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Next time you have
a tummy ache and you suspect it could be because you
indulged yourself so much while onboard, don’t
automatically zoom in on that serving of salad,
roll, rice and roast beef you just had. For the
longest time, airline food has been blamed for being
that character-less bland tray of starch-and-protein
mix. And while some airline companies have moved
toward not serving any food at all, or have made it
an option to passengers, others went a notch up by
ensuring that their customers get quality
first-class meals regardless where they’re seated.
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Holy Kitchen
Thai Airways recently let me in on what goes behind
every purple tray served onboard. And indeed, the
one afternoon of touring around the Miascor Gate
Gourmet (the outsourced catering company of Thai
Airways and ten other airlines) at the NAIA Catering
City was an experience reminiscent of a grade school
field trip. And true to form, I came out
of their expansive kitchen with glazed eyes
and more appreciative of airline food.
The tour guide for the day—everyday,
actually—was Miascor
general manager Rene Haehnen, who in a white
gown and hairnet, led a group of similarly frocked
wide-eyed visitors throughout the catering
facility. The whole place was
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Miascor head
chef George Egli
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was spic
and span, with huge posters reminding the
more than a hundred employees to make
sanitation a top priority.
If there is truth to that adage
“cleanliness is next to godliness”, then |
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One of the production lines at the
Miascor Gate Gourmet
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I say
these employees are closer to heaven than
anybody else.
An OC’s Dream
Everything that gets into the plane is
washed and sanitized, from the salad greens
that tumble around chlorinated water to the
food trolley that goes into a huge washing
machine-like cleaner. The large facility—its
several rooms for packing, cleaning,
storing, freezing, cooking, plating and
boarding looking more like a never-ending
maze than a food factory—also has separate
processes and color-coded equipment for
halal (conforming to Islamic dietary laws)
and non-halal foods since Miascor services
airlines like Qatar Airways, Gulf Air,
Malaysia Airlines and Etihad Airways.
Miascor Quality Assurance Officer Angelica
Caranza explains that extra safety measures
have to be taken into account when it comes
to airline food, because of obvious
sensitive conditions.
Well, surely nobody wants the pilot calling
in sick onboard a long-haul flight. As how
one writer describes her eye-witness account
of the Miascor kitchen: “The order in which
the kitchen is run is perhaps every
obsessive-compulsive’s dream come true.”
High Dining
Beyond cleanliness, airlines put much effort
in to ensuring passenger satisfaction with
every bite of their hot meals. Of course,
factors such as limited eating space,
controlled temperatures, possible turbulence
at unexpected times and the common palate
denominator of the passengers are considered
in drafting an inflight menu.
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For Thai Airways,
Miascor head chef Georges Egli points out that the
airline has six cycles of food sets, meaning the
menu changes every month for six months before the
whole cycle repeats again on the seventh month. This
would ensure that frequent flyers enjoy a variety of
dishes, explains Haehnen.
And with menu entries like Beef Provencale, Pork and
Pumpkin Cubes with Red Curry Thai Sauce, Beef
Rendang with Thai Red Chili, Grilled Chicken with
Marengo Sauce, Cream Dory Fish Panfried with Ginger
Soy Lime Sauce, Thai Seafood Souffle with Coconut
Milk Sauce and Chicken in Massaman Curry, no doubt
this is far from the bland airline food. And after
seeing how a meal comes together from the cartons
onto the tray and actually sampling Thai Airways’
menu choices, I’m doubting that this is the same
not-so-palatable airline food it has been labeled to
be, proof that airlines such as Thai Airways has
recommitted themselves to reinventing high dining,
literally.
Asked if they ever get complaints on the foods they
serve, Haehnen admits that they do, but the
statistics of which, “around 0 to 4 of the 120,000
meals served every month”, is forgivable. So cut
airline food some slack. Who knows, you may discover
airline food as your take on that elusive “comfort
food”, or you may even find yourself vouching that
you can |
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Intercontinental Manila and KLM Fly In
Italian Chiefs
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Ongoing until September 27,
lovers of good food will have the
opportunity to partake of Milanese
cuisine and other Lombardian
gastronomic favorites as
InterContinental Manila and Air
France KLM partner in bringing in to
the Philippine |
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Chef Ferri attended the Amerigo
Vespucci Culinary School and has
worked in different restaurants in
Milan like the famous Gualtierro
Marchesi, which is known for its
nouvelle cuisine; the Venetian
restaurant Toùla near |
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Crowne Plaza Milan Executive Chef
Michele Ferri and Chef de Partie
Sahra Bregaglio to cook for the
Prince Albert Rotisserie.
Likewise collaborating withthem in
bringing this |
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Chef Michele
Ferri and Chef de Partie
Sahra Bregaglio |
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La
Scala; the five-star Palace Hotel,
where he worked alongside Chef
Sergio Mei; Aquarius, a renowned
restaurant in Monza; the famous
Cracco Peek Restaurant
in Milan; and |
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Festa
Milanese to fruition are
BestWorld Beverage Brands
Incorporated, Galbani,
Lactalis, and Werdenberg
International. |
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St. George in
Monza Park where he spent
ten years preparing lavish
banquets. He joined Crowne
Plaza Milan as its Executive
Chef in 2004. |
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Bollywood Bistro Bar brings
you the magic of Belly Dancing every
2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month,
9pm. Professional Belly Dancers will
entrance you with their performance
and will teach audience members the
basics of belly dancing. Bollywood
Bistro Bar is located at the 3rd
Level, Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center,
Makati city. For reservations please
call (02)757-3536.
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* * * |
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Cafe Havana Greenbelt notches
up the fun to a frenzied level with
a back-to-back band special every
other Saturday. Catch Guarana and
Sabor Latino do their |
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magic on September 29, October 13 &
27, November 10 & 24 and December 8
& 22. For reservations please call
(02)757-4370.
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Merk’s Bar Bistro at the
third level of Greenbelt 3, Ayala
Center, Makati City announces the
debut performance of German
retro-rock band The Hard Beats on
October 8, Monday as part of its 5th
anniversary presentation. Listen to
the 1960s and 70s rock music as the
group takes you to their edgy
interpretations of classic rock
songs as well as standards and pop
songs. |
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