ZURICH- Swiss International Air Lines (LX) has added a premium hot dog from Winterthur-based brand Frau Hund to its SWISS First cabin, placing an artisan Swiss product into the carrier’s most exclusive class of service.
The dish selected for the menu is the “Bastardo,” topped with coleslaw, apple chutney, sour cream, and roasted walnuts. The product is prepared by Gate Gourmet using Frau Hund’s original recipe and Swiss-sourced ingredients, with only the bun cut adjusted for cabin plating.
From Winterthur Kiosk to SWISS First Cabin
Frau Hund was founded by Chris Maurer and Alex Prack, both trained chefs who previously worked in kitchens where precision and prestige were standard.
The pair chose to focus on a product they felt carried a poor reputation in society and offered limited quality options to consumers.
Their stated mission was to build a hot dog that is genuinely high quality and can be perceived as a premium product. Chris Maurer noted that the team deliberately selected a category where quality offerings had been hard to find.
The sausage is supplied by a local butcher and made exclusively from Swiss meat. The bun is a multigrain roll, also produced in Switzerland. Sauerkraut, apple chutney, and other toppings are made in-house in batches of up to two tonnes.
Each batch is tasted individually. Only after passing personal quality approval is it portioned, packaged, pasteurised, and flash-frozen. As Frau Hund describes its own approach, what looks like fast food from the outside is, on the inside, uncompromising artisan work.
SWISS Collaboration
The founders described their reaction to the SWISS inquiry as immediate. Alex Prack stated that the team was very proud to be on the carrier’s radar.
For a brand that started small and built its presence from scratch, the collaboration carried weight beyond a new distribution channel.
One of Frau Hund’s long-standing goals was to establish a presence all across Switzerland.
The SWISS partnership extended that ambition into a wider scope. As Alex Prack put it, the brand can now scatter its hot dogs across the whole world.
Choosing the Right Hot Dog for the Cabin
The first product proposed for SWISS First was the “Deutsche Dogge,” one of the classics in the Frau Hund lineup.
Product developers at Gate Gourmet advised that a lighter option would be better suited to inflight service.
Frau Hund then put forward the “Bastardo” from its menu. The recipe remained untouched. Sausage, bun, and toppings were prepared exactly to the original specification used at Frau Hund outlets.
Plating for SWISS First
The only adjustment required was the cut of the bun. During tasting sessions, the Gate Gourmet recreation matched the original in flavour. The plating, however, raised concerns.
The hot dog, normally served in a cardboard box, kept tipping over on the porcelain plate used in SWISS First and could not be presented cleanly.
Chris Maurer stated that a smeared hot dog with toppings falling out did not meet the brand’s standard.
The solution was pragmatic. An adjusted cut allowed the hot dog to stand upright and be plated neatly and appetisingly in the SWISS First setting. Chris Maurer confirmed that after the fix, all doubts were gone.
Familiar Dish in New Context
The same hot dog now appears in an entirely different setting, and that contrast is central to the brand’s intent.
Chris Maurer stated that it matters to the team for a hot dog to be perceived as something different from the cheap kiosk version many consumers associate with the dish.
Frau Hund wants to demonstrate an alternative built on carefully selected ingredients, attention to detail, and a result that surprises the consumer.
The fact that this ambition now reaches passengers at 35,000 feet serves as proof that the original idea was right from the very beginning.
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