An airline with a dedicated Food and Wine Channel while on board is a first, a recent Emirates Airline flight to Cape Town, has Rupali Dean intrigued!
Scrupulous Logistics - Food & Wine
This is not the first time I flew with Emirates as it�s usually my first choice when it comes to most routes and the stopover in Dubai is a bonus. Flipping through the entertainment system I come across the Food and Wine Channels which gives me an insight into behind the scenes and how the Airline creates on board menus and works with its global partners. I love the Sri Lanka episode which takes me to how Dilmah tea is selected to be served on board. It�s interesting to watch how Emirates brings premium produce on board through long standing partnerships worldwide, counting indigenous purveyors and artisans. I
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Emirates Economy Class[/caption]
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Emirates First Class[/caption]
comprehend that formulating aircraft fare is no relaxing feat. It�s a tightrope operation linking scrupulous logistics on a huge scale and there is no room for any mistakes. Meals need to be delivered on time before the plane departs and nothing can be missed out as there is no turning back once the plane has taken off. Business and First Class meals are a rung up from the Economy Class foil trays that I am used to. I am travelling Business class this time round as I have enough miles and have been upgraded. My meal certainly is fancier in presentation and ingredients and carefully plated up on Royal Doulton fine bone china.
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Emirates Business Class[/caption]
Regional Menus
Emirates Chefs focus a lot one ingredient sourcing and planning menus on every route with the same attention to detail in every class. On my Cape Town to Dubai flight for example I have a �Grilled Ostrich Fillet� served with red verjus reduction, creamy polenta and glazed pearl onions. Having stopped at Ostriland where I try �An All Ostrich Affair� from the several canap�s showcasing the flexibility of the Ostriland Deli Meat Range, followed by a Main Course of Ostrich Fillet and Ostrich Steak, I can totally relate to the quality of ingredients and the thought process behind planning this particular dish on this particular route. Similarly, on my Dubai to Cape Town flight I quite relish the old-fashioned Arabic Mezze, together with other characteristically Middle Eastern fare. For those who do not know, Emirates is the only airline serving traditional cuisines from nations its patrons come from and to places they are travelling to, which is quite a herculean task, considering it flies to over 150 destinations.
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Gorgeous Sunset at Ken Forrester's Vineyard[/caption]
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Stephen Towler Senior Beverage Advisor, Emirates[/caption]
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Marc in his Vineyard[/caption]
A Strong Team
�Food and wine is emotional and quite personal,� says Joost Heymeijer, Senior Vice President of Catering at Emirates! �What we aim to do at Emirates is to create experiences that are fairly special, but also remarkably simple.� Stephen Towler, Senior Beverage advisor not only ensures the offering of wines on any route is second to none but is also responsible for equipping the over 23,000 cabin crew on the know-how of the subject and offerings on board. My favourite wines on-board Emirates is hands down �The Chocolate Block� which I even got to sample at Boekenhoutskloof where I met �Marc Kent, Managing Partner, Technical Director and driving force behind this famously, dynamic property in Franschhoek. The winery produces several brands as well as the wines from their Swartland project, Porseleinberg.
In 2016 Customers Consumed 100 Million Meals 3 Million Eggs 70 Tonnes of Strawberries 58 Million Baked Bread Rolls 110,000 Kg of Hummus 165 Tonnes of Salmon Fillet
The Spirits Story Emirates has been working hard over the last 2 years to curate a brand new spirits offering that reflects the same commitment we give to their wines on board. Cocktails are made with the finest spirits products. The new spirits menu on board includes a mix of niche, hand-crafted brands as well as popular and well-loved spirits such as Hennessy cognacs in all classes including the limited Hennessy Paradis in First Class and for a restricted period on hand-picked paths the extremely rare Hennessy Paradis Imp�rial. Signature Dish Emirati Machbous Arabic Mezze Selection Sticky toffee pudding- 2500 pieces of Cutlery per flight
- 1400 pieces of Crockery per flight
- 1500 Menus
- 590 Flights catered per day
- 190 Meals served per minute
- 23,000 + Cabin Crew
- 1200 Chefs
- 12,450 Recipes
- Catering Investment in 2016: I Billion dollars ++
Swartland Project, Porseleinberg[/caption]
The Food Story
- Emirates serves more than 110 million meals a year with the same attention to detail in First, Business and Economy Class.
- Regionally focused menus: Emirates� focus on local flavour means it has food available from every region it flies to
- To keep up with local and cyclical food trends, it alters it�s on board menus once-a-month and frequently reviews its recipes.
- Seasonal menus: Emirates prides itself as a global airline and with seasonal menus created for celebrations like Christmas and Eid but even country specific celebrations such as Lunar New year and Oktoberfest.
- Global partners � Emirates focuses on simple, well cooked dishes that emphasise fresh ingredients of the highest quality. Emirates brings premium products on board over long standing enterprises globally, and supporting local suppliers and artisans.
- Emirates has launched its own Food Channel on ice to give customers a behind-the-scenes look at how it creates it�s on board menus and works with its global partners.
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Business Class Appetiser Arabic Mezze[/caption]
- Emirates invests heavily in its cellar and has established a robust wine programme in the last 10 years.
- At the heart of Emirates� wine strategy is its unique approach to purchasing exceptional wines en primeur, years before they are released to the market, and then allowing these epochs to ripe and reach their latent before serving on board.
- Emirates� own team of wine specialists has erected straight relationships with some of the world�s most respected vineyards to select and secure the most exclusive and rare wines for its customers.
- Emirates recently propelled the Emirates Vintage Collection which is an assortment of fine wines which have been stored for up to 15 years in our cellars.
- Emirates� carefully curated wine selection and its wine strategy are documented in its newly launched Wine Channel on ice.
ROOIBOS[/caption]
