Tea, coffee, water? Would you like to eat? We hear this phrase every time a few tens of minutes after the plane takes off into the sky during another trip, business trip, or just a flight on our own business. On one flight, you will be offered a sandwich with coffee, on the other - a full lunch, including a hot second, fruit and dessert for coffee (alexcheban recently wrote about this in detail in his post). Each airline approaches the issue of catering for passengers during the flight in its own way. Some prepare in-flight meals themselves, others order catering directly at the airport. Interestingly, in Russia, only two airlines prepare food for their passengers - UTair and Aeroflot. The rest "buy" ready-made food. Today we will visit one of UTair's in-flight catering factories, which is located at the airport in the city of Surgut. and we will see with our own eyes which way the lunch boxes and cassettes go with the dinner served to us by smiling flight attendants at an altitude of 10 thousand meters.
Yuteit Airlines has three in-flight catering factories - at the airports of Surgut, Tyumen and Khanty-Mansiysk. It prepares food for all UTair flights, as well as for other airlines departing from these cities. Despite the idea that they should cook food for all flights of their airline, wherever they fly from, in fact, this is not going on. Why? Because cooked food has a very limited lifespan. However, more on that below.
The in-flight catering factory in Surgut consists of several workshops, each of which is an intermediate link in the entire chain of the product's path from delivery to the sealing of a food container before loading onto an aircraft. One of the main shops is meat and fish. Here is the cutting of meat or fish and their preparation for subsequent heat treatment. Some of them go directly to the hot shop, some to freeze for processing at other times.
There is a vegetable shop next to the meat and fish shop. Here is the preparation and cleaning of vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.) for subsequent transfer to the hot workshop, as well as the final preparation of some vegetables (fresh cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, etc.), as well as fruits for packing in lunch boxes. More than 100 kilograms of potatoes alone pass through this workshop per shift.
Bread on board the plane is replaced by buns. They are baked together with muffins and other flour products in the confectionery shop. More than 1000 buns are baked here a day, each of which spends in the oven exactly 18 minutes
All flour confectionery - muffins and various types of shortbread cookies - are handmade and baked in ovens adjacent to the buns
And in the next room there is a filling shop for snacks. Operators arrange sets of pickled vegetables, herbs, olives, cold meats, etc. into lunchboxes. depending on the menu that is currently being prepared.
Lunch boxes are packed in a special sealed package that prevents air from entering
There are also special temperature cabinets for temporary storage and cooling to a chilled state of certain products or ready-made sets.
After placing in the temperature cabinet, a special registration card is attached to it, in which all the necessary data are indicated
One of the main workshops is the kingdom of ladles and the fiefdom of the chef. This is a hot shop
The chef personally supervises all the dishes that are prepared here. The fact is that in addition to in-flight catering, they also prepare dishes for cafes at the Surgut airport, as well as hotels at the airport.
Stewed vegetables for a lean menu on one of the nearest flights from Surgut
The largest workshop is where the final packaging of food sets is carried out. Prepared food from the hot shop, flour and confectionery products, lunch boxes with snacks, fruits and vegetables flock here. Here, all this will be laid out in plastic containers in accordance with the required set of products for certain flights, marked with markings, packed into aircraft trolleys and sealed for transfer on board the airliner.
There is a special card on the wall of the workshop, in accordance with which the markings are applied to containers with food. In fact, nothing is prepared from the children and the crew here) This is just a special mark that is placed on containers intended for children and the crew of the aircraft.
Casaletes (special sealed containers for hot food) with affixed markings are prepared for packing into an aircraft trolley.
Carts and all other reusable packaging containers are washed in a special workshop. The bogies themselves come in different formats, standardized for certain types of aircraft. The photo shows the Boeing 737 trolleys, into which in a few minutes they will be packing lunch for the next flight.
Packaged and labeled food is placed in metal containers that have been washed and dried
Then they are sealed
And they put down the markings - the flight number, destination, date and time of departure, as well as the time of preparation. At this point, I would like to point out a number of interesting features. All food prepared in this factory has a shelf life of three hours. If more time has passed since packing, it is destroyed. That is, if the departure of flight # 296 is delayed by more than 30 minutes, this container will be opened, food destroyed, and cassettes and lunch boxes packed later will be loaded on board the aircraft. But, in principle, everything is done so quickly that the food does not stand idle. Usually, if the departure of the plane is delayed for a long time, it is known in advance, so meals are collected by the actual time of departure. It is also worth noting that for every 50 passengers, 1 extra set of food is loaded on board. Those. if 150 tickets are sold on the flight, 153 lunches will be loaded onto the plane. At the same time, several types of menus for economy class passengers are loaded on board in equal proportions - for example, fish with rice, beef with buckwheat and sausage with pasta. During the flight, the flight attendant will ask what kind of menu you want.
In addition to ready-made food sets, reusable dishes for business class passengers are also prepared for loading on board. Its quantity depends on the number of tickets sold in this class for a particular flight.
The final chord of our acquaintance with the UTair airline's in-flight catering factory in Surgut was the tasting of all those dishes that are on the menu for different categories of passengers - first, business, economy, as well as the crew menu.
The lunch box is a modern, ergonomic container for storing food. The container has a tight lid, attractive design and convenient shape. Boxing is easy to take with you to work and travel. You can reheat and comfortably consume a wide variety of foods. Wear-resistant and environmentally friendly materials ensure long-term service and complete safety for human health. Today we are discussing accessories that are very necessary for everyone - lunch boxes for food and tell all the most interesting about the varieties and selection of food containers.
What is a lunch box?
The name lunch box is a multifunctional container that helps to eat right and tasty anywhere. This is a lightweight container where you can put different food items or pour drinks and take it all with you to work, school, on the road or on a picnic.
The closing principle may differ. Manufacturers offer to buy containers for carrying food with or without heated, with a fun children's design and no decor. There are different materials and the number of compartments. You can individually select a lunch box for the needs of a particular person.
lunch box is a container for foodVarieties of boxes for food
Disposable lunch boxes
Cheap disposable containers are made of durable, safe materials and allow you to carry any food hygienically. Popular brands in this category:
- Horeca - good disposable containers of white color, designed for cold and hot food, withstand temperatures of +70 degrees, have 1 common section, made of polystyrene (price - 370 rubles);
- Styroplast is a popular brand of disposable food containers, white boxes, consist of two sections, made of polystyrene, sections are separated by a partition, an oval-shaped container, no lid (price - 8 rubles).
Heated lunch box
Electric lunch box
Electric food-grade plastic containers can quickly heat food, are equipped with a sealed lid with a silicone seal and several fasteners. Most models warm up in 5 minutes and are powered from the mains. Products in demand:
- Bradex Bento is a sealed blue thermo lunchbox with handles, volume 0.9 l or 1.5 l, made of rubber, abs plastic and stainless steel, keeps the temperature up to 5 hours, compact container is suitable for students, drivers, schoolchildren and office workers, can be washed in a dishwasher (price - 1000 rubles);
- Aqua Work C5 - a pink container with heating and a handle, powered by an outlet, made of stainless steel and plastic, includes a fork and spoon, volume 1.5 liters (price - 2000 thousand).
Lunch box heated by car cigarette lighter
Car lunch boxes are equipped with a cable that connects to the cigarette lighter socket. The food container can travel with you in the car. Food heats up quickly and stays hot for a long time. Popular products from this group:
- Aqua Work 12V - stylish orange-white car lunch box, heated by a cigarette lighter, a little more than 1 liter, made of steel and plastic, the cutlery that comes with the kit is hidden in the lid (price - 2000 rubles);
- Auto kitchen 12V - a miniature car container for food made of metal and plastic, powered by a cigarette lighter, has a volume of 820 ml, the box is easy to disassemble and wash, sold with a fork and spoon, has an LED indicator (price - 2000 rubles).
Thermo lunch boxes for children and schoolchildren
Proper nutrition for children is the key to health, wellness and academic success. The child should eat well, not solid snacks. School lunch boxes allow the child to show independence - take food with them, eat at school or when traveling. These containers can be recognized by their childish design. Current purchases:
- Iris Barcelona - a convenient lunchbox for schoolchildren in the form of a thermal bag with an adjustable strap, handle and side pocket, inside plastic containers with a transparent lid, volume 0.8 and 0.6 liters, washable bag (price 2800 rubles);
- Lunch Kit Floral Soft - children's thermos bag, pink or blue, for any food and drink, withstands temperatures from -20 to +50 degrees (price - 860 rubles).
Lunch box with food sections
If you need to take several portions of different dishes with you, then a lunch box with compartments is indispensable. In such a container, the products are not mixed, their integrity is preserved. Popular products in this category:
- Lunch Box - a container with several compartments, with blue and transparent parts, a removable container for first courses, suitable for a microwave oven, made of food-grade plastic (price - 600 rubles);
- Whip Bear is a 4-section lunch box with a positive print, the sections are arranged in tiers, the spoon is included, helps to keep the food in shape, made of eco-friendly plastic, the lid snaps securely (price - 800 rubles).
Compact lunch box for snacks
Not always a person at school, work or travel is waiting for the main meal. It so happens that only one or a few light snacks are required. Small containers are indispensable here, where you can put all your favorite foods for healthy snacks. Products in demand:
- Go Eat Joseph Joseph - an extra-miniature container made of polypropylene and silicone, of an unusual shape, well preserves food from negative external influences and mechanical damage, heating in a microwave and washing in a dishwasher are calculated (price - 700 rubles);
- Black Blum Bento Box Lime is a compact container made of polypropylene and silicone, the body is shock and drop resistant (price - 930 rubles).
Two-tier and three-tier food box
Division into sections can be not only using horizontal partitions, but also by means of a structure of several floors:
- Monbento Square - a sealed and reliable double container for adults, square in shape, can be washed in an automatic machine, designed for heating food in the microwave, volume 1.7 liters, branded cutlery is stored under the lid (price - 2300 rubles);
- Gamer - a 3-section container with an original game design for children and adults, made of safe plastic, volume 1410 ml, cutlery included (price - 750 rubles).
Microwave lunch box
Food should be eaten warm, so the possibility of heating in food containers is extremely important. A heated lunch box or a car is not suitable for everyone. Today, many people use microwave-safe food containers. The material of the container is of high quality, it does not deteriorate and does not emit harmful substances when heated. Popular names:
- Sistema Lunch is a very convenient lunch box, divided into 4 sections, a volume of 1.5 liters, a small bottle is included, the container keeps food fresh, is designed for heating in a microwave oven, the lid snaps tightly and seals the tank (price - 750 rubles) ;
- Box Appetit Black Blum - white and green box for food, square, made of food grade plastic, vacuum tight transparent lid with two sealed latches, a plug is attached to the lid, an additional container is included, the box can be washed in a dishwasher and heated in a microwave oven (price - 2130 rubles).
How to choose lunch boxes?
Material
Plastic
Today, there are different configurations of plastic containers on sale. The main advantage is the lightness of the container, and the disadvantage is fragility. It is better to choose products from famous brands that guarantee the complete safety of food grade plastic. A lunch box can have 1-3 or more compartments, which is convenient for carrying several products. A huge selection of models, colors and low cost are attractive characteristics of plastic containers.
Glass
Glass lunch boxes are not the most popular option, but they do exist. From the point of view of food storage and heating in a microwave oven, this is a good material. Glass containers have one feature that almost everyone considers a disadvantage - they are heavy compared to other materials.
Silicone
Lunch box seals are often made of silicone. Thanks to a strip of elastic material, the groove of the lid adheres exactly to the container and there are absolutely no gaps. Therefore, you can take your first courses with you, and they will not spill. Bacteria do not grow on silicone and food debris does not accumulate. Silicone is an environmentally friendly material from which lunch boxes or their lids are made.
Polystyrene
Expanded polystyrene is a surprisingly lightweight and inexpensive material from which eco-friendly and practical disposable food containers are made. Typically, such a lunch box looks like a spacious container with one or more compartments and a lid. A huge number of people eat at work and elsewhere using polystyrene lunch boxes.
Volume
The volume of the lunch box is determined individually. For some, a miniature container for snacks is enough, but for someone it is acceptable to have breakfast, lunch or dinner from a multi-compartment container. When choosing sizes, consider how comfortable it will be for you to carry food with you. Make your decision based on how many foods and foods you usually eat. Lunch boxes with several tiers are convenient for work. The most common volume of a lunch box is 1.5 liters with 1-3 compartments.
Number of containers
A lunch box can consist of several containers. Thus, you take several separate containers with different dishes with you and you can reheat them separately. One container may be enough for you, but if you need to take more food with you, consider a set. It is better if this set comes with a special thick bag that can be hung on the shoulder.
Number of branches
Even if you are at work or study for a long time, move in transport, you still need to provide yourself with adequate nutrition. A lunch box with 3-4 compartments is a great opportunity to take several dishes with you wherever you go. In the process of carrying, the products do not mix due to the special design and tight lid. Small containers with several departments are very convenient. These lunch boxes fit easily into a women's bag and do not cause any inconvenience.
To accurately choose and buy lunch boxes for different situations, consider the following nuances:
- think about what you plan to carry with you - it can be first or second courses, sandwiches, fruits, yoghurts or cookies;
- if you plan to consume liquid dishes, then it is better to give preference to a thermos, which completely eliminates leakage;
- second courses are perfectly stored in containers with several compartments;
- Whole fruits, sandwiches, cookies and yoghurts are best transported in insulated bags;
- look for containers that combine spaciousness and compactness, today there are a lot of such models on sale;
- a sectional container can look like a single-tier or two-tier structure - if compactness is a priority, then a single-tier one is better;
- remember that in a one-story container with several sections - the aromas of food and products inevitably mix;
- find out in advance if it is possible to put the lunch box in the microwave to heat food - there are both materials that are not designed to be heated, and special resistant materials that withstand heat well;
- if there is no microwave, then get a lunch box in a thermo bag, in it the food will be hot for a long time and you do not need to heat it up;
- Perhaps the aspect of dish care is important to you - it's good if the food container can be placed in the dishwasher, then it will always be crystal clean.
As you can see from the description of the models and tips for choosing, there is a great variety of good lunch boxes for all occasions. There are containers for sale for people with different needs and capabilities. Purchase is possible in a supermarket, hardware store or online store. It is impossible to imagine lunch at work or a snack in transport, in nature without containers. Avoid skipping meals to stay productive and in a good mood when you are away from home.
Catering for passengers on board an aircraft is an extremely important and rather complicated process, in which it is necessary to take into account a number of factors, including the duration of the flight, time of day, type of aircraft, class of passenger service, and much more. As a rule, on short and night flights, passengers are offered a compact lunch box with sandwiches, sandwiches, nuts, mineral water and other drinks. On long flights, hot meals are provided every four hours. The diet depends on the class of service, but always includes at least three or four dishes (meat, fish, poultry), as well as tea, coffee, juices. Catering for first and business class passengers is distinguished by a wider assortment of delicacies. Grocery sets are formed not in reserve, but in batches as the order arrives. Dishes are made, served and packed in accordance with strict sanitary standards, because the poisoning of passengers during the flight is fraught with serious complications. At the end of serving, the dish is covered with cellophane or a lid, and then stored at a certain temperature regime until serving in trolleys on board. Ready-made cold dishes are packed on plates, half-trays and placed in special containers before being served to passengers; products in vacuum packaging - in thermal containers or cooler bags; some components of the diet are stored in individual packaging (so-called snack boxes, lunch boxes, diner boxes). All packaged products are labeled - information about the content, manufacturer, release date and expiration date, the flight number, date, and time of departure are also indicated. The menu for flight attendants is in most cases the same as for passengers. But much more stringent requirements are imposed on the quality of food for the flight crew. Pilot meals are prepared separately; at all stages of preparation, packaging, transportation, the kits undergo numerous checks and are marked with a special marking. Passenger service varies depending on the class of service. In the first, it is similar to a restaurant one: first - an appetizer, then - hot and then dessert. In other classrooms, all meals are served at once. The table setting is also different. In Economy and Business Class food is usually served in a disposable container and disposable or reusable plastic dishes are used. Hot dishes are packed in special aluminum containers (cassettes) or plastic containers made of crystallized polyethylene terephthalate, which are capable of withstanding temperatures above +150 ° C without deformation. In first-class salons, dishes are served in porcelain or even crystal dishes (unlike conventional aviation dishes, they are thinner and hardened), with cutlery made of stainless steel or cupronickel. Disposable packaging for in-flight meals is most often made of polymers and aluminum. It must meet a variety of criteria, such as safety for human health, inertness to food ingredients and resistance to microbial growth, as well as being light and compact. Many airlines have limited requirements for the size of packaging, which is associated with the dimensions of onboard equipment (containers, trolleys, etc.). The cost of a food kit can vary significantly depending on the budget of the companies. For Russian carriers it costs an average of 3-4 dollars, for Western carriers - 5-6 dollars, sometimes even more. In most cases, the cost of a food set is automatically included in the ticket and amounts to up to 5% of the total ticket price. Aviation catering experts emphasize that catering simply cannot be cheap due to the cost of security and complex logistics. However, in recent years, a segment of low-cost airlines has emerged on the international market, where food is not at all an obligatory part of the flight: this gives the passenger an opportunity to save money. If desired, he can order products from the menu for separate money. Sky Express is the only Russian carrier operating in the low-cost segment. According to 2007 data, on average, each of its passengers buys meals worth 50 rubles during the flight, and the main sales here are provided not by ready-made packaged food sets, but by individual items - sandwiches, chocolate bars, etc.
Kitchen factories
Issues related to the formation of food kits for in-flight meals are the responsibility of the airline companies. Among them there are enterprises with a full production cycle (from the purchase of raw materials, preparation of dishes to their packaging and packaging, as well as bottling of drinks) and those that purchase ready-made semi-finished products, and then form and deliver sets to order. The second option is preferred by many companies in countries where the industry for the production of ready-made meals and semi-finished products that meets the stringent requirements of air catering is preferred. Full-cycle catering still prevails in Russia. The larger the airport, the larger its main catering manufacturer, and it is often the only one. In Moscow, as well as in the country as a whole, the leader is the Domodedovo Air Service company, which, depending on the season, produces 45-60 thousand daily meals for 250-300 flights. It provides more than 45 Russian (about 80% of the domestic market for air passenger traffic) and 40 airlines from the near and far abroad. The second largest is AeroMar (20–45 thousand rations), a joint venture between Aeroflot and LSG Sky Chefs, the world's # 1 company in the production of catering for air carriers. This is followed by the "Restaurant at MA Vnukovo" (15-25 thousand sets) and "Aero-Food Catering" - the "daughter" of the Sheremetyevo International Airport. In St. Petersburg, in the aviation catering market, the in-flight catering service of the State Customs Committee "Rossiya", located at the Pulkovo airport (about 10 thousand), is the leading regional catering manufacturer. 6 thousand rations per day). A special niche is occupied by the Moscow company "Provider-Service" - it serves exclusively VIP-passengers. Packages for catering in Russia are produced and sold by no more than four or five companies, including Planet Thermoforming, Mystery, and the SHL group. They offer disposable lunch boxes (PET, polystyrene) for cold and hot dishes, snack boxes, plates, salad bowls, cups, glasses, domestic cutlery, as well as plastic tableware for reusable use of the largest foreign manufacturers De Ster, W.K. Thomas and others. The leading domestic manufacturer of aviation aluminum cassettes for hot dishes is RUSAL-Sayanskaya Foil. Company representatives who have failed in their attempt to enter the market for disposable catering packaging complain about its closed nature and tight control by officials. Indeed, the number of players in the aviation catering segment is very limited, and there are few suppliers of packaging for on-board grocery sets. It is very difficult for new companies to enter this segment, even despite the ongoing tenders. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the catering market is closed not only in Russia, but throughout the world, including for security reasons. Abroad, catering is mainly produced by holdings at airports or global operators such as LSG Sky Chefs, operating in more than two hundred airports. There are very few small independent companies in this market. Although it is entirely possible to assume that Russian business realities only exacerbate this closeness. Thus, the Provider-Service company was not allowed into Vnukovo at one time, the general director of which Alla Suchinskaya filed an application with the antimonopoly service and won the court. By the way, in her opinion, talk about the impossibility of entering this market is greatly exaggerated. However, this is a very difficult business, because there are very few people willing to invest in the struggle for a place and take risks from scratch.
A market in the span?
Domestic manufacturers of disposable catering packaging consider this market very attractive, because the volume of air transportation in Russia is increasing every year. So, according to the Association of Manufacturers of Services for Passengers in Transport, in 2006, domestic airlines carried 38 million passengers, and by the end of 2007 this figure increased by as much as 18%! Accordingly, with the growth of passenger traffic, the demand for grocery kits increases, and then - for packaging for them. At the same time, according to the packers, the bulk of sales are made up of standard plastic containers. Sometimes, instead of the usual transparent lunch boxes or white plates, airlines order colored ones (to match the airline's corporate color), sometimes with corporate symbols. The fact is that the primary issue is still the quality of the dishes, but the packaging can be dispensed with without any special frills - the main thing is that it meets sanitary standards. The world catering market is, according to experts, in a state of stagnation. Most foreign carriers strive to save money, and first of all "sacrifice" catering for economy class passengers. Russian airlines also follow this principle.
According to experts, over the past ten years, Aeroflot's expenses on passenger meals have almost halved: if earlier the price of a food ration in economy class was $ 5, now it is about 3.8. Of course, in this situation, it makes no sense for carriers to invest heavily in improving the appearance or designs of disposable packaging. However, not everything is so pessimistic. Despite the difficulties, the in-flight food packaging market is still developing. Domodedovo Air Service specialists note that the requirements of air carriers for packing and packaging are growing: “If earlier the factory packed grocery kits for Russian airlines mainly in disposable dishes and containers, now there are more orders for serving in reusable dishes”. Domestic catering companies are introducing the technology of packaging perishable food products in a gas-modified environment. The same Domodedovo Air Service, which introduced this method back in July 2003, became a pioneer in this area not only in the aviation but also in the entire food market. In the process of packing food with gas, special packaging with high barrier properties is used to ensure tightness and prevent the penetration of an aggressive environment and oxygen. In June 2008, Domodedovo Air Service, together with the Gastronorm engineering center, launched a consulting project, within the framework of which a set of work will be carried out to optimize the packaging of on-board food rations. In the course of the experiments, the latest packaging technologies for finished products will be tested, used at the on-board catering plants in the UAE, England and America. Another trend is the gradual transition to environmentally friendly and easily recyclable packaging. For example, in September Aeroflot announced a set of measures aimed at reducing the consumption of fuel and other energy resources and, at the same time, improving environmental performance. Along with the renewal of the aircraft fleet, the introduction of an electronic ticket and other actions, plastic containers and cups will be replaced with paper ones. Some Russian airlines use disposable packaging as a tool to build passenger loyalty. For example, food for children is packed in a specially designed colorful lunch box and supplemented with a funny toy. And here's an even more interesting example: commissioned by Austrian Airlines, chef Helmut Osterreicher, who has four crowns (the national equivalent of Michelin stars), invented dishes for economy class passengers on short flights. Light snacks from the "chef of the decade" are served packed in a special Austrian Snack Box, the lid of which can be torn off and sent free of charge as a postcard anywhere in the world. According to the company's specialists, sometimes up to 4 thousand of these postcards are sent a day. But the majority of Russian catering companies and air carriers are not yet up to postcards: first of all, the issue of the quality of in-flight meals should be resolved. The chief state sanitary doctor of the Russian Federation, Gennady Onishchenko, noted that, according to the data of the Rospotrebnadzor departments for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, in 2005-2006, 490 inspections of in-flight catering shops were carried out. More than 11% of the 1,500 laboratory samples taken from finished products on board aircraft did not meet the standards for microbiological indicators. In in-flight catering shops, this figure averaged 5% in Russia. Moreover, in a number of regions it significantly exceeded the national average: in the Krasnoyarsk Territory - 50%, in the Samara and Kurgan regions - 40%, in the Republic of Dagestan - more than 28%. It is not for nothing that in February 2007, the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare in connection with the deterioration in the quality of food on Russian airlines issued a decree "On ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological safety of in-flight meals for air passengers and aircraft crew members." Airline representatives complain that today there are no mechanisms that would regulate the market for the provision of catering services in transport. Previously, there was a certification system for catering production, but it came into conflict with Russian legislation, so it was canceled. Although Rospotrebnadzor carries out one-time inspections, it simply does not have mechanisms to influence the situation as a whole. Nobody controls the quality of packaging either.
Under the sound of wheels
Food on trains is another seemingly attractive market for food industry players, if not for one "but". The fact is that in our country, Russian Railways OJSC is a monopoly carrier and does not want to give up a single tidbit of "its" business. This is understandable, because the catering service, for example, brings 5% of the income from passenger traffic, although the profit could be higher. Unlike aviation, where catering became standard immediately with the advent of regular flights, food sets in lunch boxes appeared on the Russian railway only in the early 1990s, and during this time they did not spread much. Now they can be obtained in luxury cars, which, according to Russian Railways, are used by only 6% of passengers, or about 6.2 million people. Tickets with guaranteed meals are purchased by 5.5% of the total number of long-distance passengers. The average price for a standard set of products is 200-300 rubles plus 20% service charge. The restaurant cars eat on average 15–35 people per train. RZD leases about half of the dining cars to private catering operators, who not only serve visitors, but also deliver lunch boxes to luxury cars (business and economy class). And the main manufacturer of food kits for railways is Domodedovo Air Service. The company delivers 2–3 thousand rations a day to 37 trains leaving the capital's railway stations. But, of course, it cannot fully meet the needs of the market, so today demand exceeds supply. According to the requirements, the ration of guaranteed hot meals on the train should consist of cold snacks, hot meals of your choice, fruits, pastries, mineral water, tea, coffee, sugar. "Cold" set may include yoghurts, croissants, butter, processed cheese or caviar in small packaging, fresh cheese or sausage in individual packaging, as well as drinks, juices. But in practice, everything is much more prosaic. “Have you seen the lunch boxes that are usually given on trains now? - one of the interlocutors of PG is angry. - This is such a plastic thing, where greasy sausage is cut, yogurt and a roll that can be killed is put. It costs 300 rubles. ” RZD regularly identifies passengers' food preferences on the way through surveys. Lyubov Polkovnikova, Deputy Head of Catering and Passenger Service at the Federal Passenger Directorate of Russian Railways, says: “Most passengers prefer hot meals. In addition, many people want fresh fruits and vegetables on the menu. But this often creates difficulties for the fulfillment of sanitary standards: such products quickly deteriorate, although the latest technologies using a modified gas environment make it possible to meet such desires. The most criticized are guaranteed food sets, the so-called lanches. Passengers are already tired of such rations, and we will gradually move away from this. Moreover, we plan to completely change the concept of organizing food on the railway - from food standards and cooking systems to dishes and packaging. Now, for example, depending on the class of the carriage, different dishes and packaging are used. For business class passengers, meals are served on porcelain dishes, cutlery made of stainless steel; for serving in economy class cars, plastic containers and disposable cutlery are used. In some directions, foam boxes are used, adopted in the fast food system, in others - cassettes, as in airplanes. Obviously, we need to move to a single standard for rations and their serving. " In the future, Russian Railways specialists intend to come to the same high-tech food as on board. “In the West, they don't cook in restaurant cars, they just warm up and serve food. Of course, in Europe there are no such long routes, the journey takes 2–4 hours, and in Russia we will not be able to completely abandon cooking in restaurant cars, but we strive to minimize this, ”notes Lyubov Polkovnikova. The lag behind foreign countries is also due to the fact that the carriage park of Russian Railways is outdated. About 200 out of 880 dining cars are suitable for work on new technologies (using ready-made frozen meals). But already now, cardinal changes have begun to take place in the food system in railway transport. In the fall of 2008, the Arpikom company, which operates several restaurant chains, announced that it was entering the segment of in-board catering for train passengers by creating a joint venture with Russian Railways, the Unified Food Network. The joint venture is already building the first high-tech kitchen factory for the production of ready-to-eat food. The founder of Arpikom and United Food Network Mikhail Zelman said in an interview with Food Servise: “I am convinced that the hospitality industry in our country has reached a turning point, after which it must develop differently. Now it is necessary to offer solutions in the field of public catering, and not to develop local restaurants. Russian Railways constantly holds tenders to provide passengers with meals on trains. But why are we not participating in them today? We do not want to assemble boxes of dubious products on the knees of low-skilled personnel. Our cooperation with Russian Railways is different: we have created a joint venture "United Food Network". This is a company that invests in the construction of factories that will produce a fundamentally new product. All over the world there are only a few such productions, but in Russia there are none at all. If we compare our factory with the existing production of Domodedovo Air Service, then it is like cars produced in 1905 and 2005. Both will take you to the place, but the efficiency of the work cannot even be compared. In our production, the human factor is practically leveled. On the contrary, we are trying to simplify the technology. You cannot cook full-cycle meals on board. There is no guarantee that you will not be poisoned, as technological failures can occur. Only warm-up and feed operations can be left on board. Our task is to select dishes that will not lose quality when heated. I am convinced that today technology allows you to achieve better quality food in large-scale production than cooking at home. And talking about "grandma's food" is all marketing. There must be professional food standards and a single menu on board. " The total investment in the project is about $ 100 million.
Tea, coffee, water? Would you like to eat?
We hear this phrase every time a few tens of minutes after the plane takes off into the sky during another trip, business trip, or just a flight on our own business.
On one flight, you will be offered a sandwich with coffee, on the other - a full lunch, including a hot second, fruit and dessert for coffee.
Each airline approaches the issue of catering for passengers during the flight in its own way.
Some prepare in-flight meals themselves, while others order catering directly at the airport.
Interestingly, in Russia, only two airlines prepare food for their passengers - UTair and Aeroflot. The rest "buy" ready-made food.
Today we will visit one of UTair's in-flight catering factories, which is located at the airport in the city of Surgut. and we will see with our own eyes which way the lunch boxes and cassettes go with the dinner served to us by smiling flight attendants at an altitude of 10 thousand meters.
2. Yuteit Airlines has three in-flight catering factories - at the airports of Surgut, Tyumen and Khanty-Mansiysk. Food is prepared here for all UTair flights, as well as for other airlines departing from these cities.
Contrary to the notion that they have to cook here for all flights of their airline, wherever they fly from and wherever they fly, this is not actually happening. Why? Because cooked food has a very limited lifespan. However, more on that below. 
3. The in-flight catering factory in Surgut consists of several workshops, each of which is an intermediate link in the entire chain of the product's path from delivery to the sealing of the food container before loading on the plane.
One of the main shops is meat and fish. Here is the cutting of meat or fish and their preparation for subsequent heat treatment. Some of them go directly to the hot shop, some to freeze for processing at other times. 
4. There is a vegetable shop next to the meat and fish shop. Here is the preparation and cleaning of vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.) for subsequent transfer to the hot workshop, as well as the final preparation of some vegetables (fresh cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, etc.), as well as fruits for packing in lunch boxes.
More than 100 kilograms of potatoes alone pass through this workshop per shift. 
5. Bread on board is replaced by buns. They are baked together with muffins and other flour products in the confectionery shop.
More than 1000 buns are baked here a day, each of which spends in the oven exactly 18 minutes 
6. All flour confectionery products - muffins and various types of shortbread cookies - are made by hand and baked in ovens adjacent to the buns 
7. And in the next room there is a filling shop for snacks. Operators arrange sets of pickled vegetables, herbs, olives, cold meats, etc. into lunchboxes. depending on the menu that is currently being prepared. 
8. Lunch boxes are packed in a special sealed package that prevents air from entering. 
9. There are also special temperature cabinets for temporary storage and cooling to a chilled state of certain products or ready-made sets 
10. After laying in the temperature cabinet, a special registration card is attached to it, in which all the necessary data are indicated 
11. One of the main workshops is the kingdom of ladles and the fiefdom of the chef. This is a hot shop 
12. The chef personally supervises all dishes that are prepared here. The fact is that in addition to in-flight catering, they also prepare dishes for cafes at the Surgut airport, as well as hotels at the airport. 
13. Stewed vegetables for a lean menu of one of the nearest flights from Surgut 
14. The largest workshop - where the final packaging of food sets is carried out. Prepared food from the hot shop, flour and confectionery products, lunch boxes with snacks, fruits and vegetables flock here.
Here, all this will be laid out in plastic containers in accordance with the required set of products for certain flights, marked with markings, packed into aircraft trolleys and sealed for transfer on board the airliner. 
15. On the wall of the workshop there is a special card, in accordance with which the markings are applied to containers with food.
In fact, nothing is prepared from the children and the crew here) This is just a special mark that is placed on containers intended for children and the crew of the aircraft. 
16. Caslettes (special sealed containers for hot food) with affixed markings are prepared for packing into an aircraft trolley. 
17. Carts and all other reusable packaging containers are washed in a special workshop.
The bogies themselves come in different formats, standardized for certain types of aircraft.
The photo shows the Boeing 737 trolleys, into which in a few minutes they will be packing lunch for the next flight. 
18. Packaged and labeled food is placed in metal containers that have been washed and dried. 
19. Then they are sealed. 
20. And they put down the markings - the flight number, destination, date and time of departure, as well as the time of preparation.
At this point, I would like to point out a number of interesting features.
All food prepared in this factory has a shelf life of three hours. If more time has passed since packing, it is destroyed.
That is, if the departure of flight # 296 is delayed by more than 30 minutes, this container will be opened, food destroyed, and cassettes and lunch boxes packed later will be loaded on board the aircraft.
But, in principle, everything is done so quickly that the food does not stand idle. Usually, if the departure of the plane is delayed for a long time, it is known in advance, so meals are collected by the actual time of departure.
It is also worth noting that for every 50 passengers, 1 extra set of food is loaded on board. Those. if 150 tickets are sold on the flight, 153 lunches will be loaded onto the plane.
At the same time, several types of menus for economy class passengers are loaded on board in equal proportions - for example, fish with rice, beef with buckwheat and sausage with pasta. During the flight, the flight attendant will ask what kind of menu you want. 
21. In addition to ready-made food sets, reusable dishes for business class passengers are also prepared for loading on board the aircraft.
Its quantity depends on the number of tickets sold in this class for a particular flight. 
22. The final chord of our acquaintance with the UTair in-flight catering factory in Surgut was the tasting of all those dishes that are on the menu for different categories of passengers - first, business, economy, as well as the crew menu. 
23. The crew is not allowed to eat foods that cause violent abdominal activity before the flight and during the flight. Here is one of the rations for flight attendants and pilots. 
24. This is how the crew menu will look on board the aircraft. 
25. One of the rations of the economy class menu. 
26. And its visualization in kind. Interestingly, the cost of a standard food set for economy class passengers is 130 Russian rubles. 
27. For the business class, the choice, of course, looks richer and more interesting than for the economy class. But you have to pay for the pleasure) 
28. Here you will find the very set of dishes, and almost a restaurant serving, and porcelain dishes with full-fledged forks .. 
29. And this is the section in the tail section of the Boeing plane, from where the flight attendants roll out the carts with our meals.
Here, hot dishes are warmed up in special chambers, as well as kettles with water for coffee and tea are boiled, which will be offered by girls in the airline's branded clothes high in the sky. 
30. Only a few days have passed since I got acquainted with the onboard catering factory and tasted, and I had the opportunity to conduct a practical testing of lunch on board the flight UT777 Surgut-Kiev.
The same canned vegetables seen in the workshop, hot sausage with pasta and the invariable branded chocolate ... 
The luxury carriages, which are so popular nowadays, appeared almost ten years ago - in 1996.
As a rule, a ticket to such a car is accompanied by "services" - bedding, printed materials, a hygiene kit and a food ration. And this is where the problems begin.
No, since, according to the documents, railway workers must feed the passenger, then they feed him. But you must admit that there is some difference between a hot piece of meat fresh from a restaurant oven with delicious fried potatoes and a piece of sausage sealed in cellophane.
It is especially offensive to feel it at the same cost of "meals". Judge for yourself. The standard ration, called by the loud word "lunch box", includes a few pieces of dry sausage, an almost transparent piece of cheese, a couple of extremely miniature buns, ten grams of butter and jam, and Maggi soup. Well, plus to this bags of coffee, tea and some kind of muffin.
The most interesting thing is that the dish that came out of the restaurant oven is more economically profitable than dry ration.
There is such a company in Moscow - "Domodedovo Airlines", and with it there is a company "Domodedovo Air-Line". We open the "matryoshka" further and find one more merchants - "Domodedovo R-Service". Now we get to the point.
It is this company that delivers lunch boxes to Russian Railways. How a company directly connected with aviators obtained a contract with railway workers is a separate issue. But it all began quite beautifully.
Domodedovo employees were supposed to supply a kind of aviation ration, and with it the necessary equipment for its storage and preparation. Restaurant cars, at the expense of suppliers, were to be equipped with chests for storing food at a temperature of -18 degrees, convectors for heating and current converters to maintain the operation of this equipment. However, until now all this "hardware" has not appeared in the North Caucasus, it has only been demonstrated at various exhibitions and presentations.
It's good that not everyone gets them. Of all the North Caucasian Railways trains that have luxury cars in their scheme, today only six are "happy" with rations. Moreover, even in them, the passengers of the SV eat tasty and solid food from the railway chefs. In the compartment, for the time being, one has to be content with rations.
But the southerners are working to transfer 4 more formulations to a normal diet. With the other two, and these are the branded "Tikhy Don" and "Ataman Platov", the situation is more complicated. In their scheme, as a rule, 6 - 7 luxury carriages run - 1 SV, the rest are compartments. If all of them are transferred to the restaurant ration, then the chefs will simply physically not be able to cook for 234 people.
There are, perhaps, only two exits here. Either reduce the number of luxury cars, which is hardly realistic, or add a second dining car to the train scheme.
However, clouds begin to gather over the hot food. Today we are talking about the fact that cunning aviators are preparing to replace hot meals with some kind of fast food, thereby, for which convectors, refrigerated chests and current converters are needed. In other words, the passenger can be weaned from the fresh, aromatic chop and "betrothed" with warmed potato balls "canned" in foil and sore legs.
If such a diet can still be explained by the conditions of air transportation, where it is simply impossible to prepare a normal lunch, then the meaning of the possible introduction of such a menu on railway transport in trains with their own dining cars is difficult to understand.
The head of the North Caucasian railway, Vladimir Vorobyov, has repeatedly spoken about the need for a complete transfer of luxury cars to a hot diet. And gradually this task is being fulfilled on the highway. It remains to decide what to do with trains containing six or more of these cars, and how to protect yourself from fast food fans.
Igor EVDOKIMOV,
sob. corr. "Gudka"
Rostov-on-Don
