dnata, a global air and travel services provider, has revealed it will cook up over 230,000 meals per day for its airline partners throughout the UK over the festive period.
dnata’s teams of chefs will begin to dish up the most popular British festive meal of traditional roast turkey from mid-December.
Some airlines will serve their guests a gentle starter of local prawn cocktail or mixed grain and cranberry salad before progressing to the main course.
A typical on-board festive main meal will include succulent Turkey, savoury sage and onion stuffing, crispy roast potatoes, and tender Brussels sprouts.
Travellers should keep some space left after their meal, however, with a choice of delightful desserts.
Passengers will be greeted with the choice of traditional mince pies or Christmas cake alongside festive-themed chocolates.
“An airline’s menus are planned out once per year, and many airlines have cyclical menus to reflect the seasonal changes. Festive menus are signed off in November, after they have been developed by our award-winning chefs. Recipes are then created for all our global stations along with loading and plating guides with photographs of each stage, so that the process is fool proof,” says Robin Padgett, divisional senior vice president for catering and retail, dnata. “We also take the special requirements of our airline partners into consideration, with Halal-prepared meat as well as tasty vegetarian alternatives. Special meals account for 45 per cent of total meals provided for our big airline carriers.”
dnata also provides catering services to airline partners via tailor-made on-board retail offerings.
“We’ll ensure that passengers of our retail customers also receive the festive experience with turkey, cranberry and stuffing sandwiches and a mince pie to purchase as they make their special journey,” adds Robin.
While preparing large quantities of festive meals, dnata Catering’s teams collaborate closely with airline partners to examine consumption patterns and utilise predictive analytics to enhance food and beverage loading for in-flight services. This careful analysis not only helps minimise food waste but also reduces the fuel consumption that comes with carrying excess weight.
Additionally, whenever possible, dnata Catering aims to source local ingredients to lower the food miles associated with its menus.
“We take great pride in the confidence our global clients have in us to deliver exceptional meals made from locally sourced ingredients for their passengers,” Robin concludes.
In Australia, dnata Catering will craft desserts for airlines jetting out of the country, including warm fruit pudding, Christmas pudding cheesecake, or gingerbread-spiced crumble topped mousse.
Whereas in the USA, a popular dessert amongst American airline partners is Pumpkin pie with spiced mascarpone or cream, or Pumpkin cheesecake and stewed apples.
Photo: AdobeStock
