Summary
Highlights
Singapore Airlines, through its catering partner SATs, produces an astonishing 6-7,000 omelets and 50,000 total meals daily. The catering facility operates 24/7, year-round, preparing food for nearly 20 million passengers annually. Anthony, head of catering, manages a $500 million food budget, procuring vast quantities of ingredients like 168,000 lobster tails and over 1 million pounds of rice each year. A significant challenge is that food flavors can change in the sky due to cabin conditions, a problem airlines and manufacturers strive to mitigate.
The main catering facility is located at Changi Airport and run by SATs, which also serves 45 other airlines, with Singapore Airlines as its primary client. Anthony and SATs develop hundreds of new menus annually, a process that can take 9-12 months per dish. Menus vary based on departure location (e.g., Singapore, New York City) and cabin class. First-class passengers enjoy extensive options like caviar and lobster, while premium economy offers fewer choices, cooked in larger batches. Regardless of class, each dish is designed to include a protein, vegetable, starch, and sauce.
Before entering the kitchen, staff undergo strict sanitization procedures, including handwashing and air showers to prevent contamination. SATs' team of over a thousand workers manages 800-1,000 different menus daily, with cooking beginning 24-36 hours before a flight. The kitchen is divided into specialized stations: a premium kitchen for grilling meats for first and business class, and a hot kitchen for all other hot foods like vegetables, pasta, and sauces. Most items are cooked only 30-60% through to prevent overcooking during in-flight reheating. Cooked food is immediately blast chilled to halt the cooking process and ensure food safety. Every tray is tracked to trace potential food sickness issues.
A significant challenge is that taste perception is reduced by about 30% in a plane due to pressure, dry air, and engine noise. Older aircraft cabins, pressurized to 8,000 feet, and humidity as low as 12% can make food bland. Newer aircraft (A350s, A380s, 777s) used by Singapore Airlines are pressurized closer to 6,000 feet and maintain higher humidity (around 24%), which helps preserve passengers' taste sensitivity. This allows chefs to reduce reliance on excessive salt. Anthony uses a simulated pressurized cabin to test food and incorporates ingredients like turmeric and ginger to combat bloating and promote relaxation. They avoid dishes that don't travel well, such as deep-fried items or thin fish, opting for thicker cuts that hold up better during reheating.
After cooking, meals are moved to the tray assembly area. Clean dishes and cutlery are brought up via elevators where staff meticulously arrange napkins, porcelain, silverware, and condiments. Appetizers are pre-set, and all items are carefully packed into carts. Each cart is labeled with flight details, destination, and meal service information, allowing cabin crew to easily identify contents. These packed carts are then loaded onto flights, typically within an hour of takeoff. The entire process, from cooking to in-flight consumption, must adhere to a strict 72-hour limit to meet food safety standards, highlighting the high-speed and precise coordination required.