JetBlue debuts spring menu for Mint premium cabin
NEW YORK -- JetBlue's new premium Mint transcontinental service will showcase flavors of the destinations it serves this spring. The business class experience offered on flights between JFK and both Los Angeles and San Francisco will boast California wines and a variety of tastes from New York, where the airline is based.
Chef Brad Farmerie of New York's Saxon + Parole restaurant spent two years crafting the dishes that will be offered on a tapas-style menu. Guests will choose three out of five options.
At a preview tasting for the press this week, a sample menu included courgette and feta frittata, green goddess salad, roasted Atlantic cod, a black Angus burger, and ricotta gnudi. The menu is a balance between the restaurant's signature dishes and new creations, Farmerie says.
The meal kicked off with truffled portobello mushroom mousse -- one of Farmerie's trademarks -- and concluded with Blue Marble Ice Cream from Brooklyn, N.Y. In addition, Brooklyn Roasting Company's coffee and espresso is featured onboard. And don't forget the first purposely-built cappuccino machine on a U.S. airline. Fliers also take home pastries from New York's Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery.
Five California wines were selected for the menu, including what JetBlue says is the first rosé to find a spot in the lineup of a U.S. domestic airline. Wine expert Jon Bonne says he chose small-batch, under-the-radar wineries from California's Mendocino and Anderson Valley regions. Among the options: Roederer Estate Brut, Lioco Indica Rose, Copain Tous Ensemble Chardonnay, Broc Cellars Eaglepoint Ranch Conoise, and Turley Juvenile Zinfandel. The latter has been especially popular on JetBlue's flights, Bonne says.
"The profiles of the wines are all distinctive but not on the fringe," he says. "JetBlue's commitment to really top quality wine is unlike any that I've seen of a domestic airline. The rosé is a completely new and novel offering, and JetBlue is absolutely up for rolling the dice."
Jamie Perry, director of product development, says the airline tries to "balance keeping it fresh with what people know they like." The Mint menu line rotates quarterly, roughly along with the seasons.
JetBlue's Mint wine list includes detailed tasting notes from Bonne. The food menu includes a "gastro glossary" for less common terms used in the menu. Among those explained in the glossary is "Anglaise," or a light pouring custard.
Chef Farmerie, who also helms Public in New York and The Thomas in Napa, Calif., promises "great ingredients you won't find on the competition." He's excited to feature spices from Lior lev Sercarz, owner of New York's La Boit. Farmerie also touted Pat LaFrieda's special 28-day dry-aged beef, which he described as "arguably the best beef in America.
"[Sercarz'] spices really make up for the loss of senses at 30,000 feet," says Farmerie, who adds the sourcing "goes above and beyond expectations -- to not only offer a burger but to really think about every element and make sure that it has amazing depth of flavor makes for a memorable in-flight meal."
"We're also lucky to use and support the same purveyors that we have at the restaurants, with relationships that we have built over the years ensuring that the quality will be top notch every time."