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Photo Essay: How Your United Airlines Meal is Prepared

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Old Aug 27, 2014, 5:42 am
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Last edit by: jspira
United Airlines' Chelsea Food Services at Newark makes over 30,000 meals a day for 200 flights. This photo essay shows how the meals are actually prepared.

Photo Essay: How Your Airline Meal Is Prepared
Behind the Scenes in United Airlines Kitchen

Love it or hate it, airline food is a popular topic of conversation amongst travelers.

In the earliest days of commercial aviation, airlines copied what others in the transportation industry, such as operators of rail service and passenger ships, were doing and offered food and drink.

Today, airline meals are big business but there are still real people in the kitchen chopping, mixing, sauting, grilling, and garnishing what is served to you in the air....

<SNIP>
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Photo Essay: How Your United Airlines Meal is Prepared

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Old Aug 26, 2014, 9:13 pm
  #16  
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Originally Posted by krazykanuck
I like how in one of those pictures the worker's white cook jacket says "Continental Airlines"
All of the white lab coats they handed out for the tour (and relatively few people went on the tour) had Continental on them. When it came time to turn mine in, I wondered (briefly) how much these would go for on eBay.
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 12:02 am
  #17  
 
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That comment about hospital food... I spent 5 days in the hospital the end of May...the food was a whole lot better than anything I have had on UA in recent years. I was pleasantly surprised by the hospital food. Oh, the service was better too but the destination was not fun. They did get me better so I guess that is a good thing...
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 5:35 am
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by jspira
Everything looked very fresh and appealing and it was clear to me that the workers cared a lot about the quality of the meals they produced.
The quality of ingredients is key. The other thing is the ability to have the dishes translate to the conditions at 30,00 ft. where food loses ~30% of it's flavor profile.

Most meals prepared in test kitchens under favorable conditions will turn out ok. At altitude when prepped and re-heated by indifferent flight crews with various skill levels it becomes a different story. That is why the consistency of the BOB menu offerings is preferred by many to the typical UA domestic F meals.


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Old Aug 27, 2014, 5:43 am
  #19  
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Originally Posted by SunLover
The quality of ingredients is key. The other thing is the ability to have the dishes translate to the conditions at 30,00 ft. where food loses ~30% of it's flavor profile.

Most meals prepared in test kitchens under favorable conditions will turn out ok. At altitude when prepped and re-heated by indifferent flight crews with various skill levels it becomes a different story. That is why the consistency of the BOB menu offerings is preferred by many to the typical UA domestic F meals.
It's also why tomato juice is a favorite beverage in the air as it's one of the few things that tastes the same in the air as on the ground.
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 5:52 am
  #20  
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Originally Posted by jspira
It's also why tomato juice is a favorite beverage in the air as it's one of the few things that tastes the same in the air as on the ground.
I've always wondered about this. I only drink tomato juice on a plane
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 6:12 am
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by gene2632
That comment about hospital food... I spent 5 days in the hospital the end of May...the food was a whole lot better than anything I have had on UA in recent years. I was pleasantly surprised by the hospital food. Oh, the service was better too but the destination was not fun. They did get me better so I guess that is a good thing...
I work as a Medical Vendor, Hospital Cafeteria food is actually quite good. I know quite a few people that head over to the local Hospital Cafeteria for lunch daily as opposed to the Fast Food restaurants.
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 6:16 am
  #22  
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Originally Posted by JVPhoto
How am I supposed to sleep tonight???



+1

Even "fresh" the turkey puck looks horrendous
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 7:33 am
  #23  
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Originally Posted by CLEHillbilly
I work as a Medical Vendor, Hospital Cafeteria food is actually quite good. I know quite a few people that head over to the local Hospital Cafeteria for lunch daily as opposed to the Fast Food restaurants.
Just like with airline food, one cannot making generalizations. I've been to a few hospital cafeterias where it was really good and also a few where it was really bad.
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 9:36 am
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The kitchens need to be drab and plain, all in stainless steel and plastic, so they can be hosed down and sanitized at the end of each day..............theoretically
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 11:20 am
  #25  
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Originally Posted by JBEagle1000G
The kitchens need to be drab and plain, all in stainless steel and plastic, so they can be hosed down and sanitized at the end of each day..............theoretically
Exactly. It's made to be functional, not made for a photo essay or television cooking show.
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 12:42 pm
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by PV_Premier
+1

Even "fresh" the turkey puck looks horrendous
Cannot agree more. That turkey patty is the single worst item they serve on United. It is simply uneatable. And it seems like they serve it for breakfast on every international flight.
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 12:46 pm
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I am taking a friend who is used to NZ Biz and Qantas mix of cabins on a morning EWR-LAS F flight in 2 weeks. Can't wait to see her reactions!
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 8:59 pm
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Originally Posted by JVPhoto
I am taking a friend who is used to NZ Biz and Qantas mix of cabins on a morning EWR-LAS F flight in 2 weeks. Can't wait to see her reactions!
But you have to compare apples to apples (no pun intended). The finished product (we sampled a variety of dishes) looks a lot different than the ingredients in the kitchen.
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 10:19 pm
  #29  
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The problem with UA catering isn't Chelsea - it's the budget they are given. They also cater for EK and SQ at IAH I believe and BA in DEN, IAH and EWR.

When Icahn took over TW and slashed the catering budgets it was the same kitchens and same cooks making the food -- they just went from getting premium ingredients to the cheapest possible.

In FRA the same kitchen that caters LH F caters UA F.
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Old Aug 27, 2014, 11:58 pm
  #30  
 
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Originally Posted by JetAway
I read or saw somewhere that a lot of the catered items are prepared by contractors and shipped to the airline for use in the meals. I imagine the sausage is one of those items.
By contractors I assume you mean horse farmers?
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