Savouring the journey is just as important as reaching the destination. For customers in Suites, First Class and Business Class, the journey is marked by exceptional dining from some of the world’s most celebrated culinary names.
Alongside the exquisite creations of the International Culinary Panel, guest chefs bring the flavours and ingredients of their home cities to the skies. The latest among them is German-born Heiko Nieder, culinary director at Zurich’s famed the Dolder Grand Hotel – crowned GaultMillau’s Hotel of the Year 2024.
Renowned for his refined yet daring style, Chef Heiko began crafting seasonal menus for Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) First and Business Class cabins on flights from Zurich in 2022, when the airline marked 50 years of the Zurich-Singapore route. His new summer and autumn seasonal menus, available from now through December 2025, marry Swiss produce with international influences, reimagined for the unique setting 30,000ft up in the air.
Here are five reasons to get excited about Chef Heiko’s creations on board.
1. He’s one of Switzerland’s most celebrated chefs
Chef Heiko oversees all restaurants at the Dolder Grand, from blooms – which serves vegan, vegetarian and organic seasonal cuisine using produce plucked from its own garden – to his signature project, The Restaurant. This stunning, lounge-like dining space, adorned with contemporary fine art and sweeping views of the iconic Zürichsee (Lake Zurich), boasts two Michelin stars and 19 GaultMillau points. Above all, it’s a showcase for Chef Heiko’s inventive cuisine.
His own accolades include being named GaultMillau’s Chef of the Year 2019, publishing his stunning debut cookbook – appropriately named The Restaurant – and founding THE EPICURE. The annual fine dining celebration has drawn 124 guest chefs from 32 countries – who count a collective 279 Michelin stars among them – since it launched in 2014. This September, the event celebrates its 10th anniversary at the Dolder Grand.
2. He connects Zurich and Singapore through food
“Zurich may not be the largest city in the world, but it offers an exceptional diversity of gastronomy,” says Chef Heiko. “From timeless classics that have been served for over a century and authentic cuisines from across the globe, to trendy contemporary concepts and world-class fine dining – it’s a city full of culinary discoveries.”
That sense of variety finds a natural complement in Singapore. “The sheer abundance of excellent and varied restaurants ensures there is always something new to discover,” Chef Heiko adds. “Whether in a bustling hawker centre or a highly decorated fine dining restaurant, one can find truly outstanding food at every turn.”
It’s a synergy that comes alive in his menus for Singapore Airlines, where the flavours of his Zurich base and the diversity of the Asian hub at the other end of the route meet in the air.
3. His menus spotlight Swiss seasons – and The Restaurant’s flavours
Chef Heiko’s in-flight menus are a masterclass in flavour and imagination. On the summer First Class menu, diners can savour lobster paired with crisp cucumber, sweet melon, a hint of jalapeño and fragrant basil, followed by a silky cauliflower soup enriched with smoked beef fillet and delicate sea greens, served alongside hake with lettuce, capers and egg. In Business Class, highlights include tender prawns with beetroot “steak tartare” and veal with bak choi, sea greens and wasabi – a nod to his unexpected yet precise approach to seasoning.
Chef Heiko’s autumn menus further flex his creativity. First Class customers are treated to dishes such as hake paired with rich goose liver, fennel, apple and liquorice and a dessert of pineapple and passion fruit with yuzu kosho, ginger and vanilla miso. Meanwhile, Business Class customers enjoy highlights such as scallops accented with Japanese mustard, courgette and dill, alongside a hearty beef main with beetroot, cassis and purple curry.
“The menu draws inspiration from the dishes we serve at The Restaurant,” says Chef Heiko. “Each creation is designed to surprise and delight our guests, offering them a momentary escape from the everyday – or from the fatigue of a long flight.”
4. He delights in the unexpected
A hallmark of Chef Heiko’s style is pairing ingredients in ways that surprise and delight. Think lobster with foie gras, mango and vadouvan (a masala-like, ready-to-use blend of spices famous in France); apricot with cocoa fruit juice, yuzu pepper, grains and shiso; or lobster with cucumber, melon, jalapeño and basil.
It’s a philosophy rooted in classical technique – and especially, the produce available from season to season – but elevated with inventive twists.
5. He’s an ambassador for indulgence
As a Krug Champagne ambassador, Chef Heiko knows that a fine meal deserves the perfect pairing. First Class customers enjoying his lobster and foie gras can savour it with a glass of Krug – one of the world’s finest Champagne houses – for an experience worthy of both the destination and the journey.
“We hope they enjoy a memorable time on board and carry with them a fond memory of our cuisine and of their time in Zürich,” he says. “Perhaps it will even inspire them to return to Zurich to visit us again.”
Chef Heiko’s menu is now available to First and Business Class customers on Singapore Airlines’ flights from Zurich for a limited time only.
