The beloved food industry icon joins legendary chef Neil Perry in crafting the menu. Words by Duncan Evans
From the curve and shape of the Flinders Ranges to the stark beauty of Kangaroo Island, iconic South Australian aesthetics dominate the new Qantas business class lounge at Adelaide Airport.
Culinary legend Maggie Beer, speaking with NewsWire at the opening of the new lounge on Thursday, May 15, said the space had “raised the bar”, and would present travellers with the best of South Australia.
“I love the vibrancy, the open space, the feeling of how grown-up this place is; as Adelaide is,” she said.
“There is nowhere else like Adelaide and South Australia.”
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Renowned chef Neil Perry crafted the menu for the lounge and said he had taken inspiration from the city’s iconic Central Market.
“We took all our inspiration from the wonderful Central Market in Adelaide,” he said. “It’s part of the community and it really is the flavour of Adelaide.
“What you can expect to have in this lounge is really wonderful and relaxing.”
Beer’s produce features in a corner space, alongside an open kitchen that faces out to the lounge. She also contributed lighter snack options to the menu.
The opening menu offered travellers the choice of a pie floater, lamb cutlets with raisin and pine nut chutney, and a roast vegetable paella with saffron aioli.
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A marble bar stands in the centre, serving up South Australian wines, with light fixtures inspired by Kangaroo Island hanging above.
The Adelaide studio of Architectus designed the space, which sits alongside Qantas’ regular lounge to fill out the company’s ‘lounge precinct’.
Qantas head of lounges Marcel Weissel-Nund, Architectus associate Daniel Stanning and Qantas manager of product design and development David Frilay said the space had been designed to immerse travellers in South Australia’s natural landscape.
In one example, the entry to the lounge features walls that curve and bend the visitor into the space, which Stanning said had been inspired by the undulations of the Flinders Rangers.
“That’s all inspired by the undulating mountains within the Flinders Rangers, and the tone and form of that as well,” he said. “Even the lighting – in airport spaces, lighting can be very harsh, so [what] we wanted to create in the lounge precinct here, which is really the front door for Qantas… there’s an immediate sense of immersion. The lighting here is really meant to give you that feeling of a night sky.”
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The buffet space stands below brick arches, which mimic the legendary arches that front the Central Market.
Function also runs alongside aesthetics, with power ports built into the chairs, and wireless charging docks on small tables.
Qantas Group chief executive Qantas International Cam Wallace said the lounge would offer business travellers a “premium in-flight experience”.
“For the millions of customers that visit our lounges, we know just how important it is to have a premium pre-flight experience, and we’re so pleased to be bringing this to Adelaide today,” he said.
“The new lounge has been designed based off feedback, and the features we know our customers value the most.”
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South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas toured the space in the afternoon and said the lounge could trigger new investment and business opportunities in the state.
“The lounge precinct is important because it facilitates business tourism in particular, where we see an increasing number coming to South Australia to transact business,” he said.
“When they come to this facility, they won’t just get a sense of being in Adelaide; they’ll get a sense of being of our state as a whole, in no small part because of the contribution Maggie Beer has been making – an icon of the food industry throughout the nation.
“This is important. Qantas doesn’t make an investment like this one unless they know South Australia’s economy is heading in the right direction.”
This article originally appeared on news.com.au. It has been reproduced here with permission.
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