Fine dining during 10 years
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Flight Engineer Abdullah Mohibuddin (retired)
THE stewardess informs us that they are ready to serve us the food and what our choices are. From the crew menu, each operating crew ( Capt, Co-pilot & Flt Engr.) has one choice as all three crew meals are different. This is to prevent any inadvertent sickness from food poisoning. Generally, the Capt loves to have chicken curry, lentil (daal) and rice. Co-pilot settles with beef curry and vegetable. And when it comes to me usually a continental dish-grilled chicken or beef stroganoff with boiled potato is fine.
I love grilled chicken made by our BIMAN's In-flight Catering (BFCC). Sometimes the Capt decides my menu. That is for German Shahib! I graduated from German Engineering University in the field of Aircraft Designing & Manufacturing (here it says Aeronautical Engineering) and had worked with the German flagship Airline LUFTHANSA before joining BIMAN. I am used to eating potatoes. Most of the Germans eat potatoes in their daily meal, instead of rice.
In-flight food is something different from normal meal -- less fatty and less curry. Throughout my flying career, I consumed foods from in-flight catering services from different airlines. For example, I loved the breakfast being uplifted from Dubai Albert Abela Catering center. This breakfast consists of plain croissants served either with 'set honey' or strawberry jam and soft chili omelets. Both items are excellent. I also liked the club sandwich delivered from SAS Catering, London.
But Albert Abela's foods are generally good to excellent. BEVAN's BFCC (Biman Flight Catering Centre) was built and set up by Albert Abela of Dubai & Sharjah in the UAE in 1989. BFCC was already there from the very inception (birth) of BIMAN in 1972. Most of the chefs were excellent then and used to prepare meals for us and for the passengers. But we could not hold on to those chefs for a long time as they were not paid well. Modem BFCC was built in 1989 and can now prepare 8500 (eight thousand five hundred) meals per day. BIMAN's Catering is now feeding 5 (five) airlines and another 15 airlines' Cabin dressing services. Airlines are uplifting their food quality for passenger and crew. When we talk about airlines like British Airways, then the volume of food prepared for them is quite a big size.
What is BFCC now? How one looks at it from inside.
Catering for an airline is a precise business, not only a large number of meals have to be produced but each one must meet the rigid requirements of the airline. The overall function is to prepare, produce and deliver In-flight meals in accordance with the highest and strictest levels of international standard for Quality and Hygiene, and to the exact specification of international airline clients. Basically, an In-flight Catering is divided into three major areas, namely: 1) Production, 2) Operation and 3) Supply-chain.
In the production process, again they are subdivided into: a) Hot kitchen, b) Cold Kitchen, c) Bakery/Pastry, d) In-house Taster Panel and e) Menu planning. On a daily basis, BIMAN's Flight Catering (BFCC) facility produces an average of eight thousand five hundred meals. Specialized & experienced Chefs produce all types of cuisines & multi-ethnic food. On an average day, BIMAN's hot kitchen works with different menus and recipes to cater to the needs of the customers and their passengers.
BFCC's fully equipped Cold kitchen allows it to be self-sufficient. With hygiene and safety always in mind, the work tables are refrigerated to ensure the safest meals and are prepared whilst maintaining the cold chain. Over 2000 cold cuts are produced by BFCC. It also prepares all its bakery and pastry products in-house. On an average day, the bakery produces thousands of croissants, pastries, bread rolls, french baguettes, dry & tray cakes and loaves of different bread.
BIMAN's catering facility has a continuous meal tasting programme where BFCC carry out random taste & quality checks on the products. Menu planning is carried out by a qualified and experienced team of Chefs who work in co-ordination with the development Chef to plan, recommend, prepare and present menus that meet all the specifications and requirements of the airline clients.
Now, the responsibility is transferred over to the Operations department. This department consists of five separate but complementary functions each with dedicated tennis of managers, supervisors and staff. They are as follows: 1)Ware wash & Equipment management, 2) FIt preparations, 3) Air side logistics, 4) Transport and 5) Administration & communication.
Each function closely coordinates its activities to mutually support one another with Hygiene Quality processes.
However, I want to stop writing here as I will not be able to finish it in a few pages. For example, Flight preparation brings an average few thousand pieces of equipment and food together to flight.
Supply Chain is another important department in Flight Catering. The Supply chain has an enormous amount of jobs to do. Food store and Airline stores alone have between three thousand and eight thousand line items sourced from across the globe. The food store ensures that all perishable, temperature sensitive items, raw materials, ready to eat products & food packing materials are hygienically handled to the highest standards from the receipt till delivery.
Besides the food preparation and supplying to the aircraft, Catering division is also responsible for Cabin dressing materials, beverages, newspapers and give-away items to onboard passengers.
Well this is not the end. The people will definitely like to know whether BFCC is making any money out of this big job. Even BIMAN- Bangladesh Airlines is working hard to stay on its feet, but BFCC however, has performed well and is making some profit. The present success can be accredited to the present Managing Director and CEO Dr. Momen and the General Manager of BFCC Mr. Atique Sobhan. Mr. Atique has a varied background and vast knowledge & experience in this sector.
May be we can say, there is always a new avenue to improve. BFCC can be called as the high standard of food processing industry as well as servicing industry. Surprisingly, BFCC is doing an enormous amount of work loads daily, but it could increase the productivity if they have brought the management by software solution. It should have website and web-pages of its products. Another aspect is that BFCC could enjoy itself as an independent company under the umbrella of BIMAN- Bangladesh airlines.
(The writer is former president of Flight Engineer and Navigators Association)
THE stewardess informs us that they are ready to serve us the food and what our choices are. From the crew menu, each operating crew ( Capt, Co-pilot & Flt Engr.) has one choice as all three crew meals are different. This is to prevent any inadvertent sickness from food poisoning. Generally, the Capt loves to have chicken curry, lentil (daal) and rice. Co-pilot settles with beef curry and vegetable. And when it comes to me usually a continental dish-grilled chicken or beef stroganoff with boiled potato is fine.
I love grilled chicken made by our BIMAN's In-flight Catering (BFCC). Sometimes the Capt decides my menu. That is for German Shahib! I graduated from German Engineering University in the field of Aircraft Designing & Manufacturing (here it says Aeronautical Engineering) and had worked with the German flagship Airline LUFTHANSA before joining BIMAN. I am used to eating potatoes. Most of the Germans eat potatoes in their daily meal, instead of rice.
In-flight food is something different from normal meal -- less fatty and less curry. Throughout my flying career, I consumed foods from in-flight catering services from different airlines. For example, I loved the breakfast being uplifted from Dubai Albert Abela Catering center. This breakfast consists of plain croissants served either with 'set honey' or strawberry jam and soft chili omelets. Both items are excellent. I also liked the club sandwich delivered from SAS Catering, London.
But Albert Abela's foods are generally good to excellent. BEVAN's BFCC (Biman Flight Catering Centre) was built and set up by Albert Abela of Dubai & Sharjah in the UAE in 1989. BFCC was already there from the very inception (birth) of BIMAN in 1972. Most of the chefs were excellent then and used to prepare meals for us and for the passengers. But we could not hold on to those chefs for a long time as they were not paid well. Modem BFCC was built in 1989 and can now prepare 8500 (eight thousand five hundred) meals per day. BIMAN's Catering is now feeding 5 (five) airlines and another 15 airlines' Cabin dressing services. Airlines are uplifting their food quality for passenger and crew. When we talk about airlines like British Airways, then the volume of food prepared for them is quite a big size.
What is BFCC now? How one looks at it from inside.
Catering for an airline is a precise business, not only a large number of meals have to be produced but each one must meet the rigid requirements of the airline. The overall function is to prepare, produce and deliver In-flight meals in accordance with the highest and strictest levels of international standard for Quality and Hygiene, and to the exact specification of international airline clients. Basically, an In-flight Catering is divided into three major areas, namely: 1) Production, 2) Operation and 3) Supply-chain.
In the production process, again they are subdivided into: a) Hot kitchen, b) Cold Kitchen, c) Bakery/Pastry, d) In-house Taster Panel and e) Menu planning. On a daily basis, BIMAN's Flight Catering (BFCC) facility produces an average of eight thousand five hundred meals. Specialized & experienced Chefs produce all types of cuisines & multi-ethnic food. On an average day, BIMAN's hot kitchen works with different menus and recipes to cater to the needs of the customers and their passengers.
BFCC's fully equipped Cold kitchen allows it to be self-sufficient. With hygiene and safety always in mind, the work tables are refrigerated to ensure the safest meals and are prepared whilst maintaining the cold chain. Over 2000 cold cuts are produced by BFCC. It also prepares all its bakery and pastry products in-house. On an average day, the bakery produces thousands of croissants, pastries, bread rolls, french baguettes, dry & tray cakes and loaves of different bread.
BIMAN's catering facility has a continuous meal tasting programme where BFCC carry out random taste & quality checks on the products. Menu planning is carried out by a qualified and experienced team of Chefs who work in co-ordination with the development Chef to plan, recommend, prepare and present menus that meet all the specifications and requirements of the airline clients.
Now, the responsibility is transferred over to the Operations department. This department consists of five separate but complementary functions each with dedicated tennis of managers, supervisors and staff. They are as follows: 1)Ware wash & Equipment management, 2) FIt preparations, 3) Air side logistics, 4) Transport and 5) Administration & communication.
Each function closely coordinates its activities to mutually support one another with Hygiene Quality processes.
However, I want to stop writing here as I will not be able to finish it in a few pages. For example, Flight preparation brings an average few thousand pieces of equipment and food together to flight.
Supply Chain is another important department in Flight Catering. The Supply chain has an enormous amount of jobs to do. Food store and Airline stores alone have between three thousand and eight thousand line items sourced from across the globe. The food store ensures that all perishable, temperature sensitive items, raw materials, ready to eat products & food packing materials are hygienically handled to the highest standards from the receipt till delivery.
Besides the food preparation and supplying to the aircraft, Catering division is also responsible for Cabin dressing materials, beverages, newspapers and give-away items to onboard passengers.
Well this is not the end. The people will definitely like to know whether BFCC is making any money out of this big job. Even BIMAN- Bangladesh Airlines is working hard to stay on its feet, but BFCC however, has performed well and is making some profit. The present success can be accredited to the present Managing Director and CEO Dr. Momen and the General Manager of BFCC Mr. Atique Sobhan. Mr. Atique has a varied background and vast knowledge & experience in this sector.
May be we can say, there is always a new avenue to improve. BFCC can be called as the high standard of food processing industry as well as servicing industry. Surprisingly, BFCC is doing an enormous amount of work loads daily, but it could increase the productivity if they have brought the management by software solution. It should have website and web-pages of its products. Another aspect is that BFCC could enjoy itself as an independent company under the umbrella of BIMAN- Bangladesh airlines.
(The writer is former president of Flight Engineer and Navigators Association)