First class passengers on Delta Air Lines flights from Atlanta can soon get a taste of Savannah at 30,000 feet.
Delta this week announced it has tapped Mashama Bailey, the executive chef at Savannah’s acclaimed Southern restaurant The Grey, to develop menus for meals served in first class. Bailey, who is known for Port City Southern cuisine, won the Outstanding Chef award from the James Beard Foundation this year.
Among Bailey’s dishes on Delta flights are short ribs with kanni sauce and smoked collard greens; vegan vegetable tagine with roasted sweet potato topped with a chermoula sauce; and a flounder and oyster dish with fumé blanc, green apple, potato, bok choy and turnips.
Bailey’s menu items will be served starting this week on domestic flights departing from Atlanta that include hot meals in first class, and will be an option for business class customers on international flights from Atlanta who pre-select their meals.
“At The Grey, we work to keep Southern, African-American food alive and well by melding those rich flavors with new techniques and cuisines from around the world,” Bailey said in a written statement. She said the Delta menu “takes local, in-season ingredients from the Low Country to new heights.”
Bailey also teaches a 10-lesson class on cooking Southern food on MasterClass, which is shown on Delta seatback televisions through a partnership with the online class service.
Delta has partnered with a number of local chefs and restaurants for in-flight meals in recent years, including Atlanta chef Linton Hopkins known for Holeman and Finch and other restaurants. Other featured restaurants have included Antico Pizza, Fox Bros Bar-B-Q and Buford Highway restaurant Woo Nam Jeong Stone Bowl House.
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