Students of M S Ramaiah College of Hotel Management, specialising in food and beverage production and service, recently visited Taj SATS Air Catering, the well-known on-flight catering service of the Taj.
While it was a real treat for the students of the kitchen specialisation, others who attended were also pleasantly surprised by the efficiency of the set-up.
They found the experience a very rewarding one as they learnt about how the food undergoes cold processing. Catering to international and domestic flights, the food is processed with high precision and hygiene.
Great emphasis is put on portion control and presentation under the highest security.
These points were understood and appreciated by the students.
They saw this as a very different way of functioning, as compared to what they learned in hotel management.
"It was interesting to see the importance of specifications in the airline catering industry, be it in the portioning, cost control or hygiene. Different airlines have different cutlery and crockery and they have bond warehouses to keep stock of it.
It's all very well-managed and if something is out of place, it can immediately be detected," explains Beauti, a student. She adds, "It was a good learning experience because in flight catering, there is heavy dependence on machinery. In hotels, on the other hand, the kitchen is more accessible and guests come and go."
The best part of the trip for many of the students was the interactive session with the chef, as they were told in detail about how the whole catering service differed from the regular operations in a hotel. As they witnessed the process, they were glad to learn of new avenues open before them. The batch of inquisitive students was accompanied by the faculty of the college, who also expressed their pleasure at going there.
While it was a real treat for the students of the kitchen specialisation, others who attended were also pleasantly surprised by the efficiency of the set-up.
They found the experience a very rewarding one as they learnt about how the food undergoes cold processing. Catering to international and domestic flights, the food is processed with high precision and hygiene.
Great emphasis is put on portion control and presentation under the highest security.
These points were understood and appreciated by the students.
They saw this as a very different way of functioning, as compared to what they learned in hotel management.
"It was interesting to see the importance of specifications in the airline catering industry, be it in the portioning, cost control or hygiene. Different airlines have different cutlery and crockery and they have bond warehouses to keep stock of it.
It's all very well-managed and if something is out of place, it can immediately be detected," explains Beauti, a student. She adds, "It was a good learning experience because in flight catering, there is heavy dependence on machinery. In hotels, on the other hand, the kitchen is more accessible and guests come and go."
The best part of the trip for many of the students was the interactive session with the chef, as they were told in detail about how the whole catering service differed from the regular operations in a hotel. As they witnessed the process, they were glad to learn of new avenues open before them. The batch of inquisitive students was accompanied by the faculty of the college, who also expressed their pleasure at going there.