Finnair and SATS give us an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how they create their in-flight menus.
When it comes to booking your next flight, you have to admit that the in-flight meals play an important role in your decision. When you’re stuck in a plane cabin, adjusting to a different time zone, one of the few things you can look forward to (besides reaching your destination) is a good meal.
Many airlines understand your woes and have stepped up their efforts to provide quality meals that will surely please the taste buds even when you’re 30,000 ft up in the air. How is this possible? We find out the answers from Finnair, whose set to launch a new menu in May.
Like everything else in life, it all starts with planning. Three months before any menu is introduced to Finnair flights, its inflight service team comes up with a new concept. Once done, it needs the help of SATS, which handles the food preparation of most airlines departing from Singapore, to bring this idea to life.
With a concrete theme in mind, the kitchen team led by executive chef Ranner Wolfgang whips up a range of dishes which goes through a number of tests before they are presented to Finnair. These include tasting sessions within the kitchen team, as well as testing the food inside the flight simulator to see if they’d taste as good as it would in a fine-dining restaurant.
Once all tests and tweaks are done, SATS presents all dishes in a food tasting session. This is attended by Finnair’s key personnel which include its inflight services team, country sales manager and senior cabin crew.
The dishes laid out on the table at the SATS dining room comprise at least four options for breakfast, lunch and dinner for business and economy classes; and the whole team goes around the room tasting and rating the dishes. This can take one whole day to a couple of weeks, depending on the changes required. But once everyone agrees on what to serve, the menu and visual presentation are communicated to the whole Finnair team — especially to the cabin crew who will prepare them for you. The menu will be served for three months before Finnair goes through the same process all over again.
Photo credit: Finnair