Canadian-Based Culinary Star Goes Global as Lufthansa's Newest ‘Star Chef'

This November and December marks the first time a Canadian-based culinary master will join the long list of luminaries who have created menus for Lufthansa's award-winning Star Chefs program. Toronto's celebrated Susur Lee, who will open his first New York City eatery, Shang, at the Thompson LES Hotel later this year, will go global, literally, with Lufthansa, preparing menus for premium passengers traveling from Germany to the airline's nearly 200 destinations worldwide.

The full First-Class menu will feature such starters as poached lobster with yuzu mustard dressing and pickled ginger, among other choices; a salad of frisee, radicchio and lamb's lettuce with bell pepper, cucumber and mushrooms with orange mustard or macadamia dressing; a selection of entrees that include roast goose with red cabbage, potato dumplings and herb crumb butter; a cheese plate; and, a choice of desserts, including a Southeast Asian pudding of black rice with pineapple and coconut.

First-class passengers also may select from Chef Lee's Express Menu, which features fewer courses, including entrees of king prawns with noodle salad and smoked tuna with wasabi mayonnaise and barley vegetable, or, spiced slow-braised beef cheeks with leek and potato puree; a cheese plate; and, fresh fruit.

Chef Lee's full Business Class menu will include a choice of starters, such as jerk chicken roulade with yogurt sauce and ginger mango chutney; lamb's lettuce salad with croutons and potato dressing; a selection of entrees, including fried polenta with spinach, tomato coulis and green olives; a cheese plate; and, a choice of desserts, such as chocolate espresso pavé with cilantro and strawberry coulis.

World Master Sommelier Markus del Monego, head of Lufthansa's Vinothek Discoveries wine program, has traveled the world to select the best vintages to pair with Chef Lee's dishes. Complete menu listings are available upon request.

The Hong Kong-born Lee began establishing his distinctive style as a 15-year-old apprentice in the city's prestigious Peninsula Hotel. Even as a young chef, he pushed the boundaries of time-honored, regional Chinese cooking styles. After traveling and working in Europe and Morocco, he garnered classical French training and exposure to new ingredients, both of which he blended with complex Chinese culinary methods.

Chef Lee arrived in Toronto in 1978, and cooked in numerous establishments, such as the Westbury Hotel and Le Trou Norman. In 1987, he opened his first restaurant, Lotus, to critical acclaim, introducing an artful fusion menu to the then-emerging local food scene. Though a success after 10 years, Chef Lee closed Lotus and returned to Asia for new inspiration. He spent three years as head chef for Singapore's exclusive Club Chinoise and consulted for the Tung Lok Group, overseeing menu redevelopment for 17 restaurants. In 2000, he returned to Toronto to open his next celebrated restaurant, Susur, followed by the more informal eatery, Lee, in 2004. This summer, he opened Madeline's in the former Susur space, offering food devotees an inventive contemporary European/North American menu.

U.S. food aficionados watched Chef Lee compete against – and tie – Bobby Flay on The Food Network's Iron Chef in 2006. Among his many accolades, Chef Lee has been named to Food & Wine's list of "The Hottest Chefs Alive."

About Lufthansa
Lufthansa's award-winning food and wine program, Star Chefs, was created in 2000 and pairs the airline with renowned star chefs from around the world. To date, such international celebrities as Harald Wohlfahrt (Baiersbronn), Dieter Müller (Bergisch Gladbach), Frank Zlomke (Paarl, South Africa), Daniel Boulud (New York), Paul Bocuse (Lyon) and David Bouley (New York) have been engaged as Lufthansa "Star Chefs". For the past three years, internationally renowned chefs have also created special menus on long-haul routes from Germany that reflect the culinary tastes and traditions of the respective destination.

One of the world's largest airlines, Lufthansa flies to 194 destinations in 79 countries, including 22 North American gateways. Lufthansa has hubs in Munich, Frankfurt, and, with its 2005 acquisition of SWISS into its portfolio, Zurich. Together with its partners, Lufthansa serves 416 destinations in approximately 100 countries. An industry innovator, Lufthansa has long been committed to environment protection and sustainability, operating the most technically-advanced and fuel-efficient fleet in the world. Lufthansa will be the largest European operator of the Airbus A380 and the launch customer for the new Boeing 747-8, the industries' two most fuel-efficient passenger aircraft.

For more information or reservations, visit www.lufthansa.com

October 6, 2008   Posted in: Airlines & Railways