Train operator GNER launched its new summer menus on 6 August 2007 to tempt passengers’ taste buds with lighter, healthier and greener dining options.

The imaginative new menus combine contemporary British cuisine with Mediterranean influenced dishes to reflect modern eating trends, the summer season and the growing demand for low-calorie alternatives.

The introduction of Fairtrade coffee and chocolate, organic products and the Well Being sandwich range with biodegradable packaging also signals the move towards more ethical and environmentally aware on-board catering.

Save the Children will benefit from the introduction of a new Chocaid 100 per cent Fairtrade organic chocolate bar, which donates 10p to the charity with every bar sold.

GNER is also adopting Food Standards Agency guidance and will introduce traffic light labelling on its range of sandwiches in the café bar, enabling passengers to easily identify nutritional content.

Sue Blanche, GNER train catering & retail manager, said: “GNER’s exciting new menus have been designed to give passengers greater choice and reflect their expectations in terms of healthier eating, Fairtrade, and organic products. GNER is also aiming to build upon the green credentials of rail travel by making the move towards biodegradable sandwich packaging.”

GNER has teamed up with the celebrated Eugene McCoy of the Tontine restaurant in North Yorkshire and Marcus Bennett, chef proprietor at The Baltic in Newcastle to create the new summer menus, which also include three new dishes from GNER’s own Chef of the Year, David Buchanan.

Inspired by the healthy, low-fat cuisine of the Mediterranean region, the tasty new menus include dishes such as salad provencale, fillet of cod with harissa couscous and aubergine chutney and organic natural bio yoghurt with berry compote.

A new seasonal Chef’s Special, will also be offered in addition to the core lunch and dinner menus.

New additions to the First Class at-seat menus include a chef’s salad and a pasta dish at lunchtime for those preferring a lighter alternative to a full meal.

The wine list, which offers a range of both old and new world wines, has been updated with the introduction of a 2006 Australian Chardonnay, a 2006 Pinot Grigio and a Coteaux D’Aix-en-Provence rose, reflecting the renewed popularity for rose wine in the UK.

All passengers, whether travelling in First or Standard class, can enjoy the new summer menus in GNER’s restaurant cars, subject to availability.

GNER runs 91 restaurant services every weekday, up from 66 when GNER started in 1996.

The train operator employs over 80 chefs who work to the highest standards to create freshly prepared, top restaurant quality meals within the small confines of the on-train kitchens.