Getting That Meal in The Sky

While meals on domestic flights have been substituted with rationed pretzels and peanuts, long haul international flights continue and indeed strive to offer an array of options. So mostly casually, while making our bookings, say to an Indian city from L.A., we make our choice. Rare is the traveler who pauses for a moment to think of the logistics of how the meal reaches you at seat B3 or G24, a month later.
The German airline Lufthansa offered an insight to a small team of journalists at their Frankfurt facility. And quite simply, the operation is mammoth. A tour of the LSG Sky Chef unit, the wholly owned subsidiary of the airline, brought home the mind boggling amount of planning that goes in to bring that warm meal to a passenger’s seat thousands of miles up above.
The pre-requisite for the smooth catering is logistics and the flight kitchen registers all inbound and outbound flights, checks passenger figures and records special requests. Flight schedules are monitored constantly to ensure that the dispatch crew can carry out all loadings on time.
And then, enormous attention is paid to the palate of the discerning customer. Airlines use it as a marketing tool to increase passenger loads. To woo the Indian traveler, Lufthansa offers hot Indian vegetarian, Indian and Hindu meals. Harold Oelmann, Senior Manager, Food Production at LSG led the tour to the Indian flight food preparation kitchen manned by chef Manjit Singh. The Indian, from Paghwara but a long time resident of Germany spoke of the details that are taken care of for the customer….less spice, no eggs, no beef, etc.
The menu, Oelmann and Singh explained was drawn together and tested by Hermant Oberoi of Taj Mahal hotel, Mumbai. After briefing LSG staff, pictures of the final plated dishes were sent to the flight kitchen where Singh then works to replicate it, all the while keeping in mind instructions for arrangements and food weights to guarantee that each meal has a standard appearance.
Oelmann pointed out that Lufthansa has a celebrity chef program instituted for the first and business class traveler. Oberoi was one of them. Every two months, the airline invites a world class chef to develop and showcase a new menu.
06/11/08 India Journal, USA

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Foreign Nov 2008