Are you being served?

Traditionally, airline food was given a wide berth by many passengers. A rubbery chicken fillet, reheated and stewed for hours is what most came to expect. But according to George Banks, Emirates food product manager, this is no longer the case.

Airline catering suffers from this myth that everything’s re-heated and frozen, which is far from the truth,” he says. “Most of the food here in Dubai is freshly prepared.

Catering advances

After 38 years flight catering experience, Banks has seen airlines and catering companies work together to revolutionise the onboard dining experience.

From dry-roasted peanuts to five-star service in modern premium class cabins, airline food has improved in both quality and quantity. “It’s changed with the volumes and size of the aircraft,” Banks says.

The tastes have become much more sophisticated, the equipment is better and the suppliers cater bigger volumes. Basically, they have had to become better chains.”

Serving 81,000 meals a day is no easy task, with Emirates employing several catering companies across the globe including Gate Gourmet and LSG Skychefs. In addition, the Middle East’s largest carrier has its own Dubai-based flight catering unit. Run by experienced chefs, the team produces a varied, high-quality menu suitable for large passenger loads.

Dining in style

Emirates offers an international menu with route specific dishes across three different classes. “If you’re going to India or the Far East, there’s something for that destination,” Banks says.

Similarly, if you’re flying to South America there might be Brazilian food on the menu.” The varied menu incorporates a range of fresh produce, appetizers and desserts.

In addition, an a la carte, dine-on-demand service is offered to premium class passengers, according to Banks. “The food is ordered by the person when they want to eat, presented on the plate and then just warmed for 20 minutes so it’s not kept warm for hours.”

After recently revamping its catering services, Etihad Airways is keen to promote its new dining concept. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier now offers several route specific menus, which include Tapas and Mezze style foods.

In addition, first-class passengers can experience improved service and a restaurant-style environment, according to Peter Baumgartner, executive vice president of marketing and product.

“We don’t benchmark ourselves with the airline industry; my benchmark is more like a five-star restaurant in Sydney,” Baumgartner says. “That’s the kind of quality we want to bring across.

To distinguish itself from other airlines, Etihad has introduced onboard food and beverage managers to advise passengers about their meal and wine choices.

You’ll see someone in a light coloured cream jacket and that someone has come from hospitality,” Baumgartner says. “That person has probably been a beverage manger in a five-star restaurant. They’re there to get the food right, the temperature right and the filet mignon done exactly the way you like.”

More than just a marketing tool, the food and beverage manager ensures quality control and provides expertise in the onboard kitchen. Aside from the wide range of meals and snacks available, the airline offers an extensive drinks menu.

We’re proud of our wine and beverage list, which is carefully selected from a wide range of options,” Baumgartner says. “The unique thing is not only the choice, not only the ‘any time dining’ concept but also how the food is presented to you.

While first and business-class passengers receive preferential treatment, Emirates’ Banks insists the economy cabins are not forgotten. “In economy, food is mass-produced to a certain extent but the appetizers and dessert will be made fresh,” he says. Sometimes, depending where we’re flying from, the main course will be frozen.

Indian food, for example, actually tastes better when it’s frozen and re-heated because you get flavour enhancement. That’s why they’re popular onboard.”

Etihad’s management also stresses the importance of maintaining high quality food and service across all three classes.

As Baumgartner points out, the majority of passengers hold economy tickets and their needs must be accommodated. He adds: “There’s an equal focus on economy; we have won a couple of awards like best economy class airline, which confirm that we’re getting on across all segregations.

We ask for feedback from customers so we can compare results and see if we’re moving in the right direction.” How it works

Josefine Corsten, senior vice president of corporate communications at LSG Skychefs, says logistics is essential to airline catering. “We have a central control centre, arrivals and departures are registered, passenger numbers are checked and special order forms are received,” she says.

From there, information can be sent to individual production control points and food work stations within LSG. Meals, snacks, beverages and other materials then undergo catering agent checks to see whether all clients’ orders are complete.

The catering company’s German base houses an equipment warehouse, where all utensils, such as crockery and cutlery, are kept. These can also be used by the airlines and brought down with the food.

According to Baumgartner and Banks, a significant amount of cooking takes place on board. All aircraft are equipped with combination ovens and microwaves, though Banks says that the latter are rarely used to heat food because they alter the flavour.

At the moment we don’t cook from raw. In first-class, a steak will be sealed on board and then finished off. We’re always looking at new possibilities but I don’t think you’ll find anyone who grills a steak on board yet.”

Health and safety

Hygiene is one of the most important factors for any airline. Oman Air’s catering department was recently commended, with the airline’s strict hygiene regime winning the airline certification in Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point. Sumaya Al Busaidy, senior catering manager, says: “We have given full commitment to assuring our customers that food safety is a top priority.

The airline, which is the first in the region to be awarded this certificate, has implemented the International Organisation for Standardisation’s requirements (ISO).

According to Al Busaidy, the airline has undergone several successful audits over the years by involving its employees in numerous quality and food safety training programmes. The bigger Middle Eastern airlines also place huge emphasis on hygiene.

I don’t want to offend any restaurant owner, but I think our standards of hygiene are better,” Banks says.

Every kitchen Emirates use is passed in a hygiene check.” Cooked food is carefully prepared and always blast chilled to help eliminate bacteria. In addition, all left over food following a flight is destroyed

“You try and avoid wastage and Emirates is very strict on this,” Banks says. “The last minute before the flight leaves, within two or maybe one hour, we get our final figures, so we don’t have a lot of wastage on board.

However, Banks admits it’s difficult to avoid wastage when passengers refuse meals. “Every airline does try to stop it,” he adds. “Catering is not cheap anymore, especially not with Emirates. We spend a lot to get a high standard.”

Baumgartner says Etihad’s catering department not only complies with international standards but also adheres to a stricter in-house regime. He adds catering companies based in every destination the carrier flies to provide meals for Etihad’s return journeys.

We use a lot of fresh food and our own standards and checks are very tough and detailed. We hire out caterers in different parts of the world, so we never return cater.

Corsten says food preparation is divided into two areas; the ‘warm’ kitchen, where hot food is cooked, and the ‘cold’ kitchen, where salads, desserts and hors d’oeuvres are prepared. Meals from the ‘warm’ kitchen are cooled down immediately after cooking.

“Within four hours, meals must pass through the ‘critical temperature zone’ of 60 degrees to five degrees. For this purpose our facilities are equipped with a blast chiller, which blows ice cold wind onto the meals and thus cools them down very rapidly. This measure corresponds to the strict hygiene standards, which a catering company must adhere to.

Like Corsten, Etihad’s Baumgartner insists the airline employs stringent measures for food preparation. He also believes the relationship between carrier and caterer is integral to ensuring high food standards throughout a flight. “We want to challenge the set standards and maintain close co-operation between us and the caterer,” he says.