International Business Class customers on flights departing Canada and Maple Leaf Lounge customers to experience enhanced dining options

MONTREAL, Sept. 3, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today announced a partnership with celebrated Canadian Chef David Hawksworth to design signature dishes which will be exclusively featured on Air Canada flights in International Business Class and Maple Leaf Lounges. Chef Hawksworth will collaborate with and guide Air Canada's flight caterers and Maple Leaf Lounge providers to create a selection of seasonal dining options including appetizers, salads, main courses and desserts, complementing the airline's current route-inspired dining on international flights. At an event to introduce Chef Hawksworth, customers and media sampled and tasted first-hand his range of nine signature, contemporary creations for Air Canada including the following dishes being featured first on flights beginning October 1:

• Yellowfin tuna tataki appetizer served with scallion ginger vinaigrette, passion fruit and puffed rice
• Tamari roasted sablefish main course served with bok choy, brown rice and chili miso vinaigrette
• Decadent dark chocolate fondant with blackberry compote
• In addition, International Maple Leaf Lounges will feature a Mediterranean quinoa salad with tomato, olive, cucumber, feta and arugula

"We are thrilled to partner with Chef Hawksworth to elevate our dining experience," said Craig Landry, Vice President, Marketing at Air Canada.  "As a proud Canadian brand, we see the opportunity to showcase the very best of Canadian-influenced menus designed by one of Canada's most respected and award-winning Chefs.  We have a long history of showcasing the Canadian culinary scene through the annual Air Canada enRoute Canada's Best New Restaurant Program. In fact, Hawksworth was named one of the top three restaurants in the country in 2011.

"We look forward to presenting Chef Hawksworth's innovative, sophisticated dishes in our International Business Class cabins and in our Maple Leaf Lounges.  This culinary partnership complements our investments in our state-of-the-art International Business Class product and service enhancements being rolled out across our Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner fleets," concluded Mr. Landry.

"My team and I are relishing the unique challenge of developing dishes that can be enjoyed at 35,000 feet," says Chef David Hawksworth. "It's an honour and a pleasure to be invited by Air Canada to share my concept of Canadian cuisine and to create compelling dishes for their passengers that will showcase the very best of our region. I look forward to giving passengers a small taste of my restaurant here in Vancouver and taking my personal culinary philosophy to new heights with Air Canada."

Air Canada is also pleased to support the next generation of professional chef talent as the airline travel sponsor of the Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship Foundation competition.

About Chef David Hawksworth

Chef David Hawksworth realized his culinary vision when he opened his first eponymous restaurant in 2011, situated in the very heart of downtown Vancouver. At Hawksworth Restaurant he has created the ideal setting to deliver compelling contemporary Canadian cuisine; a demonstration of his European-trained technical ability, deep appreciation for local ingredients and an absolute insistence on only the very best quality. Winner of countless Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, as well as enRoute magazine's top three Best New Restaurants, and Maclean's Restaurant of the Year; Hawksworth has anchored himself at the helm of the Vancouver – and Canadian – dining scene.

A native Vancouverite who spent a decade honing his talents in Europe working in Michelin-starred kitchens such as Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, L'Escargot and The Square, David Hawksworth soon emerged as one of Canada's leading culinary talents upon his return in summer 2000. In 2008 David was named to Western Living's 'Top 40 under 40' and became the youngest chef inductee in to the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame.   In 2013 he launched the Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship Foundation, which annually awards $10,000 and an international stage to boost the career of a young professional chef; Hawksworth is joined by notable guest chef judges from across the country to determine the winner who compete in a culinary cook off, firmly cementing Hawksworth's culinary influence on the international stage. Regional heats take place in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal; top finalists then compete for the national title and grand prize.

David Hawksworth has travelled extensively as a guest chef, across Canada, to London, Hong Kong, New York and California. Hawksworth donates his time to a number of charitable causes including his long-standing commitment to Fishing For Kids benefiting the Canucks Autism Network and as the Canadian chef ambassador to RED founded in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver to engage businesses and people in the fight against AIDS.

About Air Canada 

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 190 destinations on five continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2014 served more than 38 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 Canadian cities, 52 destinations in the United States and 78 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,321 airports in 193 countries.  Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.

Attn. Photo Editors: For high-resolution photos of Chef Hawksworth's feature creations, please see: http://www.aircanada.com/en/about/media/facts/first_exec.html

SOURCE Air Canada

Image with caption: "Tamari Roasted Sablefish (CNW Group/Air Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150903_C4983_PHOTO_EN_489886.jpg

Image with caption: "Yellowfin Tuna Tataki (CNW Group/Air Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150903_C4983_PHOTO_EN_489890.jpg

Image with caption: "BBQ Chicken (CNW Group/Air Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150903_C4983_PHOTO_EN_489888.jpg

Image with caption: "Smoked Ontario Duck Breast (CNW Group/Air Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150903_C4983_PHOTO_EN_489894.jpg

Image with caption: "Smoked Trout Niçoise Salad (CNW Group/Air Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150903_C4983_PHOTO_EN_489896.jpg

Image with caption: "Dark chocolate fondant (CNW Group/Air Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150903_C4983_PHOTO_EN_489892.jpg