We visited the massive catering facility of Qatar Airways, named the 'airline of the year' in 2024 by Skytrax, to see how chefs use fresh ingredients to prepare complicated meals from scratch.
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00:00Every single dish is made from scratch
00:04at the Qatar Airways Catering Kitchen in Doha.
00:09It churns out more than 200,000 fresh meals a day,
00:13even for regional short-haul flights.
00:17It all needs to be prepared about 48 hours before takeoff.
00:22I think perhaps the biggest challenge
00:24is just ensuring that there's consistency
00:25and that everything runs smoothly.
00:28The chefs here believe it's part of the reason
00:30the airline has been named number one in the world
00:33for the eighth time since 2011.
00:37This kind of cooking used to be the standard
00:39in most flights in America, too,
00:41no matter what cabin you flew on.
00:44But today, most US airlines don't run their own kitchens,
00:48opting to buy from catering services instead.
00:52So why has economy airplane food gone from luxury
00:56to a point of ridicule in the US?
00:59And why do so few airlines still cook their own meals?
01:06No workers are allowed to step foot in the kitchen
01:09without walking through this air shower corridor first.
01:13To ensure that we have no biological
01:17or any physical contaminants go into the kitchen.
01:21This is Felipe Hempe's playground.
01:244,000 people from 38 countries
01:27work at the Qatar Aircraft Catering Company, or QACC.
01:32It's a part of the Qatar Airways Group.
01:34The team develops new menus every three months.
01:39All the produce is fresh,
01:42even though they're operating in a food desert.
01:46They go through 30 metric tons of fruits
01:48and vegetables daily and use custom machines
01:51to help prep them for meals.
01:54Like this bin that can wash 12,000 peppers a day.
01:59And this machine that peels six cantaloupes
02:02in under a minute.
02:05Other produce like dragon fruit, strawberries,
02:08white asparagus, get a more delicate treatment.
02:12They're peeled and carved by hand.
02:14It's a big routine, making almost 200,000 meals a day.
02:17The team is rotated throughout their time working here.
02:22Inside the hot kitchen,
02:25the aroma of cumin, garlic, and onions fills the air.
02:31Chefs prepare dishes of several different cuisines
02:34from Indian to Arabic and Asian.
02:37We base them mostly on the demographics of that flight.
02:41For example, for America, we have a lot of traffic
02:43from the Indian subcontinent.
02:46They use over 300 potatoes every day to make aloo tikki,
02:50a popular street food in India.
02:53The kitchen goes through 36,000 whole fresh eggs a week.
02:59And another three and a half tons of pasteurized egg whites
03:02are turned into 12,000 omelets a day.
03:07Even the smallest change can be costly.
03:10We need to ensure that we're gonna able
03:11to meet the quantities
03:12without having to make any substitutions.
03:15The moment we have any substitutions,
03:16then menu cards will be affected and things like that.
03:21There's also a big emphasis
03:24on making most food from scratch,
03:27even for items that are often bought frozen or pre-made,
03:31like sausages and pasta.
03:35If you're ordering ravioli from economy class,
03:38you're getting freshly made pasta,
03:40which not many airlines do that.
03:43Bread products are also prepared on-site.
03:47Bakers churn out 10,000 croissants an hour,
03:51as well as handmade focaccias.
03:55Pastry chefs design new desserts every quarter,
03:58like these chocolate brownies made from scratch.
04:02We're giving this an economy
04:04and it's a homemade eggless brownie.
04:06Tastes really good with a mousse underneath.
04:12While people here handle food all day long,
04:15taste testing is only reserved for a select few.
04:20For each of our kitchens,
04:21we have a centralized tasting area.
04:23So I'm here with Chef Harish,
04:25who's our executive chef for QACC.
04:28Our senior chefs will taste the food,
04:30log it down, and give their comments.
04:32If something does not pass our criteria,
04:34we redo the meals.
04:36Pretty good.
04:38Yeah, you agree?
04:40Qatar Airways has a total of 270 international flights
04:45leaving from Doha per day.
04:47And on average, the airline serves 350 meals on each flight.
04:53This facility also provides meals
04:55to other One World Alliance partners that fly out of Doha,
04:59and to the 19 lounges at Hamad International Airport.
05:05All the food is halal,
05:07prepared in accordance with Islamic dietary laws
05:10because Qatar is a Muslim country.
05:13So for example, you won't find any pork on the menu.
05:18But when it comes to drinks,
05:19the airline does serve alcohol
05:21once you're up in the clouds,
05:23unlike some Muslim carriers like Saudia or Kuwait Airways,
05:27where it's banned.
05:31Once each dish is finalized,
05:33it's stacked on a tray and labeled.
05:36The reason we put a barcode
05:37is to ensure we have traceability for every dish,
05:40as well as for the team on the other side
05:42to be able to easily find what they need for assembly.
05:46It also helps them track
05:48any food safety issues down the line.
05:51We can trace it all the way back
05:52to the person that made it, the day they made it,
05:54the time they made it,
05:56and we can then further investigate if there's a need.
05:59The trays are cooled for 90 minutes
06:01to prevent the growth of any bacteria or pathogens.
06:05And then...
06:05Temperature is checked once again
06:07by our infrared thermometer,
06:09and the food is covered, scanned, and sent for storage.
06:14It's not possible for the airline
06:15to prepare everything on the day of the flight,
06:18so usually they make food in advance
06:21and refrigerate it for one day at the most.
06:24Any longer, and the taste and texture could change,
06:27especially for starchy foods like rice or pasta.
06:31But nothing is fully frozen.
06:34This cooling chamber is set to below 5 degrees Celsius
06:37and can store 3,500 trays at a time.
06:41A robotic arm adds and removes trays
06:43as needed across 30 levels.
06:47In the cold kitchen, workers prepare fruit bowls,
06:50dips, and about 12,000 sandwiches a day.
06:55Many of these items end up on short-haul flights,
06:57which are less than three hours long.
06:59Peter here will request our mashed potatoes.
07:02A few hours before the flight takes off,
07:05the food trays that were stored in the chiller
07:08are brought back in for portioning.
07:11Workers on this line have their eyes
07:13at all times on the golden sample.
07:17The combos are endless and change depending on the route.
07:24The economy meals are dished up on trays and packed away.
07:30Business-class meals are temporarily portioned
07:32in these foil containers.
07:34Workers will later plate and serve these dishes,
07:37paying a lot of attention to the presentation,
07:40which will ultimately look like this.
07:45Qatar Airways tries to bring hints of luxury
07:47to economy, too, in the details.
07:51They offer 18 meals that customers
07:53with special dietary needs can pre-order.
07:56We have sort of our religious meals.
07:58We also have our medical meals,
07:59and then we have our specific meals
08:01like child meals, et cetera.
08:03The culinary team has designed 50 meal choices
08:06for economy and first class each,
08:09and 150 for business class that are dished out
08:12based on a flight's route and duration.
08:16Every cabin gets real silverware.
08:19All these items are dried, hand-polished,
08:22and assembled again, ready for the next flight.
08:26We're always looking at ways
08:28of reducing or use plastic.
08:31We're looking at materials for our meal kits
08:33to be able to have less impact on the environment.
08:37Qatar Airways won several awards,
08:39including the Apex Award for Best Food and Beverage.
08:45But they can't maintain high standards
08:47by only sourcing local products,
08:50as Qatar is one of the hottest
08:52and driest countries in the world,
08:55with no lakes or rivers.
08:57Growing things here is hard.
09:00Currently, we have more imported ingredients than local.
09:04However, this is something that we're trying to change.
09:08We're working together with a lot of local farms,
09:10fisheries, to provide some of our products.
09:13That includes tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, and bok choy.
09:21The trays are stacked on these carts
09:23that are rolled onto trucks that head for the tarmac.
09:30The trolleys are pushed onto the aircraft
09:32and locked into the galleys.
09:35Flight attendants then work their magic.
09:38We have newer generation ovens,
09:40which allow individualization of temperature and humidity
09:44when it comes to reheating the meals.
09:48Food has been served on planes since the 1920s.
09:52But back then, it was handed out cold
09:54because there was no way to heat it on board.
09:57In the U.S., United Airlines opened
09:59the world's first airline kitchen in 1936
10:02in Oakland, California,
10:04with just six employees making about 60 meals a day.
10:09Regardless of the season, your crossing will be smooth.
10:12In those days, the U.S. airline industry
10:14was regulated by the federal government.
10:18So carriers were legally required
10:20to serve every passenger an entree,
10:23two vegetables, and a drink.
10:26But the glory years of airline travel and food
10:29were the 50s and 60s.
10:31It was nice to relax in comfort
10:33as pleasant as our own living room
10:35and to be served with such courtesy.
10:38Flight attendants on Pan Am
10:39made real scrambled eggs in the galley.
10:42Old posters showed them slicing and serving roast beef
10:45right from the trolley.
10:47And hot meals were served in the kitchen
10:50and served on the trolleys.
10:51And in the U.S., there was no need
10:54And hot meals were served even on domestic economy.
10:58But in 1978, President Carter signed
11:01the Airline Deregulation Act,
11:03allowing airlines to set their own fares,
11:06routes, and services.
11:08Competition immediately heated up.
11:11Airlines quickly cut flight prices to attract customers,
11:15but looked for other ways to make up for lost revenue,
11:18like slashing food options.
11:20In fact, in the 1980s,
11:22the head of American Airlines, Robert Crandall,
11:25famously came up with the idea
11:27of removing just one olive from every salad.
11:31And that reportedly saved $40,000 a year.
11:35In 2010, Continental, which is now United Airlines,
11:39became the last major U.S. airline
11:42to end free domestic meals in coach.
11:45These days, the term airline food
11:47has become a joke in the U.S.
11:52Many domestic flights on economy
11:54offer pretzels and nuts at best,
11:57and low-cost carriers like Spirit Airlines
11:59give nothing unless you're willing to pay up.
12:03Passengers have even criticized long-haul meals
12:05in business class from carriers like United.
12:09But all U.S. airlines are private or public,
12:13and they claim some international carriers,
12:15like Emirates, Qatar, and Singapore,
12:17have an advantage because they're state-owned.
12:23These days, many airlines use
12:25a third-party caterer for hot meals.
12:28The largest players are Gate Gourmet and LSG Group.
12:33That's the company that caters for several major airlines
12:36like Delta and Air New Zealand.
12:41Their head of culinary, Justin Cohen,
12:43works closely with LSG to develop recipes
12:46and prepare 6.7 million meals a year
12:50just for Air New Zealand and its lounges.
12:52Look, I think I've probably got
12:54the best food job in the world, to be honest.
12:56I get to fly around the world,
12:58taste brilliant food, meet amazing people,
13:01and deal with big, hairy problems.
13:03I'll be showing you guys a little venison dish
13:05that we've got serving in-flight at the moment.
13:08He says the biggest challenge is making food
13:11that will taste good at 32,000 feet or above.
13:15On some planes, your taste buds are about 30%
13:19less sensitive to sweet and salty foods.
13:22That's because of the pressure, dryness, and engine sound.
13:25In older 777s and A320s,
13:28the cabin is pressurized up to 8,000 feet,
13:31so it feels like you're eating lunch on Machu Picchu.
13:34And humidity on board can sit as low as 12%,
13:38less than some deserts.
13:40When you have a dry mouth and a worsened sense of smell,
13:43foods can be twice as bland.
13:45So historically, that meant airlines piled on the salt
13:48for you to even taste the food,
13:50sometimes leaving passengers feeling bloated.
13:53But in new planes, manufacturers are making conditions
13:56on board easier on your body.
13:58In the A350s, 380s, and 787s,
14:02cabins are pressurized up to 6,000 feet.
14:05So instead of Machu Picchu,
14:07it feels like you're eating dinner in Denver.
14:09And because new planes are made of more carbon fiber,
14:12it's possible to increase humidity to about 24%.
14:18Still, Air New Zealand prepares for all conditions.
14:23You have to be very precise in your cooking temperatures,
14:26not only in production, but also in flight.
14:29We then have to heat it to the exact 12 minutes
14:31that we specified.
14:32And should anything happen, like turbulence,
14:35it kind of throws those timings out.
14:37And so, yeah, it has to be very precise, very specific.
14:41That's a lot to remember for flight attendants.
14:44Also understanding that our cabin crew are not chefs, right?
14:47They're doing the best that they can.
14:49To make their lives easier,
14:51Justin's team avoids serving certain foods altogether.
14:55Things like fried foods don't heat up too well,
14:57as well as pastries.
14:58Another hurdle is the sheer scale of the operation.
15:02There's probably around 200 dishes flying at any one time
15:05getting made here out of Auckland.
15:06You take in your special meal requests,
15:08there's 14 different types of special meals.
15:10And so you can see how quickly that number compounds
15:13across all the different courses, different cabin classes.
15:17All these challenges feel overwhelming,
15:20but Justin isn't easily intimidated.
15:23Pressure's a gift, in my opinion.
15:25Diamonds are created from pressure,
15:26so we embrace it, we roll with it.
15:29And that's just the airline industry.
15:31Planes need to go on time and catering must be there.
15:34Meanwhile, demand for in-flight catering
15:36keeps growing worldwide,
15:38as the number of airline passengers is expected to rise
15:42from 4.5 billion in 2019 to 4.7 billion in 2024.
15:49And some airlines in the US
15:51are beginning to shift strategies again.
15:54Recently, American Airlines opened a brand new facility
15:58in Dallas that prepares nearly 15,000 passengers
16:02and prepares nearly 15,000 fresh meals a day.
16:06They're mostly reserved for their international routes
16:09or passengers in premium cabins.
16:12The airline says the in-house kitchen
16:14helps American cater flights more efficiently
16:17and serve customers traveling from their largest hub.
16:22Emirates, the UAE's national carrier,
16:24is a big player in the business,
16:26making over 77 million meals a year
16:29even for short-haul flights.
16:33And they'll cater their menu based on destination.
16:37So if you're headed to Paris,
16:39you'll get a croissant in the morning.
16:40Flying to Mumbai, you'll most likely get kachoris.
16:44Stopping off in Japan?
16:45How about some soba or a bento box?
16:49And if you're heading to the airline's home base in Dubai,
16:52you'll get the Arabic Mazzeh selection.
16:56It also specializes in Middle Eastern sweets,
16:58all made in-house.
17:01The assembled trays are loaded onto trolleys
17:03that run along this 1.5-mile monorail.
17:06It's how massive amounts of inventory
17:08move safely through the building.
17:13Back in Doha, Felipe's team has ways of figuring out
17:16which meals passengers actually prefer.
17:21We do something called offload checks.
17:23Three or four times a week,
17:24we will personally go and check
17:26what's coming from the flights,
17:28and then we can sort of see the trends
17:30of what people are eating, what they're not eating.
17:32The cabin crew also carry a tablet
17:34to gather feedback on meals
17:36and send those reports directly to catering.
17:39Using that data, the kitchen can supply the aircraft
17:43with more dishes that people want
17:45while reducing the meals they hardly touch.
17:48And that also helps cut down food waste.
17:52So after all this,
17:54what's the favorite meal of the man who's tried them all?
17:58Every day, we're tasting food.
18:00I have a soft spot for Asian food,
18:02so we keep our food pretty authentic,
18:04and I think that's very important
18:05for our passengers as well.