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
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