Michelin starred chef is announced as Eurostar's new culinary director
The announcement is supported by new research which reveals that despite the prevailing economic downturn, over half (53 per cent) of business travellers surveyed say the economic climate has had no effect on their travel for business abroad and eight per cent say they travel abroad for business more.
And while it’s good news that the wheels of British business are literally still turning, it appears it’s not such good news for business travellers themselves. The research also highlighted that a third rated the quality of the meals they were served when travelling for business as below average.
When questioned further, these same travellers stressed the importance of good food and service on-board alongside more traditional considerations such as price and journey time. Just over two thirds (67 per cent) said sustainability was important to them, when it comes to things such as eating sustainably sourced, seasonal and organic food, while over a third (35 per cent) revealed that presentation of food was an important factor.
With these considerations in mind, Raymond Blanc is collaborating closely with Eurostar’s catering suppliers to help transform travellers’ perceptions of on-board catering. As a result of his on-going direction and work with Eurostar’s suppliers in Belgium, the UK and France, his new and exclusive Business Premier menus have been created to be innovative, seasonal and sustainable and feature several Blanc family recipes such as mackerel salad and chocolate delice with praline custard.
The YouGov research also uncovered some of the ‘guilty pleasures’ business travellers have done whilst travelling on business. These include snoozing when they should have been checking their emails, using their headphones to drown out fellow passengers and getting stuck into complimentary magazines that they would never normally buy.
In 2012, Eurostar became the first transport provider to join the Sustainable Restaurant Association and it will be rated over the coming months on its on-board catering. This commitment to achieving culinary excellence has followed on from a raft of other innovations to its Business Premier class including; the introduction of guaranteed boarding, quiet coaches and a new on-board taxi booking service.
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