Catering for Railway/ Cruise liner / Airlines

13.1 Railway Catering
13.1.1 Introduction
13.1.2 Service Procedure
13.1.3 Menu Planning, Types of Meals
13.1.3 Catering Policies in the Industry
13.1.4 Logistics - Service and Product specification, packaging and labeling, Delivery

13.2 Cruise Lines Catering
13.2.1 Introduction
13.2.2 Service Procedure
13.2.3 Menu Planning, Types of Meals
13.2.3 Catering Policies in the Industry
13.2.4 Logistics - Service and Product specification, packaging and labeling, Delivery

12.3 Airlines Catering
13.3.1 Introduction
12.3.2 Service Procedure
13.3.3 Menu Planning, Types of Meals
13.3.3 Catering Policies in the Industry

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1 Railway Catering
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Service Procedure
1.3 Menu Planning, Types of Meals
1.4 Catering Policies in the Industry
1.5 Logistics - Service and Product specification, packaging and labeling, Delivery

1.1 Introduction Railway Catering
While traveling by train, the journeys of the passengers need healthy, tasty and hygienic food to satiate their hunger. There are a number of organisations today who deal with veg or non-veg food delivery on train berths. During the travel passengers can use such services. It is easy to order for veg and non-veg food on train using the reputed food providers. In recent day’s food on train delivery apps and websites offer an extended menu for veg and non-veg food on train. It includes Indian, Mexican, continental, Chinese, Thai, oriental and other cuisines.

The purpose of a railway catering is to provide boarding and lodging at a reasonable price and convenience to the travelers.

1.2 Service Procedure- Railway Catering
Indian Railways has facility of pantry car on long-distance trains and on few important short-distance trains. railway timetables indicate the details of trains offering Pantry car service in train with the letter ‘P’. trains where a pantry car facility is not available also has Catering services offered for travelers. Travelers on short distance train journey routes may have the facility of buying snacks and beverages from venders who has licensed railway attendants. At times, food (meals) is picked from various stations on the way in intermediate stations.

Mobile Catering Services:
This refers to the service of Food & Beverages to travelers from a pantry car during the journey. Pantry Cars are compartments normally looped onto the middle of a train and its staff may perform the above tasks of food preparation and service. The operations are monitored and controlled by an on board pantry car manager. Service of these food on board the trains relieves the traveler from the problem of carrying their own food and thereby enables to travel lighter. The food is mostly Indian cuisine. Usually ticket doesn’t include any meal - although on train journeys such as on the Shatabdi Express and Rajdhani Express they are so included and the quality is better (it includes a bottle of mineral water) offering value for money to the passenger for the price of the ticket paid. The mobile catering service operations may be run by the catering sector itself or may be on contract. With the emphasis on quality and standardization, IRCTC seeks to eventually outsource the catering service and management of all the cars.

1.3 Menu Planning, Types of Meals - Railways Catering

Fixed menu are offered on a train and are referred to as casserole meals. Passengers are asked by the pantry-attendant whether they would like to order the casserole meal and if so whether a vegetarian or non-vegetarian meal is required. The birth and seat number is noted and payment is taken in cash at the time of order itself.

In the case of railway catering the food is usually cooked at a base kitchen. The number of meals required and their mix are phoned in to the base kitchen from a previous station. When the train arrives at the station the food is picked up and loaded into the pantry car from where they are serviced to the passengers who have ordered.

Rail catering comprises various menus which consist:

Lunch
Dinner
Short meal
Snacks
Cold Hot &Beverages
Regional Meal
Fruits

1.4 Catering Policies in the Industry- Railways Catering

This refers to the service of meals to travelers from a pantry car during the journey. Pantry Cars are compartments normally looped usually onto the middle of a train and its staff may perform the above duties of meal preparation and service. The operations are monitored and controlled by an on-board pantry car manager. Service of these meals on board the trains relieve the passenger from the problem of carrying his own food and thereby enables to travel lighter.

Limited cooking is done aboard the pantry cars for individual orders (if requested by passengers) and these are relatively expensive in comparison to the economy offered by the charge of the fixed meal.

The cooking of the entire meal is done in the pantry car itself when the catering service on a train is committed to a catering in-charge and subsequently packed and distributed to passengers who have placed the order. Catering Manager may also pick up certain items from a railway section kitchen but this is not common practice as it minimizes their own profit margins and a large enough catering contractor would have sufficient resources to not having to resort to this. When pantry car operations are contracted out, the IRCTC works on a formula, forecasting sale of specified number of meals on the basis of which the contractor has to give a license fee of agreed amount or 12% of the turnover whichever is higher.

A pantry car would usually have some or all of the following equipment and fixtures along with water, gas and power lines.

Deep-freezer

Exhaust fan

Four Burner gas range (the gas bank is usually one toilet area converted)

Geyser

Grinder (usually on south bound trains)

Hot holding cabinet

Refrigerator

A pantry car includes a cooking room in addition to a non-cooking section for the travelling catering personnel to stay in.

The connected cabins make it possible to take orders and serve food while the train is moving. Unreserved passengers are challenging to serve because they do not have a designated seat number, and on some routes, the crowding in these compartments can be extreme. Since these compartments are not connected, service to them can be performed when the train stops.

The meals used to be served in thalis, and the travelers were given a reasonable window of time to eat the same. After a brief break in the expedition, the complete collecting and clearance of the thalis could not be completed. Food is now prepared and served in disposable foil containers (dishes) with disposable spoons, which eliminates the need for sorting and washing that comes with rotating aid products. On quick trips, such as the Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai route, merchants will roam the compartments offering bread, water, snacks, refreshment, and other products. These are ready and are reached from the pantry car. Some people perform this on a trolley, and the quality is actually respectable. The pricing is fair, and the fare is also acceptable, therefore people frequently choose this option over bringing meals on the trip.

Dining or Buffet Cars:
These are no longer present on standard trains today. The Palace-on-Wheels and Deccan Odyssey, two super-luxury trains, contain dining cars that could be equated to high-end restaurants on wheels and provide an à la carte menu. The pantry car is where passengers go to order food from a selection that is provided. The pantry car has a connected kitchen with a complete complement of tools that can produce everything on the menu.

Approved Vendors: On short-distance trains, it's common to see a few approved rail line employees handing out a selection of food and drink items while the train is rolling to aid passengers who are hungry and thirsty, thus taking into consideration their necessity between stops as well.

1.4 Logistics - Service and Product specification, packaging and labeling, Delivery
Any country's largest network of rail lines has played a major role in logistics. Rail employees oversee railway logistics, and different vendors are chosen for each job.

Packaging, labeling, Delivery
The General Classification of Goods Book contains information on food packing conditions. "P" stands for "specific food packing conditions." Additionally, specific packing guidelines are set forth to guarantee food safety in transit. In the General Classification of Goods, special food packing criteria are indicated with the letter "S." At the train's main station, the pre-ordered food is received and stored in the pantry car's store room after being tallied and quality-checked.

Damage to the items could occur if the packing conditions are not followed. If a problem is found when the goods are accepted. Such a note should be received and written on both the forwarding note and the railway receipt.

Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods are marked with specific tags that also provide the date they should be used by. Food is delivered to a specific passenger in accordance with their request and the order taker's instructions. On the order, the berth number and name are specified, ensuring that the recipient is properly delivered to.

2 Cruise Lines Catering

2.1 Introduction
2.2 Service Procedure
2.3 Menu Planning, Types of Meals
2.4 Catering Policies in the Industry
2.5 Logistics - Service and Product specification, packaging and labeling, Delivery

2.1 Introduction - Cruise Lines
A cruise ship is a passenger vessel used for leisure travel where the journey itself, the ship's amenities, and occasionally the many ports of call along the way, all contribute to the passengers' overall experience.

In addition to the dining room, contemporary cruise ships frequently have one or more informal buffet-style restaurants. These establishments may be open around-the-clock and have daily-changing menus that offer anything from breakfast to late-night snacks. In recent years, cruise lines have begun to feature a variety of restaurants with ethnic themes on each ship. The majority of cruise lines do not include alcoholic beverages in their prices, thus passengers are required to pay for drinks as they are consumed. Ships also have a large number of bars and nightclubs for passenger amusement. The majority of cruise lines also forbid guests from bringing and consuming their own drinks while on board, including alcohol. Duty-free alcohol is sealed and given back to passengers when they disembark.

2.2 Service Procedure - Cruise Lines
Restaurant & Bar
The cruise line's restaurants and bars are set out similarly to other establishments; the main difference is that the tables are fixed here so that they won't move while the ship is at sea.

The processes involved in receiving orders and presenting bills are identical. Nearly all of the passengers on a cruise are in-house, therefore billing is recorded using room numbers, and bill settlement is completed at check-out.

Room services

On the majority of the big cruise lines' ships, food and drinks are served to guests' cabins around-the-clock. The typical room service menu includes a continental breakfast (although some cruise lines sometimes serve a few hot items, sometimes for an additional fee), as well as an all-day menu of salads, sandwiches, pizza, possibly a few hot dishes or appetisers, and dessert. While most cruise lines offer complimentary room service, some, like Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, levy a per-order cost for meals placed in the middle of the night. Pizza delivery is a fee on several cruise lines, notably Princess Cruises.

2.3 Menu Planning, Types of Meals - Cruise Lines
i) Local menu

The market-to-table (or farm-to-table) movement aims to get local, sustainably produced, and largely organic foods into restaurants and growers' homes. Items are typically designed to be prepared quickly after purchase while retaining their integrity. With wine pairings and even the option to accompany a chef on a market tour as part of a shore excursion, Boutique River Cruise Collection brings seasonal products and inspiration from the markets they visit to cruise passengers. Both Oceania Cruises and Viking Cruises offer similar methods.

ii) International Menu

Cruise passengers require more than just fine dining; they also require a chance to learn about the different kinds of ports they stop at. The principal lounge area menus on various travel lines are becoming dominated by international meals that are energised by ports of call. The Culinary Council of Holland America, an association of outstanding chefs from throughout the world, has created a worldwide carte du jour that features daily supper contributions in the lounge area.

To fulfil the tastes of each national guest, Cruise Line created Food Republic, an a la carte restaurant offering gourmet international snacks that may be shared globally.

iii) DIY Cuisine

Oncoming cruise ship test kitchens and interactive culinary arts activities include classes, demos, purchasing at the shore, travelling, and cooking with the chef. Gourmet Explorer Tours, which heighten the culinary experience by getting tourists inside Michelin-starred restaurants with lengthy waiting lists, will be offered on the cruise.

2.4 Catering Policies in the Industry - Cruise Lines
Cruise ships for passengers include a variety of installed cafés and dining options. The larger cruises typically provide more options, but even the smallest cruises typically include more than one restaurant.

Typically, cruise ships offer a sit-down area called the main dining room where guests can place orders from a menu of their favourite dishes (mostly with more international choices). Diners will likely have to share a table at these opulent banquet-style restaurants, where there may be a dress code for admittance. On most cruises, there will also be a buffet restaurant by the pool where guests can assist themselves to already prepared food and casual attire is preferred.

Additionally, many ships include forte eateries, which have more tables for two in a more subdued environment. Steakhouse, French bistro, Italian trattoria, or Japanese sushi diner are some of the themed restaurants along the way. Outdoor barbecues, pizza establishments, wiener stands, and pastry shops are examples of places to eat that are more laid-back. On a few voyages, the dining options are restricted to guests staying in suites or spa cabins.

2.4 Logistics - Service and Product specification, packaging and labeling, Delivery - Cruise Lines

Before dawn, when employees gather to inspect meals for quality, much as they would fresh vegetables, the journey begins. To maintain the load of each fresh component, a significant amount of the food is stacked in the morning.

Then, at that time, longshoremen put supplies into the hull. To avoid any contamination by anything that might have been on the wood, the food is typically shifted from wooden beds to metal plate, which can be cleaned more easily. Other packaging, such cardboard, is also burned for similar reasons.

Once on board, goods are transported to several storage facilities with varying temperature settings. For example, frozen yoghurt is stored in a facility with a temperature set to less than 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit, while meat is kept in a different room with a more suited temperature.

To prevent cross-pollution, storage, preparation, and cooking are done in separate rooms. For instance, food preparation tasks like chopping tomatoes, cubing melons, and marinating meat pieces are typically handled by supermarket kitchens. In this approach, there is no need for Cruises include head-counting cameras in the roofs of their main dining spaces that tally when and where travelers float, providing data that can be used to anticipate peak service times. Technology ensures smooth sailing by letting crewmembers know how many passengers are eating.

To make it easier for their cooks to prepare food to order and serve it at the right temperatures, Ships keeps their menus basic (for instance, by only serving one main version of each type of chicken, beef, and shellfish). (Of fact, some cruises include specialty restaurants with more varied menus, but they cater to a small, select group of passengers and are the exception to the rule.)

Chefs can coordinate food preparation with guests' needs when menus are kept simple. As a need and requirement from the passengers, food is served fresh on cruise ships.

There are rare occasions when kitchens do actually run out of certain items, like seaweed. When such occurs, crew members reach down the gangway as soon as the ship docks and head to the nearby marketplaces to find the missing items.

3 Airlines Catering

3.1 Introduction- Airline Introduction
3.2 Service Procedure
3.3 Menu Planning, Types of Meals- Airlines
3.4 Catering Policies in the Industry- Airlines
3.4 Logistics - Service and Product specification, packaging and labeling, Delivery- Airlines

3.1 Introduction- Airline Introduction
A meal supplied to passengers inside a commercial airliner is known as an airline meal or an in-flight meal. These meals are prepared by specialist airline catering kitchens and normally served to passengers using an airline service trolley by air-hostess.

These meals vary widely in quality and quantity across various airline companies and classes of travel. They range from a simple bite snacks or beverage in short-haul economy class to a seven-course meal in a business class long-haul flight. When domestic ticket rates in America were regulated, food was the main way that airlines set themselves apart.

3.2 Service Procedure
A meal supplied to passengers on board a commercial airliner is referred to as an airline meal, airline cuisine, or an in-flight meal. These meals are often given to passengers utilizing an airline service cart and are prepared by specialised airline catering services.

Depending on the airline and class of travel, different foods are served. Food and beverages may be served in numerous courses without a tray, with a tablecloth, metal cutlery, and glassware, or on a single tray (generally in first and business classes). The cuisine frequently reflects the culture of the nation the airline is focused on.

The standard airline dinner consists of a small bread roll, meat (most frequently chicken or beef), fish, or pasta, a salad or vegetable, and a dessert. Small sachets or shakers are used to provide condiments, which are typically salt, pepper, and sugar.

3.3 Menu Planning, Types of Meals- Airline

Different aircraft companies and travel classes offer a wide range of these menus in terms of quantity and quality. The options range from a straightforward snack or drink in short-haul economy class to a seven-course gourmet meal in long-haul first class. When domestic ticket rates in America were regulated, food was the main way that airlines set themselves apart.

The creation of the menu takes into account the national food laws and the types of travelers who frequent the country. The cuisines for the flights are planned with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian alternatives in mind.

Types of meals

Flight catering unit usually cooks alternative meals for passengers with restrictive diets. These must usually be ordered at least 24 hours in advance, sometimes when buying the ticket.

Basic Meals are – Breakfast, Lunch Dinner, Hi-tea

Some of the more common types of meals include:

a) Vegetarian meals - typically further defined as either lacto-ovo or vegan meals. These meals may follow a particular cuisine such as Asian cuisine or Western cuisine.

b) Infant and baby meals - Some airlines also offer children's meals, containing foods that children will enjoy such as baked beans, mini-hamburgers, and hot dogs.

c) Cultural meal - such as Turkish, French, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, or Indian style.

d) Religious meals - including kosher, halal, and Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain vegetarian.

e) Medical diets meals - including low/high fiber, low fat/cholesterol, diabetic, peanut free, non-lactose, low salt/sodium, low-purine, low-calorie, low-protein, bland (non-spicy), and gluten-free meals.

3.4 Catering Policies in the Industry- Airlines

Airline menus are updated every three months. The menus are decided after several presentations to the airline.

Airline catering uses the finest ingredients, produced from all around the world, to prepare a variety of menus for each flight class and route. The dishes are carefully planned on serving dishes by the Dishing Section, and loaded onto trolleys.

The food, drinks and tableware, all loaded onto trolleys, are collected in the Loading Section.

After the quantity and quality of each item have been checked, the trolleys are loaded into catering trucks. When everything is done, the trucks leave for the airport two hours and 15 minutes before each flight.

Airline industry as apart ofa service industry has a great focus on Customer Experience. Apart for various other elements that airline provides that contribute to the Customer Experience, onboard services and meals play a big role. This becomes all the more challenging if the passenger being serviced is from the Asia or Middle East region where food plays a particularly important role for the passenger.

3.5 Logistics - Service and Product specification, packaging and labeling, Delivery- Airlines

The work of the Flight Catering can be broadly divided into two halves:

i.The cooking of food

ii.The packaging and loading

The responsibility of the caterer ends after the food is handed over to the crew on board.

A day in advance, a provisional load is placed. Exact count can never be given as there are bound to be differences due to last minute reservations and cancellations. After the initial load is specified by an airliner, revised load, if any, is also given after a specified time gap. Buy on Board (BOB) orders are revised 3 to 4 times as per the contract between the airlines and the caterer. The food is packed from the holding after a K.O.T. is raised appropriately. The trays are also organised according to the specifications.

As per the practice of the dining and the rotation to be served, the purchase ordering sheet is filled up. With the support of an appropriate software it reaches on line to the purchase manager. The ingredients are ordered for and duly checked at the receiving. Segregation of the stores are done. Bottled and tinned products, cereals, rice, oil etc. are sent to the store room. The vegetables are cleaned and sent to the veg preparation area. All the items needing frozen storage is sent to the deep freezer. Egg, cheese etc. are sent to refrigerated storage. The kitchen can pick up the things as per the requisition from the store through on – line requisition. The receiving brings to the information of the kitchen immediately any kind of short supply. The store keeps a par supply equivalent to around one week's worth of consumption.

The meal is subsequently processed while taking the production schedule into consideration. At every processing point, temperature control is placed. Ultimately post the food is cooked, except certain items, they are blast freeze and sent to the storing areas from where they are segregated out in the Dish out area as per the KOT received. Here, weight restrictions and any presentations must be properly followed. The food is once more sent to the holding area after portioning. These are put on various trolleys. The operations are conducted from here. There are different coloured cards which help in easy identification as to which ingredients, be it raw of processed belongs to which day of the week.

The operations re-check and then the airliner representative seals the trolleys. Following that, these are put onto the high loaders, which transport the food to the airplane.

In every area there are area SOPs which are to be followed and the area CCP to be strictly maintained.

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