Chef Nancy Silverton’s spiral meat lasagna is about to show up on United Polaris, the airline’s international business class, as part of a new menu from the team behind Netflix’s “Chef’s Table.” Getting a plate of it onto your tray table takes planning that starts before you reach the airport.
You may know “Chef’s Table” from Netflix, where the series won an Emmy Award. Since Aug. 1, its chefs have also created dishes for United, starting with Silverton’s beef brasato and David Barzelay’s black cod broiled in tomato tare. Tomos Parry’s lamb with smoked potatoes was on that first menu too, and all three have new dishes in November.
More Than 60,000 Flyers Tried the First Menu
United said more than 60,000 customers have had the meals since August. Their satisfaction scores came in nearly 20 points higher than scores for other preordered meals. You’ll find 30 new dishes from 11 chefs on the new menu, drawing on seven U.S. hubs and three international gateways.
Aaron McMillan, United’s managing director of hospitality programs, said the strong response to “Chef’s Table” “reinforces the value of bringing perspectives of world-class chefs onboard.”
What’s on the Menu, City by City
Each city gets three dishes, and United serves them on flights leaving from there. Here’s one from each city and the chef behind it:
- Los Angeles: Nancy Silverton of Osteria Mozza created a spiral meat lasagna with passato and taleggio sauce.
- Newark: Fariyal Abdullahi, chef partner of Hav & Mar in New York, offers shiro hummus with seasonal vegetable crudité.
- Chicago: Jenner Tomaska of Esmé in Lincoln Park stuffs roasted chicken breast with a chicken and mushroom mousseline.
- Houston: Justin Yu of Theodore Rex in Houston adds horseradish and basil to a Gulf crab spring roll.
- Denver: Penelope Wong of Yuan Wonton went with char siu pork and celeriac Yukon puree.
- San Francisco: David Barzelay of Lazy Bear in the Mission District sends a grilled rack of lamb with carrot barbecue sauce.
- Washington, D.C.: Isabel Coss and Matt Conroy of Lutèce bring a duck leg enchilada with queso Oaxaca.
- São Paulo: Manu Buffara of Manu in Curitiba pairs roasted beef with bean pirao.
- London: Tomos Parry of Brat in Shoreditch matches roasted pumpkin with rosemary stracciatella.
- Tokyo: Tashi Gyamtso, head chef of Jimgu at Enowa Yufuin, created red crab with yuzu kosho aioli.
How to Order Before You Fly
You’ll need a United Polaris international business class seat on a flight that serves lunch or dinner. You can preorder on United’s website or in the United app, starting five days before departure and up to 24 hours before you fly.
The new menus run Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. United said the program will keep rotating seasonally into 2027.
Watch the ‘Chef’s Table’ Videos Before You Eat
Once your order is in, check the seatback screen before your meal arrives. United’s “Chef’s Table” videos go behind the scenes on how these chefs built the dishes, from the ingredients to the culinary traditions behind them. You can also queue up select episodes of the “Chef’s Table: Talks” podcast, which series creator David Gelb hosts.