Airline caterer Gate Gourmet offers behind-the-scenes look at in-flight dining
By The Canadian Press on June 18, 2024.
CALGARY – An in-flight catering company that provides food and beverages to Canada’s biggest airlines demonstrated what it takes to provide meals at 30,000 feet Tuesday. Gate Gourmet is a Swiss-owned air catering company that counts Air Canada, WestJet and a number of international carriers operating in Canada among its customers. The company gave reporters a tour of its Calgary facility, one of eight Gate Gourmet locations serving airports across the country. In Calgary alone, Gate Gourmet produces about 5,000 meals per day, cooking and assembling them on-site and then loading them on trucks for delivery directly to waiting planes. The company’s executive chef for North America Molly Brandt says her job is to work within the natural constraints and confines of air travel to come up with new and exciting menu options for airline clients. Gate Gourmet workers at Toronto Pearson International Airport were on strike for two weeks earlier this spring, briefly interrupting meal offerings at both Air Canada and WestJet. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2024. 8-7
