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Travellers jetting off to Europe
from Dubai are being invited to eat healthy and touch down feeling fit for their visit -- with
the launch of a new range of low-calorie meals from Dubai’s Emirates Airlines.
Health-conscious travellers face an awful dilemma -- having to choose
between a First Class seven-course dinner, and an equally tasty light meal
with less than 300 calories.
Grilled fillet of beef in tomato coulis, with parsley potatoes and steamed
vegetables - only 267 calories -- fit for any weight-conscious gourmet’s
(healthy) heart. Or poached salmon and hammour fillet, the Gulf’s version of
cod, with pepper herb sauce, baby corn, sugar snap peas and steamed Parisienne
potatoes - at 286 calories, it will barely cause the calorimeter to click over.
Different light recipes will make their debut every three months, and
feedback is being collected on the new meals, which feature on First and
Business menus and can be pre-ordered in Economy.
Emirates has already increased the number of low-cal meals it provides, and
the trial will be extended to all flights to and from Europe in November. If
the new dishes continue to attract bouquets, they will appear on Far East
and Australia routes too.
Bob Ferguson, who heads the airline’s in-flight catering operation, says:
“More and more customers say they don’t want big multi-course meals, but ask
our crews for light, nourishing and tasty recipes which won’t pile on the
pounds and ounces.
“Comfort in the Air also advises careful preparation to help to make travel
as relaxing and stress-free as possible,” Mr Ferguson said.
“On long flights the body is much less active than usual and digestion slows
down. We suggest sensible eating, lots of water or juice, avoiding sitting
for long periods, and light in-flight exercise for a few minutes every hour
to stimulate blood flow.”
The good news for hearty, rather than healthy, eaters is that traditional
Emirates favourites like Gulf lamb curry, or chicken with Arabic spices,
tomatoes, cauliflower, rice and onions will remain firmly on the menu alongside their lighter
cousins.
“Our chefs are proud of their expertise with every style of meal,” Mr
Ferguson said. “Customers expect the best cuisine in the sky, and our dishes
would not disgrace the tables of a top restaurant - from smallest snack to
seven course supper.”
As a truly international carrier, with employees from 100-plus countries,
and serving more than 11 million meals a year, Emirates has won industry
awards for its cuisine -- and was the world’s first airline to gain ISO9002
accreditation for it, in 1996.
A typical five-course Business Class lunch offers choice of hors d’oeuvre;
three entrees; hot and cold dessert; five cheeses; fresh fruit; tea, coffee
and friandise.
Entrées are served on bone china, and tray tables are laid with linen
tablecloths and an attractive flower arrangement.
Customers can pre-order special meals from a list of more than 20, tailored
to a wide range of religious, medical or ethnic diets, including high
fibre, low sodium, Hindu vegetarian, low cholesterol, low fat, low protein and many
more.
Cabin crew training includes intensive courses on food and meal service,
helping Emirates to win more than 200 ‘Best Airline’ awards since its 1985
launch, despite meteoric annual growth which has never fallen below 20 per
cent.
The airline now has 3,000 crew, with twice as many needed by 2006, prompting
on-going recruitment across the world to attract another 120 a month.
Its standards are extremely demanding, and candidates who meet them will be
mature, friendly and courteous team players, with a well-developed sense of
responsibility, able to show initiative, culturally aware and sensitive. |
