Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, offers a fascinating glimpse into the intricate operations required to provide fine dining experiences in the sky for over 77 million customers annually.
Catering for an impressive 490 flights daily, Emirates serves a staggering 215,000 meals across the globe every day. To achieve this feat, the airline relies on a team of 1,400 dedicated chefs stationed at the Emirates Flight Catering Facility in Dubai and partner caterers worldwide.
In the course of a year, Emirates customers enjoy a diverse array of nutritious and delicious meals from a library of 2,200 varied recipes each month. Balancing essential carbohydrates, proteins and vegetables, Emirates served 6 million kilograms of fresh chicken, 350,000 kilograms of beef, 266,000 kilograms of Atlantic salmon fillets, 2.2 million kilograms of whole potatoes, 1.7 million kilograms of pasteurized eggs and 3.1 million kilograms of freshly baked breads and pastries, as well as thousands of vegan and vegetarian meals.
With epicurean flavor and flair, chefs use a vast array of ingredients to create delectable dishes across all classes. First and Business Class customers appreciating the fine quality of products onboard, consumed 3.5 million single-serve bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar from acclaimed Italian artisan Monte Vibiano, 14,000 kilograms of Australian Yarra Valley feta cheese, and dined on 1.2 million beef tenderloin steaks in one year.
Meanwhile in First Class, customers enjoying unlimited caviar last year consumed an impressive 10,350 kilograms of the delicacy. Not to mention that chefs use more than 938,000 kilograms of fresh cream, 98,000 kilograms of fresh strawberries. and 42,000 kilograms of salads from Emirates-owned vertical farm.
All of these enable Emirates to offer inflight dining that is unmatched, featuring menus inspired by different cuisines all over the world.
Notably, the airline caters to the Filipino palate by offering Filipino-inspired dishes such as bulalo, beef tapa, chicken tocino, bangus sisig, pancit canton, and sticky rice cake with coconut caramel sauce. This initiative aims to provide Filipinos with a taste of home while allowing non-Filipinos to experience the richness of Filipino cuisine.
On many European routes, Emirates is now treating Economy Class customers to individual pots of Marshfield’s ice-cream, creamy organic ice cream with 60% dairy content from a family farm in the Cotswolds, UK. On routes from Ireland, Emirates serves rich yogurt from Killowen Farm, a single origin dairy yogurt producer.
Moreover, Emirates ensures that its inflight dining experience is complemented by a selection of world-class wines, exclusive champagnes, and thoughtfully curated snacks. Last year, Emirates customers relished 2 million packages of mixed nuts in various sizes, 250,000 dates, 22,000 kilograms of Kalamata olives and more than 40 million pieces of gourmet chocolate.
The airline’s cabin crew, trained extensively in service best practices and hospitality, strive to deliver impeccable service and ensure that all customers ‘fly better.’
Emirates’ commitment to excellence, attentiveness, innovation, and passion sets the standard for inflight dining, offering passengers an unparalleled culinary journey that celebrates diverse cuisines from around the world, including the vibrant flavors of Filipino cuisine.
Emirates operates 25 weekly flights from Manila, Cebu, and Clark to Dubai, connecting Filipino travelers to over 140 destinations in 76 countries and territories across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific from its global hub in Dubai.