 Visit to Sky-Chef, New-Delhi
18.2.1999
 While I was on a visit to Delhi I ran into Mr. Murli, an old friend from my tourism days. Murli used to be a senior executive of Ambassador Pallava Hotel, in Madras, and works now as the General Manager of the ‘Ambassador Sky-Chef’ in New-Delhi. He promptly invited me to visit the kitchen and lab of the Ambassador Sky-Chef. I understand it caters to the largest number of international flights touching the Indira Gandhi International Airport so I accepted the invitation.
 It proved to be a fascinating visit. I always thought that various hotels pack the food in trays which are loaded onto the aircraft to be served to passengers. However, I found that the domain of flight catering is quite unique.
The food is not cooked in a hotel but in a specially designed facility. The highest standards of hygiene are maintained. All the employees must be in excellent health condition. All recipes are standardized. There should be no difference in the photograph of a dish and the actual dish served. All ingredients should be of the best quality and the dishes should consistently taste the same.
Before we entered the facility, we had to don white coats, cover our heads with white caps, wash our hands and dip them twice in chlorinated water. It was like entering into an operation theatre.
 Inside, we saw hectic activity. The facility works twenty four hours a day. For some flights lunch is supplied, for others dinner and morning breakfast. All vegetables are washed twice in chlorinated water. A tester is used to inspect if water is actually chlorinated.
Only the best mineral water is used. At the moment they are using Himalayan mineral water. The cutlery is washed in temperatures of 70 to 90 degree centigrade.
Each airline has got its space earmarked to lay the trays and pack the cutlery. Food cooked by specialist chefs is blast-chilled as soon as it is ready to retain the fresh taste. After that it is stored in nine degree temperature. It is loaded into trucks which also maintain the same temperature, until it reaches the aircraft.
The bakery produces fresh bread, rolls, pastries, etc. The patties are designed differently to suit each airline. In the Indian section Rasmalais were being made for Indian Airlines. Japanese food comes from Japan but is stored and supplied by Sky-Chef for JAL flights.
 Before visiting the facility we had a sumptuous lunch complete with chicken tikka, chicken malai tikka, naan, sambar and rice, baingan ka bartha
(Brinjal preparation).
We also ate a Japanese food platter of sticky rice and vegetables heading for JAL passengers and tasted pineapple pastries of Indian Airlines and the mango mousse of Swiss Airlines.
Sky-Chef has a sophisticated lab which constantly checks food samples for quality control. There is also an in-house medical officer to detect onset of any illness in any staff member. Employees have to have comprehensive health checkups every six months. Their health records have to be meticulously maintained and can be inspected by the airlines at any time.
After visiting the facilities I concluded that the food cooked for airlines is the most hygienic, safest and most nutritious.
 The other day when I was travelling from Madras to Singapore, I saw a family opening its tiffin box and eating their homemade rotis and
sabji.
I know many people who shun airline food but there is no need to anymore. Airlines are really catering well to people. In 1978 when I travelled first out of India there was hardly anything served for vegetarians on flights. But today you ask for anything and they have it. Not only do you get Indian vegetarian but also Continental, Chinese and Italian.
Lo and behold! with their super specialization now, you can demand from an airline, Hindu non-vegetarian (non-beef), Jain Meal (non-onion, non-garlic), or even a Jewish Koshar meal. Next time you travel, book your meal in advance and eat your way to Timbucktoo.
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