Chefs from three The Peninsula properties will create menus for the Airline's Connoisseurs on Board, food and wine program. This unprecedented year-long collaboration will begin in November 2006 with First and Business Class menus from each chef featured on a two-month rotating basis on-board flights from Lufthansa's 16 U.S. gateways.

"Since 2000 Lufthansa has featured menus from more than 50 renowned chefs, but our collaboration with The Peninsula Hotels is unlike any other Connoisseurs on Board partnership," noted Marcus Casey, Director of Marketing & Customer Relations, The Americas for Lufthansa. "Dining at a Peninsula property is always memorable and our passengers will delight in experiencing the three distinct styles of these highly regarded culinary aficionados."

Executive Chef Gordon Maybury, The Peninsula New York
Chef Gordon Maybury of The Peninsula New York will launch the program with dishes inspired by his famed "Fives" restaurant menu. During November and December, passengers will indulge in Chef Maybury's fresh and healthy cuisine. The First Class menu's three appetizer selections is a pistachio dusted shrimp with sweet pea tarragon flan. There are three main courses including vanilla thyme roasted halibut with baby bok choy and fondant potato, and two desserts options, including wild berry charlotte in its own consommé with sweet cream.

The Business Class menu includes a shrimp appetizer as well as a smoked duck breast with sweet corn flan in cherry vinaigrette. The three main courses include grilled Atlantic salmon with celeriac puree and sweet pea-fava bean jus. Dessert includes apple raisin bread pudding with sweet cream and a selection of international cheeses. New First and Business Class menus from Chef Maybury will be featured again in May and June 2007 and will be unveiled at that time.

Executive Chef Terry Crandall, The Peninsula Chicago
During January and February and again in July and August 2007, passengers will savor inspired dishes from The Peninsula Chicago's four award-winning restaurants, under the helm of Executive Chef Terry Crandall. Among the featured selections will include cuisine from "Avenues," named as 'Restaurant of the Year 2005' by Chicago Sun Times; and the delicate Shanghainese and Cantonese cuisine of "Shanghai Terrace," named as one of the Top 100 Asian restaurants in the U.S. by Food & Wine.

Executive Chef Sean Hardy, The Peninsula Beverly Hills
Executive Chef Sean Hardy of The Peninsula Beverly Hills rounds out this esteemed line-up of Star Chefs. "The Belvedere", Southern California's only AAA Five Diamond restaurant for eleven consecutive years has recently been voted "Best Hotel Restaurant in the Continental U.S. and Canada" by Travel + Leisure readers. Chef Hardy's modern American cuisine will be featured in the months of March, April, September and October 2007.

Each Peninsula Chef is also integrating a "Naturally Peninsula" dish which will be showcased on a take-away recipe card within the menu. Naturally Peninsula, just one aspect of Peninsula Wellness – a lifestyle program designed to rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit, has been devised to offer light and healthy dining options without a compromise on taste. Naturally Peninsula offerings will soon be available at Peninsula dining establishments around the world.

"The Peninsula Hotels has partnered with Lufthansa to continue what both brands do best, which is to provide exceptional experiences for the discerning traveler, "says Dianna Balabon, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, The Americas and Europe for The Peninsula Hotels. "The on-board menu offerings created by our Peninsula Chefs truly reflect the spirit and individuality of our North American properties."

While many airlines claim celebrity chefs as in-flight food consultants, Lufthansa has a dedicated department of culinary experts to develop the Airline's premium food and wine menus. A master chef from LSG Sky Chefs, Lufthansa's in-flight catering arm, collaborates for months with the featured Star Chef to transform his or her signature dishes for premium on-board fare.

Lufthansa's previously featured Star Chefs include Paul Bocuse of Lyon, Chef Gabriel Kreuther of the Museum of Modern Art's restaurant The Modern, and Frank Zlomke of Paarl, South Africa.

Fine wine selections
No gourmet menu is complete without a choice wine, which led Lufthansa to develop "Vinothek Discoveries," the wine and spirits component of Connoisseurs On Board. The airline's own sommelier, Markus Del Monego, is the first person ever to simultaneously hold the coveted titles of Sommelier World Champion and Master of Wine. He selects wines from around the globe to complement the participating Star Chef's menu. Wines that will accompany Chef Maybury's menu include 2001 Chateau Marquis de Terme, France; 2001 Redbrook Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Evans & Tate, Australia; 2000 Seña, Mondavi- Errazuriz, Chile (Special); 2005 Iphöfer Silvaner Spätlese trocken, Hans Wirsching, Germany; 2004 Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay, Grand Reserve, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Villa Mount Eden, USA; 2005 Obere Steigen Grüner Veltliner, Traisental, Weingut Huber, Austria; Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Jg. 97 France; and Pieper Heidsieck Rare, France.