A Denver chef whose dumplings are rooted in childhood memory will soon be feeding travelers at 35,000 feet over the Atlantic and Pacific, after United Airlines announced a new culinary partnership that puts regional talent on the global stage.
United Airlines partnered with Netflix's hit series Chef's Table to curate a menu for business-class travelers on long-distance flights, with the goal of letting passengers experience the flavors of the airline's hub cities, including Denver. The airline announced it will begin serving new onboard meals designed by 11 chefs for United Polaris international business class travelers on select flights.
Recent James Beard Award winner Penelope Wong, owner of Yuan Wonton in Denver's Park Hill neighborhood, is one of the chefs featured in the lineup. After being in the running for four years, Wong finally earned a James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Mountain region in June. The James Beard Award is considered one of the most prestigious honors in the culinary industry, often compared to winning an Oscar for restaurants.
Yuan Wonton, located at 2878 Fairfax St., specializes in Asian dumplings and wontons using mostly Chinese and Thai flavors, with Wong describing the menu as made to "immortalize" the childhood recipes she grew up with. Her three-course meal on United flights will include shokupan bread with smoked trout, lemongrass, Chinese celery and trout roe as the appetizer; a kale salad with cherries, golden beets, Grana Padano cheese and honey ginger vinaigrette; and five-spice duck wontons with duck brodo, Swiss chard and chili oil as the main entrée.
"I am truly excited about this partnership with United Airlines and Chef's Table," Wong said in a news release. "Sharing my story through a series of tastes and bites allows a glimpse into my internal struggle of growing up Asian American, but just how delicious that struggle can be when embraced."
The Chef's Table meals will be available on Denver flights to Rome, London, Frankfurt, Munich and Tokyo. The culinary program also includes other award-winning chefs inspired by their respective United hub cities, such as Chef Nancy Silverton in Los Angeles, Chef Jenner Tomaska in Chicago and Chef Tomos Parry in London.
"Our 11 featured chefs have crafted menus specifically engineered for 35,000 feet, ensuring ingredients and flavors remain exceptional despite the altitude," said Justin Connor, president of Chef's Table Projects. United's managing director of Hospitality Programs, Aaron McMillan, said the collaboration is "rooted in a shared ambition to redefine what in-flight dining can be," adding that the airline's global network allows it to "work hand-in-hand with world-class chefs and translate their points of view into dishes intentionally designed for the realities of travel."
Business class travelers can preorder their meals as soon as five days before their flight and up to 24 hours before departure. The current courses will run through October, with United planning to feature a new seasonal lineup beginning in November.
Whether the partnership will expand to additional Denver routes or include further Colorado-based chefs in the November seasonal refresh has not yet been announced.