Have you ever wondered what goes into providing the food and drinks available on a flight? It's not as simple as setting out a few trays of snacks for passengers. A lot of careful preparation, planning, and coordination is required to ensure that an inflight catering service offers an enjoyable experience for all onboard passengers.

Take a look at what goes on behind the scenes.

The Planning Process 

First and foremost, the menu has to be carefully planned in accordance with special dietary requirements and restrictions that airlines should adhere to. This requires working with chefs and nutritionists to ensure that all meals meet the exacting standards of both airlines and customers. 

Not only that, but due to limited space on flights, the meals served need to also be compact enough to fit onto food carts — all while still looking attractive and tasty. This part of the process usually involves a lot of trial and error, as chefs go through multiple iterations to find the best possible meal combination for passengers.

The Prep Work 

Once a menu has been finalized, it's time for the prep work to begin. All ingredients need to be gathered from local suppliers, ensuring fast delivery times and freshness throughout each flight's lifespan. Furthermore, airline catering services typically provide food for hundreds of flights each day across multiple airports, so all ingredients must be accounted for to avoid shortages or disruptions.

During the prep stage, chefs also need to ensure that all meals are cooked and assembled properly, whether cold snacks or hot dishes. This requires making sure that all components of each meal are correctly combined and laid out for maximum visual appeal.

Strict Health Standards 

After preparing each meal according to health standards set by each country's government agencies, every bite of food needs to be inspected before being loaded onto planes. This includes testing different types of meat products for salmonella bacteria, making sure all vegetables are washed properly prior to cooking them, and so much more.

Furthermore, strict temperature guidelines need to be followed to guarantee quality throughout each flight. Everything from ice cream sundaes to hot dishes like chicken wings should be kept at safe temperatures until they are served onboard.

Inflight catering services require a lot of care and attention to make sure passengers have a safe, enjoyable experience on board their flights. 

From carefully planning menus based on dietary restrictions and space limitations on airplanes, gathering ingredients from local suppliers, and prepping food according to strict health standards — there is no doubt that there is a lot of hard work involved in making sure your next flight is smooth sailing.

To learn more, contact a private flight catering service in your area.