An average of 225,000 meals a day? How is that possible? My reaction when I was told how much food Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) in Dubai prepares each day to serve over 100 airlines across the globe.

We often say in Ghana, “seeing is believing” and at the invitation of Emirates Airline, there I was in the biggest kitchen I have ever seen.

The Facility

Emirates Flight Catering spans 174,000 square metres comprising a highly automated West Wing for all Emirates Premium Class Servicing and an East Wing for all other airlines.

Security and Hygiene

Nothing is left to chance at EKFC. The health background of visitors is checked weeks before they are allowed into the facility. I also had to go through same.

EKFC is concerned about who is going in and out of the facility. So don’t be surprised when you meet an airport-like security checkpoint if you ever get the opportunity to visit.

The other important thing is hygiene. With the volumes of meals prepared daily, food safety is not compromised. Every visitor needs to put on a white coat, a hairnet and wash their hands vigorously before they are allowed into any unit. There are systems to monitor that.

The Global Kitchen

You cannot lose sight of the numerous national flags on display as you get past the security checks. I couldn’t count them all but that represented the nationality of the over 11,000 employees at the facility – a truly global food factory. That is also reflective of the variety EKFC gives in terms of meals. There are several thousand recipes. Depending on the region, the menu is changed monthly.

300,000 - 500,000 bread rolls a day

The food you take during your flight is carefully prepared under the supervision of chefs, experienced in every culinary tradition. It takes a lot of planning.

How EKFC is able to do it is just phenomenal. Mind you, I was not there at the peak time, but even then the kitchen was very busy, from the cold kitchen where all the meat processing, vegetable and fruit salads are made, to one of the busiest units in the food factory which is the bakery and commissary section.

It’s also my personal favourite – Yes I love pastries! The bakery section can make up to 500,000 bread rolls a day, Chef Paul Peeter who took me on the tour told me.

My next stop was the hot kitchen. It is divided into various sections, some preparing continental dishes, meals for the Indian subcontinent, the Far East, Japanese etc.

The hot kitchen is where I met a Ghanaian kitchen staff, Justice who has been working with EKFC for about 2 years.

He was in the middle of making sandwiches for the first-class service.

He told me working at EKFC was a real privilege for him. He trained as a caterer, he’s worked at so many eateries and restaurants but here his depth of knowledge has increased.

Ready for dispatch

Meals are typically ready between 10 – 12 hours ahead and are cooled down. It is important that the meals are kept at the right temperature. Although the meals have a shelf-life of between 3-4 days, they are typically consumed within 24 hours.

The trays are set 4 – 5 hours ahead, ready to be dispatched after the necessary quality checks.

Meantime there is another team which is wrapping cutlery and ensuring all other necessary equipment are sorted and cleaned and packed for the flight. The equipment – millions of them is washed in specially designed machines daily by over 500 workers.

Wine Programme

Definitely, your meals have to come with an accompaniment. The trolleys are also stocked with drinks.

Over 60 wines, champagnes and ports are served to all passengers onboard Emirates.

More than US$500 million dollars has been invested in Emirate’s wine programme – a critical part of the airline’s inflight dining experience. You’d find these kept in the bond store.

Technology

EKFC has invested in the best of technology. Aside from the equipment that facilitates food production in large quantities, the facility has a 4.2km-long electric monorail that transports meal carts, and a 2.4km-long conveyor system that helps transfer clean items from the equipment cleaning area to the production kitchen for food plating and then to the operational areas for flight packing.

EKFC has won several international awards for its quality inflight catering services.

In 2019, it was adjudged Airline Caterer of the Year 2019 for the Middle East region at the annual PAX International Readership Awards, held in Hamburg, Germany, for the fifth consecutive year.