Finnair celebrates its 8th anniversary of their Singapore-Helsinki route with a new business class Summer menu
SINGAPORE — Finland’s official flight carrier Finnair celebrates its 8th anniversary of their Singapore-Helsinki route with a new business class Summer menu. The menu is concocted by Swedish Chef Tommy Myllymäki, whose parents are Finnish. He has been a Finnair Signature Chef since 2017 and was nominated chef of the year in Sweden. Tommy is also the creative director for five Stockholm restaurants and has represented Sweden in the prestigious Bocuse d’Or competition.
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At the menu presentation on Thursday (30 May), Tommy shared that he tries to change up the menu three to four times a year, following the seasons. For winter, he tries to create a meatier dish to reflect the change in weather, something warm and richer, while in Spring, a light dish is welcomed. Reflecting the Nordic culture, Tommy and his team follows the philosophy of food closely, whether using salmon and roe in the dishes or pairing blueberry juice with blueberry pies. However, he understands it can also be tricky to introduce the Nordic wilderness into the menu, especially when it comes to certain wild mushrooms and herbs, as they may introduce pathogens.
Working in the aviation food industry is challenging, and Tommy works in tangent with the understanding of processing food, especially when it gets chilled and reheated on the plane. With his team’s intention to make it nice and presentable, he feels lucky to have a team that “knows how to do tricks in the kitchen while working within safety food regulations, especially when you’re making 400 to 500 portions a day.” Because of this, recipes are always fixed to ensure the same standard and quality applied throughout the process.
The dish created by Chef Tommy Myllymäki will be served on Finnair’s Midnight Menu as a starter course – a salmon tartar, served with marinated mushrooms, fresh trout roe and sprinkled with fried onion.
Alongside this dish, mains of pan-seared perch with chilli-lemongrass sauce, bok choy in Balinese sauce and rice with sweet potatoes; and braised beef cheek with red wine sauce and mashed potatoes with truffle, carrots and pearl onions will be served. Kikorangi blue cheese and Brie will accompany the courses, and a choice between ice cream, petit fours or fresh fruits are offered as dessert options.
“We ́re excited to bring the best of Nordic flavours on board”, says Maarit Keränen, Head of Category (F&B), who oversees Finnair’s long-haul flight food concepts. “Food plays a key role in the customer experience, and we are delighted to offer a little piece of the Nordics to our customers, who fly with us every day from Singapore to Helsinki.”
