Finnair is celebrating its centenary with a special inflight menu called Finnair 100, available in business class cabins on long-haul flights departing from Helsinki until January 23, 2024.
The menu is inspired by Nordic classics and takes passengers on a culinary journey through Finnair’s history, representing different time periods and decades.
Customers in business class can pre-select their main course from the Finnair 100 menu, which features traditional dishes with modernized recipes. For example, choices inspired by the 1960s and 1970s include reindeer meatballs with mashed potatoes and mustard, as well as beef chuck roll with potato gratin, chorizo rage, and blackcurrant sauce. Appetizers drawing inspiration from the 1980s and 1990s include roasted beetroot with beetroot purée, beetroot mousse, and goat’s cheese cream, or a wasabi salmon roll with apricot miso and seaweed caviar.
To complement the dishes, Finnair has curated new red and white wines named ‘Destination North’ and ‘100,000 islands,’ respectively. The wines, selected by international expert and wine consultant Ken Chase, are accompanied by labels based on Finnair’s original posters from the 1950s and 1960s, designed by Erik Bruun.
In the upcoming weeks, passengers traveling in premium economy and economy classes will also be served a variety of centenary dishes. Finnair takes pride in these reinvented classics, which combine familiar flavours with a modern twist. Juha Stenholm, the head of Product Development at Finnair Kitchen, said the airline’s decisions to deliver contemporary cuisine that honours Finnair’s 100 years of excellence, meant “passengers can join us on this culinary journey where the past meets the present.”
Lauri Ahonen, Finnair Concept & Category Manager, said the challenge of finding the perfect wines for Finnair flights, especially during their centenary led to Finnair’s partnership with Ken Chase to carefully select wines “that will tantalise passengers’ taste buds and provide a unique onboard experience.”
Ken Chase, the International Wine Consultant, said the criteria used in selecting the wines, “included seduction, structure, and overall balance. Each wine had to have an enticing aroma, a rich mid-palate, and an all-encompassing sensation that leaves passengers feeling satisfied after enjoying a glass.”
