-DC. airfrance.co.uk
-
Steve Martin wants you to visit The Frick CollectionThe actor has appeared in a video promoting New York’s newly renovated art museum
-
A modern cabin in Minnesota serves as a contemporary creative retreat from the citySnow Kreilich Architects' modern cabin and studio for an artist on a lakeside plot in Minnesota was designed to spark creativity and provide a refuge from the rat race
-
You can now stay in designer Gustaf Westman’s whimsical, postmodern homeThe cult designer has listed his Stockholm apartment on home-swapping app Kindred, offering a rare opportunity to live – quite literally – within Westman’s creative vision
-
Discover Philippe Starck’s most surreal hotel yetAt Maison Heler Metz, brutalism meets bedtime story, with a 19th-century home perched on a concrete tower and a fictional host guiding the way
-
Locke unveils its most theatrical aparthotel yet in ParisDesign studio Fettle creates a layered and light-filled escape for the hospitality brand’s first Paris outpost, Le Jardin de Verre by Locke
-
The most stylish hotel takeovers to pop up at this summerFrom Capri to Ibiza, luxury fashion brands are taking over seaside resorts with exclusive boutique pop-ups and bespoke poolside accessories
-
Tour Eurostar’s sleek new lounges in Paris and BrusselsLondon-based Chris Bagot Architects has designed a stylish environment in which to work or unwind prior to high-speed rail travel
-
Taste a Louis Vuitton summer in sun-drenched Saint-TropezThe Arnaud Donckele & Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton restaurant returns to the White 1921 Saint-Tropez hotel for its third edition, now with a Michelin star
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Experimental Marais: a lush homecoming for the hospitality forceExperimental Group returns to its Parisian roots, where it opened its founding bar, to launch its first-ever flagship hotel, designed by Tristan Auer
-
Bon appétit! These are the best restaurants in ParisExperience haute cuisine at the best restaurants Paris has to offer, from a vegetable-centric menu at Arpège to alchemical cuisine at Plénitude
-
Fancy a matcha-beer cocktail? Visit this dashing new LA restaurantCafé 2001 channels the spirit of an American diner with the flow of a European bistro and the artistry of Japanese cuisine
