We’ve all heard the phrase farm-to-plate catering. It is often associated with small, local restaurants, trendy organic farmers’ markets and pop-up chef events. But farm-to-plate in the airline industry? Could that even be possible?
Certainly we hear a lot about airline caterers using locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, and about initiatives to cut the distances F&B products travel before boarding. There’s much talk of the importance of a local back story, and connection between the carrier’s destinations and their consumables, but are we really seeing any significant change?
Most innovation happens in premium cabins and clearly farm-to-plate policies can be hard for airlines. As Marc Warde, at Foodcase, puts it: “There are certainly logistical challenges, cost considerations, and even flight regulations that can complicate matters – but every meal on every flight starts with a farm somewhere. And in an era where food provenance matters more than ever, there’s surely a story worth sharing here.”
Adding value
He believes airlines often don’t get enough credit for the small (but mighty) role they can play in championing local farms and producers, and is throwing down the gauntlet to caterers and buyers to do better – and then shout about it loudly for maximum competitive advantage. He says: “Scaling up farm-to-plate meals and putting them into budget-friendly cabins isn’t easy but every passenger, whether in First or Economy, deserves to know where their food comes from. They increasingly want to hear the story of the farms, the ethics of the producers and the sustainability practices behind their meal. In Economy, the focus is often cost but that doesn’t mean the food on offer is without value; the meat, fruit and vegetables all come from somewhere. And if there’s a story behind those farms, why not tell it?”
Simone Walli, Catering Manager at Austrian Airlines, believes finding the right partners is key. She hails her catering partner Gate Gourmet Japan (GGJ) as a true innovator in this regard, saying: “I love working with them and creating great dishes for our guests with the knowledge that they care about ESGs and work from farm-to-table principles.
Her key account manager at GGJ is Tomoko Tanaka, who says: “We work with farmers close to our kitchens to put locally grown, seasonal ingredients at the heart of our menus – seasonal vegetables, herbs and salad greens, for example. This reduces their carbon footprint, supports local agriculture and allows the chef to use produce at its freshest. It ensures dishes are in season and are more sustainable than if we just use imports.”
Open to the elements
While there are many benefits, Tanaka admits there are also challenges. These include the need to maintain sourcing flexibility as the seasons change. “We build in flexibility by, for example, naming our salads ‘seasonal garden salad’ to allow us to use whichever produce is available. Weather can affect the quality and volume of crops available, so we design our offering carefully to balance supply chain availability from local farmers and our customers’ requirements.”
Gate Gourmet sees the growing trend of farm-to-table sourcing as part of a broader movement towards sustainability, quality and traceability in the food industry driven by growing consumer demand for transparency and a more sustainable food system. Its 10-year partnership with Hokuso Vegetables, just 10 minutes from its Narita base, is a prime example of how this can work, allowing the caterer to buy 32% of its vegetables locally. It also has a long-term relationship with the KoisuruButa pig farm, 15km from its base, and Tokai Seapro, a sustainable Japanese fish farm delivering fresh fish daily to the Narita and Haneda units.
Partnering up
There are other examples, too. Singapore Airlines has been championing a ‘Farm to Plane’ approach for some time, seeking out top producers near its kitchens in an initiative to prioritise freshness. The airline’s greens come from AeroFarms, a vertical farm partner on the east coast of Singapore that grows indoors ‘aeroponically’: misting roots with water and nutrients in a process that uses 90% less water to bring seeds to harvest in as little as eight days.
Likewise, Emirates Flight Catering found a joint venture partner, Crop One, with which to open the world’s largest hydroponic vertical farm in 2022, backed by an investment of US$40m. Located near Al Maktoum International Airport, the 330,000sqft facility produces high-quality lettuces, arugula, mixed salad greens and spinach. Production requires 95% less water than conventional agriculture and returns 3,000kg of greens a day. At the launch, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline, said: “By bringing production closer to consumption, we’re securing the supply chain, bringing locally sourced, nutritious produce to our passengers and reducing the food journey from farm to fork.”
Further from home
This kind of partnership is key but airlines also need reliable suppliers beyond their home hub if they are going to stop transporting fish or meat thousands of miles. For SIA this has meant a partnership with Hudson Valley Fisheries, located two hours from its New York flight kitchens. The fisheries practice land-based recirculating aquaculture, a method that manages water consumption while ensuring food safety. A ‘whole fish’ processing approach means waste becomes compost and fertiliser for local farms.
Qatar Airways has tried similar partnerships. The first was with Qatarat Agricultural Development Company (QADCO) to supply Qatar Aircraft Catering Company with fresh fruits and vegetables including cucumber, cabbage, zucchini, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, onions and herbs picked straight from computerised greenhouses and Qatari farms. QADCO adopts sustainable and ‘clean farming’ techniques designed to maintain ecological balance. Subsequently, the airline launched organic produce, including a new Super Food Salad sourced from Safwa, a Qatari farm-to-plate specialist, and a range of beverages curated by the healthy food group, Evergreen Organics, which runs Qatar’s first 100% vegan café.
Rail operators are getting in on the farm-to-plate act too, with Eurostar the first rail carrier to obtain the three-star Food Made Good label from the Sustainable Restaurant Association. Its new dining service sees menus created primarily from fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced from within Eurostar’s own operational ecosystem. The culinary team focuses on circularity and meticulously uses locally sourced ingredients.
Freshness first
Rudi Friedrichs, founder at Frankenberg, believes frozen meals can help with the practicalities. He says: “Back in the 1980s the German frozen food sector had a slogan: ‘Frozen, fresher than fresh’, and with it came a growing recognition that frozen food really can be the answer for airline meals too.”
The caterer has done much to identify local and organic suppliers and Friedrichs says: “We have always wanted to use the very best produce but realised this was not always the food on our doorstep. Local veg is harvested on day one, delivered on day two and used on day three. Each day the quality drops. If you source and freeze the very best produce on the day it is harvested, it will be fresher. In blind tastings of fresh and frozen products, tasters can rarely tell the difference, so frozen meals really are a way to bring real quality and consistency to inflight dining.”
Game on
Warde believes airline buyers can make the greatest impact in all cabins by developing thoughtful partnerships. He asks: “Who will be your next farm-to-plate superstar? Will you be the one to find a small, sustainable farm that’s waiting for its moment? Or perhaps you have a long-standing partner whose story deserves to be showcased? You can be sure your passengers are waiting to meet your farm champions. Find your perfect match and your passengers, and the planet, will thank you.”
