Fine Dining in the Sky: Emirates serves more than 77 million moreish meals a year

Offering an insight into the vast scale of operation for the world’s largest international airline, Emirates shares some foodie facts about the quantities of gourmet products, dedicated chefs, and attention to detail required to provide fine dining in the sky for more than 77 million customers a year.

Emirates caters for 490 flights daily, with 149 meals served every minute –  totalling an enormous 215,000 meals every day, served across the globe. It takes 1400 dedicated chefs to make these meals, at the vast Emirates Flight Catering Facility in Dubai, and across partner caterers around the world.

Over the course of one-year onboard Emirates, customers consumed a wide variety 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 pasteurised eggs and 3.1 million kilograms of freshly baked breads and pastries, as well as thousands of vegan and vegetarian meals.

Elevating Emirates cuisine with epicurean flavour and flair, chefs use a vast array of ingredients to create delectable dishes across all classes. In one year, Emirates’ chefs use more than 938,000 kilograms of fresh cream, 32,000 kilograms of Masala cashew nuts, 98,000 kilograms of fresh strawberries and 42,000 kilograms of salads from Emirates-owned Bustanica – the world’s largest vertical farm. 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.

To create dishes rivalling those served at top restaurants, Emirates incorporates world renowned premium ingredients and regional specialities such as truffle, foie gras, black cod, Canadian lobster, corn-fed chicken breast, Japanese nori seaweed, Emirates handmade pasta, sushi and glacier 51 fish. Dishes are further enhanced with gourmet garnishes like Bzar spices from the Gulf, Beurre D’Isigny butter, gold and silver leaf – served on more than 300 Emirates desserts, Himalayan pink salt, saffron and edible flowers for delicate and fragrant presentation.

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.

Even snacks onboard Emirates are elevated and thoughtfully selected. 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. In addition to a world-class wine selection and exclusive champagne, Emirates customers also drank 1.2 million litres of orange juice, used 2.3 million teabags and 70,300 kilograms of ground coffee.

To complete the fine dining experience and ensure all customers ‘fly better’, Emirates’ world-class cabin crew offer impeccable service and hospitality in the sky. Cabin crew undergo extensive training on service best practices, plating of food, wine pairing recommendations, tea and coffee service including Arabic coffee service, and much more. This is part of the Emirates Hospitality strategy, which is focused on delivering four pillars of service in the sky – excellence, attentiveness, innovation and passion.