Have you ever wondered how airlines serve miles of meals to hundreds of hungry passengers on every flight?
Airplanes aren’t the most spacious of environments, and crews have to deal with everything from in-flight turbulence to the way altitude affects our taste buds.
Most of the food you enjoy at 30,000 feet is prepared on the ground, so it gets to your tray in a timely manner and tastes delicious.
Journalist Harriet Sime recently visited British Airways’ catering facility near Gatwick Airport to get a behind-the-scenes look at the process for MailOnline.
In the space, managed by Newrest Catering, 350 employees work like a well-oiled machine to prepare 4,500 meals a day on an industrial scale.
Chefs prepare each part of the meal in batches in huge vats and ovens before everything is transported to a cooler to cool.
Everything is then taken to a “plating room” at 8°C, where employees place the ingredients by hand into containers, like a conveyor belt.
Staff have a ‘Golden Example’ board to copy and meals are constantly tested and monitored to achieve the right proportions and flavours.
Around 90% of the food produced at the Newrest factory is destined for BA and they supply the airline with 52,000 sandwiches, 47,000 desserts, 20,000 bottles of sparkling wine, 45,000 red wine and 20,000 cans of beer every week.
These dishes are served on board within a day of preparation, although this varies depending on the transport company and caterer used.
In addition to British Airways, Newrest also works with Air Mauritius, Air Transat, Delta and Vueling, while companies such as LSG Sky Chefs and Gate Gourmet serve other airlines.
The menus have been carefully crafted to suit the dry air on board, where spicy and salty dishes taste best. For the same reason, some flight attendants prefer to bring their own healthier snacks with them when traveling.
“You lose about 30% of your taste buds, so we have to incorporate that into our cooking,” explains Mark Brega, BA’s chef.
“In general, British food is very good, but it has a light flavor profile, so spicier, more aromatic dishes tend to taste better.” Butter chicken or chicken tikka masala is one of our most popular dishes.
“The same goes for wine; Some of these taste great on the ground, but can taste terrible in the air, so it needs to be tested.”
You will also not experience that the captain and co-pilot of your flight eat the same food. They all eat different meals in case one is contaminated, and smelly foods like fish are often avoided altogether because their pungent odor can quickly fill a hut.
Cleanliness and safety are important factors both during preparation and during the flight. So if the worst happens and the catering trucks don’t cool the food properly, the crew has to look for other options.
When staff on a BA flight from the Caribbean to Britain stopped in Nassau to collect KFC chicken for passengers after a fault, a spokesperson said: “Our teams sprang into action and made sure our customers got something had to eat.”
“We apologize to our customers that their full meal service was not available and we had to use it on this occasion. We apologize if this has caused any inconvenience.”
Source: Metro
Source: Metro
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
