Alex Cheban, travel blogger: A delicious lunch above the clouds - what could be better? 35% of passengers choose fish, 45% choose meat, and only 18% believe that it is not necessary to eat on a plane, you just need to fly on it. Well... they will most likely miss this report. I invite everyone else to the UTair airline's in-flight catering factory in Surgut.

Secret No. 1. UTair has its own baked goods for in-flight catering kits.

The small room has the positive smell of fresh French cinnamon rolls.

Each bun should weigh 60g.

On the ground floor there are procurement workshops: meat, fish and vegetables, a defrosting chamber and a freezer. In the cold workshop, cucumbers and olives are packaged and salads are cut.

Let's move on to the hot shop...

Sautéing for roasting beef.

Secret #2: Even the in-flight catering has a chef! He prepares the in-flight food ration for the airline as a whole and coordinates production. Knows the energy value of dishes, flavor combinations and food composition rules.

Chef Egor Korolev oversees the process.

And if the factory suddenly runs out of animal meat, then children and crews are used (smiles).

Secret No. 3. The cost of one serving of in-flight meals (economy class) is on average 150 rubles.

Preparing trays containing cutlery, salad, dessert, and UTair branded chocolate.

Secret No. 4. The shelf life of in-flight meals is three hours. That is, if the flight is delayed, then it is necessary to completely redo and reload the food into the boxes. Meals on the return segment of a turnaround flight are a new set that is loaded before departure at the intermediate airport.

Packaging of finished products for loading on board.

Secret No. 5: Inflight meals are distributed strictly according to the number of passengers on the flight, plus one spare set per 50 passengers (according to industry standard). So, most likely, there will be no supplements, even if the cabin is half empty. An additional portion is issued in case of unexpected transportation/distribution defects on board.

Secret No. 6. Absolutely all products, main dishes and salads are prepared for a specific flight; the full cycle of preparation and serving of one flight takes three hours. The in-flight catering department operates around the clock and the start time of cooking is coordinated with the airport and is clearly linked to the actual expected departure time.

These carts with food are supplied from the second floor to a specially equipped vehicle, which supplies food on board.

Secret No. 7. The menu is unified for each airline and is always prepared identically according to certain recipes at all in-flight catering factories, even if some point does not have its own factory.

For example, you were fed stale fish on a flight from Irkutsk to Moscow, you send a complaint to UTair and the airline conducts an investigation with the service provider in Irkutsk, conducts an audit of the enterprise, all the way to changing the supplier! After visiting the factory itself, we were able to taste the in-flight food. Everything was divided by service class.

Secret No. 8. The crew has a separate menu! I always thought that the crew eats the same as business class, but it turns out not. A special diet has been developed for the crew, which takes into account the energy requirement of 3500 kcal/day. Legumes, plums and prunes are excluded. The crew consists of pilots and flight attendants; there are no differences in diet.

Economy Superior.

Business Class.

Secret No. 9. There is cream soup in business class! And for breakfast, porridge, even in a liquid consistency. They are served on board the aircraft in a “geyser”, and directly to the passenger in a recessed cup.

A "deep cup" is simply a deep dish. In general, it is very interesting to listen to professionals and catch such words.

Secret No. 10. Exotics are available on board, but only by special order. For example, a venison menu can be prepared specifically for a charter flight or business aviation. In such cases, the menu undergoes additional approval and preparation may take more than three hours.

In my opinion, UTair food is really tasty and plentiful, especially on short flights, and on the Kyiv-Moscow flight it is the best menu among all line operators.

My meal on the morning flight Surgut-Kyiv on the way home. Everything is absolutely identical visually and just as tasty as in the presentation. Well, maybe the pasta is a little different, but that doesn’t matter.

The in-flight catering shop was founded in 1995 and is the pride of Kapitan LLC.

More than 50 airlines, including foreign ones, use the services of the in-flight catering department of Captain LLC. The largest consumers of the company's services are S7 airlines, UT Air, Ural Airlines, Nordwindairlines, Transaero, Yakutia Airlines, etc.

To create food rations for different classes of service, airlines offer a wide range of dishes and goods. When compiling the menu, any wishes of air carriers are taken into account, based on the passenger service standards adopted by the airline. In accordance with the Carrier’s needs, a presentation of the assortment of dishes and products is carried out at the in-flight catering department, during which the Carrier’s representatives formulate all types of food rations, draw up “Ration Menu Specifications” with photographs of the dishes, and specify the order of serving and the type of utensils used.

In order to meet consumer demand for certain types of special food, the specialists of the in-flight catering department have developed standard diets for all air carriers, including dishes of national cuisines, dietary dishes, vegetarian food, baby food:

BBML – infant
ORML-eastern
SFML- seafood
MOML - Muslim
VGML- vegetarian
FRML - fruity
CHML - children's

We also provide services to VIP flights, Heads and Governments of various countries. The possibility of an individual approach to each client is provided.

Every six months, the in-flight catering workshop of Kapitan LLC updates its range of products for airlines. The updates correspond to the transition from spring-summer to autumn-winter.

In 2008, the in-flight catering workshop of Captain LLC received a registration certificate from the authorized organization NQA Global Assurance Limited for compliance with the requirements of the ISO 22000-2007 standard and the HACCP system.

Afterwards, it underwent surveillance audits twice and, based on the results of a recertification audit in 2011, the certificate was extended for another 3 years. Thanks to this, airlines that place high demands on the quality and safety of in-flight catering cooperate with Kapitan LLC, showing high trust. In-flight meals are prepared according to the “Just-In-Time” principle. The supply of food raw materials and other goods to the in-flight catering workshop is carried out from the trade and warehouse complex of Captain LLC.

Responsibility for the acceptance of products in terms of quality and quantity rests with the food product specialist.

The distribution of products among warehouses and refrigeration chambers is carried out in accordance with the accepted classification by type of product, their storage mode and sanitary and hygienic requirements:

• dry (flour, sugar, cereals, pasta, spices, industrial sauces, etc.) – dry warehouse temperature +22 - +24 ° C (FGU “Novosibirsk NTsSM test report No. 3501 dated 07/01/08), storage on racks and shelves;
• Frozen meat, fish, poultry - freezer with a temperature not exceeding -18°C, storage on racks and shelves;
• frozen vegetables - freezer with a temperature not exceeding -18°C, storage on racks and shelves;
• milk and fat - refrigeration chamber with a temperature not higher than +6°C, storage on racks and shelves;

• soft and alcoholic drinks, grocery products - dry warehouse temperature +22 - +24°C (FGU "Novosibirsk NTsSM test protocol No. 3501 dated 07/01/08), storage on racks and stockpiles;

• juices and beer - refrigerated compartment with a temperature not exceeding +6°C, stored on racks and stockpiles;

• meat and fish gastronomy – refrigeration chamber with a temperature from +0 to +3°C, storage on racks and stock shelves;

• vegetables and fruits (fresh and canned) – refrigerated compartment with a temperature not exceeding +6°C, stored on racks and shelves.

All production workshops are equipped with modern technological equipment.
The food preparation process is carried out in accordance with production
plan.

The salad shop prepares various fruit and vegetable snacks. Ready-made dishes are stored in baskets marked “Salad Shop”; a label is issued indicating the flight number and the name of the dish. The baskets are transferred to the production refrigerator of the “Completing Shop” at a temperature of +2/+6°C.

In cold – cold appetizers from meat, fish gastronomy, cheeses, etc. are portioned. Ready-made dishes are stored in baskets marked “Cold Shop”, a label is issued indicating the flight number and the name of the dish. The baskets are transferred to the production refrigerator of the “Completing Shop” at a temperature of +2/+6°C.

In the cutting area, semi-finished products from meat, fish, and poultry are prepared.

Which subsequently enter the hot shop, where they are subjected to heat treatment.

After cooking, hot dishes, as well as side dishes, go through a blast cooling stage, which helps ensure product safety and quality, in accordance with ISO-22000 requirements.

In the casserole serving area, chilled products are portioned. The finished cassettes are stored in special aircraft equipment, onto which an accompanying label is attached, which indicates the flight number, flight departure time, information about the contents (hot food code and quantity by class of service), date and time of assembly (flight), expiration date. Aircraft equipment with enclosed chilled cassettes is transferred to the “Dispatch refrigerator” at a temperature of +0/+4°C, where it is stored until the start of flight assembly and transportation to the aircraft.

The ration assembly shop forms ready-made sets of cold appetizers, bakery and confectionery products.

At the end of serving, lunch boxes and trays with food are placed in removable aircraft equipment corresponding to the aircraft type (carts, semi-carts, reusable or disposable containers). Filled removable aircraft equipment with open doors to ensure circulation of cold air and more efficient cooling is placed in the “Dispatch refrigerator” with a temperature of +0/+4°C and stored there until the start of inspection and loading of food into special vehicles for delivery to the aircraft.

The in-flight catering department of Captain LLC does not stand still, expanding the range of dishes offered, mastering modern technologies, and improving the skills of its specialists.

Particular attention in the Inflight Catering Shop is paid to ensuring aviation security from acts of unlawful interference. Inspection of in-flight catering and buffet and kitchen equipment is carried out at the inspection point of the In-flight Catering Shop by inspectors of the aviation security service of the Tolmachevo airport with the participation of an employee of the Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the Tolmachevo airport.

Who eats on planes? In response to this question, I would always raise my hand. An hour's travel time for a meal is reduced to just a few minutes. I come up with interesting sandwiches from cold appetizers. I also compete with myself for the neatest container, which after eating becomes a warehouse for packaging. I almost always give dessert to Maksiche, who meets me. He has a sweet tooth, unlike me.

I ate and ate and never thought about how this food was prepared and got on board. UTair invited me to its historical homeland, Surgut, where food is prepared for all flights departing from this airport in a 350-meter in-flight catering workshop. In general, among Russian airlines, only UTair and Aeroflot provide their food. The rest order catering at the airport, packaging it in their own boxes, as Siberian S7 does.

In Surgut, UTair cooks not only for airplane passengers, but also for cafes at the airport and for its hotel.

The main person in UTair's in-flight catering is Nikolai Vasilievich. Seryozha wrote very well about him, we flew together with him.

« Tens of millions of passengers fed per year. More than a thousand people at four airports. And two and a half billion in revenue. He manages all this from his office here in Surgut. The scale captivates him and inspires me with it. This is how he is - Nikolai Vasilyevich.He suddenly exclaims his favorite: “The passenger is always right!”

And again he begins with love about the children. How difficult it is to transport them. Much more difficult than Hajj pilgrims. How to prepare flight attendants. He disappears somewhere and returns with a coloring book and pencils. Gives them to my colleague. After all, she has a child.

He is noisy and kind. Knows everyone by name and patronymic, which he pronounces with love. Here, among all the combi ovens and stoves, there is a completely different atmosphere than in the kitchens of chain restaurants in Moscow. It's like a movie here. And it smells like buns.”

Where the food begins, the sterile zone begins. We take off our outerwear and pack ourselves into robes with an “entrance” on the back, shoe covers and hats. The bristly Seryozha was given a mask.

The rug is in a recess, so don’t trip.

I compared these measures to changing clothes in the dirty area at the Smolensk nuclear power plant, where we left all our clothes except underwear in the lockers and dressed up in thick snow-white cotton overalls and helmets. We had a nice honeymoon!

But let's return to Surgut. On the ground floor of the workshop there is a food warehouse. They are prepared for cooking: washed, cut, peeled.

There are refrigeration units and defrosting chambers.

Dirty dishes also arrive here in carts. The carts are first washed in a separate chamber with the product, and then more thoroughly cleaned in order to be filled with new portions.

It seemed strange to me that meat and fish were cut in the same room.

But when I entered it, it smelled of meat. It was just cut. If they can handle the meat, they'll take on the fish.

The meat and fish workshop has refrigerators, cutting tables and a sink. The walls are tiled everywhere; the same requirements apply to operating rooms.

The vegetable shop smells fresh. Just peeled carrots!

Kitchen worker Patimat peels the eyes from potatoes. He says there are many of them in this batch. More than a hundred kilograms of potatoes pass through her hands per shift.

Of course, she doesn't clean hundreds of kilos by hand. This is what the machine does. Two buckets of root vegetables are loaded into it, closed and the drum is turned on. The peel rubs against the sandy interior of the centrifuge. During cleaning, vegetables are watered. At home, I also peel potatoes under running water. The vertical photo shows dirty water draining from the machine.

The unit itself stands in a kind of bath.

We go up to the second floor. In the rooms on the right, food is prepared, sweets and bread are baked. And on the left they are packaged into carts, lunch boxes and carts.

A cassette is an aluminum box for hot food. Lunch boxes serve snacks, cups and partings on board. The cart is used by flight attendants to carry food around the plane.

Up to 1,000 buns are baked per shift, replacing white bread. The machine mixes the dough for them. And the confectionery products are prepared entirely by hand.

They spend 18 minutes in the oven, and after that they immediately go to the packers.

Meet the chef and his crazy pants!

I’m used to the fact that on an airplane they always serve two meals: meat and fish; I was very surprised when they also offered me sausages to choose from. It is known that altitude greatly distorts tastes. For example, on the ground I don’t even remember the existence of tomato juice, when, like on an airplane, I begin to feel its taste in my mouth as soon as the car leaves the ground. Of course I took sausages. And tomato juice.

Let's move on to packaging. Cassalettes are assembled in the hot food department, snacks - in the cold department. The vegetables have just arrived on the second floor via a special food elevator.

Two hours before departure, when it is already almost exactly known how many people will board the plane, they begin to collect lunch boxes and pack them in carts, and hot food in containers.

Everything is done so quickly that food doesn’t sit idle. If the plane is delayed for a long time, this is usually known in advance, so they are collected by the actual departure time. And if the flight is delayed for half an hour, then the packaged food simply sits in a special refrigerator and waits to be boarded.

The cost of a meal set per economy class passenger is 130 rubles.

A set of sauces, dishes and rations for business class. UTair also has an improved economy seat, the price is somewhere between business and economy, in fact: economy seats, but business services.

Boeing trolleys.

Container for hot dishes.

The cart is sealed and the number of servings is signed.

Meals are delivered for the flight based on actual load. If someone is late, the extra portions are taken off board. There is another set of food for 50 passengers. If there are 150 people flying, there should be 153 meals on board.

Loaders carry containers and carts to the elevator. But that's not all, the food journey continues.

Everything is strict at the airport. The security service does not ignore food either.

In this container, the food will travel through the airport to the plane. It will be heated on board and served to each passenger.

This is such manual labor!

After the tour, we treated ourselves to all the possible dishes that the kitchen prepares. Muksun, venison, fruit. Some with wine, some with cognac.

A bag similar to khinkali is a lemon. It is pressed onto the fish without removing it from the fabric so that it does not slip in your hands and the bones do not fall into the plate. Life hack for home! I've already wrapped it up.

Finally, I’ll tell you a few interesting facts.

In the canteen of the Surgut airport, it is impossible for employees to simply eat for a hundred rubles; with this money you can overeat!

Pasta - 4 rubles, mashed potatoes - 6 rubles, cupcake - 8 rubles.

The crew is not allowed to eat foods that cause stomach turmoil before or during the flight. Here is one of the diets provided to flight attendants and pilots.

UTair has also opened additional flights from Ingushetia to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. They pass at night so that passengers can eat. During the month of Ramadan, devout Muslims must fast from the onset of morning prayer (prayer at dawn) until the onset of evening prayer (at sunset).

Today we will talk about airplane food or in-flight catering. It would seem that there could be something so special here, but the topic is very interesting. Lunch at an altitude of 10 kilometers is more of a tradition than a necessity. Agree, there is nothing wrong with going without food for several hours. From the very beginning of passenger air travel, airlines sought to emphasize the exclusivity of air travel by offering a level of in-flight service unheard of at the time, which, of course, included in-flight meals for the passenger. Today, airplane food is a whole industry, which, despite the current trend towards reducing the amount of food on board for most carriers, is successfully developing. With the advent of low-cost airlines and the beginning of the boom in low-cost transportation, many common carriers that do not position themselves as low-cost, followed suit and began to provide meals on board for money, by the way, such carriers include major American companies such as American Airlines, Delta, United . In this article we will try to talk about the “kitchen” associated with on-board catering and answer the main questions of interest to passengers.

Who cooks and where?

Manufactures airplane food in-flight catering shop or in a professional environment just flight shop. You can often hear the word catering(from English catering), which actually means the same thing. Typically, the in-flight catering workshop is located on the airport premises or in close proximity to it. Here food is prepared, cooled, rations are formed, and loaded into aircraft carts. Hot food is cooled to near-zero temperatures. Once the food for the flight is fully prepared, it is sent on the plane. For relatively short flights, as a rule, they try to load food immediately for the return journey; firstly, it is cheaper at the base airport, and secondly, this allows you to reduce the layover time at the transit airport. At the same time, acceptable deadlines for food sales are strictly monitored. To increase the shelf life, cutlets with chilled food are additionally covered with dry ice ( cassette is an aluminum container for hot food). Before takeoff, flight attendants place chilled food in special ovens in which it is heated.

How does food get on a plane?

Meals are delivered to the plane by a special machine - an elevator. In the process of preparing the aircraft for the flight, carts with in-flight catering are loaded. The catering employee reloads the carts and containers on board and places them in their regular places in the kitchen. If the aircraft is large, for example an Airbus A330 or a Boeing 777, several machines are used to load power. After the food is loaded, flight attendants check its quantity, completeness and expiration dates.

Types of diets.

The composition of the meal is determined by the airline, and if the flight is a charter flight, by the customer of the flight. Obviously, business and economy class passengers are fed completely different meals. While economy class passengers are served hot meals only on long flights (in Russia, as a rule, more than 3 hours), business class passengers are served on almost all flights. The difference in serving food is also obvious: if in business class the dishes are glass and the cutlery is metal, then in economy class everything is almost always disposable. The composition of the diet on a particular flight may vary; depending on the time of departure, breakfast, lunch and dinner are distinguished. The specifics of the destination are also taken into account; for example, beef is not offered on flights to India.

Meals on the flight Moscow - St. Petersburg. Economy and business class.

The amount of food depends mainly on the duration of the flight; on very long flights, such as transatlantic flights, two full meals are usually offered. As for alcoholic drinks in economy class, most Russian carriers provide them only on long international flights. It is believed that the best food on board is offered by Asian companies such as Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways. These carriers offer alcoholic beverages on almost all flights and in all classes of service.

Special food.

Major carriers on their flights offer the opportunity to order meals that take into account certain religious, medical and other restrictions. The most popular types are vegetarian, kosher, Muslim, diabetic, children's, low-calorie. This service is free, however, it is worth remembering that usually special meals must be ordered no later than one day before departure, and sometimes earlier. Ordering special meals may not be available on all flights; this service is usually not provided on short flights. If there is such an opportunity, when booking a ticket on the airline’s website, most likely the system itself will offer you to choose meals. If the ticket was purchased from an intermediary, then to order special meals you need to contact the airline’s call center. Please remember that the meal you order will be given to the person sitting in the seat indicated on your boarding pass, so if you are seated in a different seat you risk being left without your meal.

Kosher food.

Why didn't I have enough fish?

When preparing in-flight meals for a flight, it is impossible to guess the preferences of each passenger; yes, there are statistical data according to which meals are loaded in a certain proportion. The only thing that can be recommended here is to ask the crew in advance to set aside food for you or at check-in to ask for a seat at the front of the cabin, since passenger service, as a rule, begins from there.

How much does in-flight meals really cost?

It all depends on the specific airline’s contract with catering. The average price of food per economy class passenger for short flights (sandwich + drinks) varies from 30 to 90 rubles, and for medium-duration flights (meal with hot meals) from 130 to 270 rubles per passenger. The cost of food and drinks for a business class passenger ranges from 250 to 500 rubles. Do not forget that a significant part of the cost of food is the cost of services for its delivery and loading on board.

What do the crew eat?

Crew meals are generally similar to business class meals, but with a slight twist on healthy eating, which makes sense given that pilots and flight attendants are forced to eat this food every day. By the way, many airlines have a rule according to which the commander and co-pilot must eat different diets, so that if something happens, only one pilot gets poisoned.

What happens to the remaining food?

Since meals are loaded with little reserve, and many passengers often refuse meals, there is often an impressive amount of untouched food left behind. After the flight, the same elevator cars arrive and pick up the carts with garbage and leftover food. Those drinks that have not been opened can be reused, this is especially true for expensive alcohol in business class. Naturally, the food itself can no longer be reused and must be thrown away. In practice, at least in our country, almost no unused food reaches the flight shop. First of all, it passes through the filter of the flight attendants, then border guards, technicians, and cleaners get on board, who take away everything that is left. In general, hardly anything will go missing. By the way, the crew is strictly prohibited from taking anything off the plane.

A delicious lunch above the clouds - what could be better?! Nothing! This is exactly what 35% of travelers think, who cannot imagine flying without tasty fish, they are joined by another 45% who also will not refuse delicious beef with tomato sauté... and only the remaining 18% are sure that it is not at all necessary to eat on a plane; you just need to fly. Well... they will most likely miss this report. And I invite everyone else to the UTair airline in-flight catering factory in Surgut! Did you know that everything needs to be prepared anew if the flight is delayed by 3 hours?! And that pilots do not eat food from business or economy, but there is a special diet for them?! How to feed passengers on 300 flights per day departing from 110 cities on the airline’s route network?!

And the main thing is that even the in-flight catering has its own chef - the charismatic Egor in unique branded plaid pants!

We are located in Surgut, in the ZapSib-Catering company - a branch of UTair Airlines OJSC. The workshop is designed for 8 thousand portions per day and serves flights of UTair and others that fly from Surgut.
The UTair airline has its own factories in Surgut, Tyumen, Khanty-Mansiysk, and the main office responsible for catering for the entire airline is located in Surgut.

On the ground floor there are procurement workshops: meat, fish and vegetables, a defrosting chamber and a freezer.

Secret No. 1. All the baked goods for the in-flight catering kits are here!
In a small room there is an incredibly positive smell of fresh French cinnamon rolls:

Each bun should weigh 60g. Shall we check?

Very sharp eye! On the first try :)

In the cold workshop, cucumbers and olives are packaged and salads are cut:

Let's move on to the hot shop...

Sauteing for beef frying:

Secret No. 2. Even the in-flight catering has a chef! And this is not a nominal position at all. He prepares the in-flight catering ration for the airline as a whole and coordinates production both from a technological and supply point of view. He is the one who knows the energy value of dishes, flavor combinations and rules for arranging food nutrients. Obviously, the crew’s diet should not include peas, but besides this there are a lot of subtleties and nuances that are his professional secrets.

Yegor Korolev is vigilantly watching over the process.

And if the factory suddenly runs out of animal meat, then children and crews are used :)

Secret No. 3. The cost of 1 serving of in-flight meals (economy class) is on average 150 rubles.

Preparing trays containing cutlery, salad, dessert, branded chocolate with one of the airline’s aircraft:

Secret No. 4. The shelf life of in-flight meals is 3 hours. Those. If the flight is delayed, then it is necessary to completely redo and reload the in-flight catering. Meals on the return segment of a turnaround flight are a new set that is loaded before departure at the intermediate airport.

And packaging of finished products for loading on board:

Secret No. 5. In-flight meals are distributed strictly according to the number of passengers on the flight, plus 1 spare meal per 50 passengers (as per industry standard). So, most likely, there will be no supplements, even if the cabin is half empty. An additional portion is issued in case of unexpected transportation/distribution defects on board.

Formation of products.
Next, all carts go down to the first floor, where they are checked by the aviation security service, the carts are sealed and can be transported to the aircraft.
A separate trolley contains dishes for business class:

Secret No. 6. Absolutely all products, hot dishes and salads are prepared for a specific flight; the time for a full cycle of preparation and serving for one flight is 3 hours. The in-flight catering department operates around the clock and the start time of cooking is coordinated with the airport and is clearly linked to the actual expected departure time.

These food carts are supplied from the second floor to a specially equipped vehicle, which supplies food on board:

Secret No. 7. The menu is unified for each airline and is always prepared identically according to certain recipes at all in-flight catering factories, even if some point does not have its own factory.

For example, you were fed stale fish on a flight from Irkutsk to Moscow, you send a complaint to UTair and the airline conducts an investigation with the service provider in Irkutsk, conducts an audit of the enterprise, all the way to changing the supplier!

After visiting the factory itself, we were able to taste the in-flight food.
Everything was divided by service class.

Economy class - casseroles with hot options (sausages, fish, beef, vegetables) + salad tray + drinks included in economy:

Secret No. 8. The crew has a separate menu!
I always thought that the crew eats the same as business class, but it turns out not. A special diet has been developed for the crew, which takes into account the energy requirement of 3500 kcal/day. Legumes, plums and prunes are excluded. The crew consists of pilots and flight attendants; there are no differences in diet.

Crew meals:

Economy Superior:

Well, business class:

Secret No. 9. There is cream soup in business class! And for breakfast, porridge, even in a liquid consistency. They are served on board the aircraft in a “geyser”, and directly to the passenger - in a deep cup!

A "deep cup" is simply a deep dish in professional terminology. In general, it is very interesting to listen to professionals and catch such words.

Secret number 10. Exotics are available on board, but only by special order. For example, a venison menu can be prepared specifically for a charter flight or business aviation. In such cases, the menu undergoes additional approval and preparation can take significantly more than 3 hours.

In my opinion, UTair food is really tasty and plentiful, especially on short flights, and on the Kyiv-Moscow flight it is the best menu among all line operators:

Secret No. 10+1. On board and at the tasting - absolutely the same!

On social networks, while I was posting live pictures from the tasting, in addition to the logical stream of complaints about the bias of the report, there were reviews that the food was beautiful in the pictures, but on real flights it was disgusting. As it turned out, this is not so and often it is the subjective perception of taste that works, and even, perhaps, a change in the individual sensitivity of taste buds at a high level!

And a simple comparison... Kasalettes at the tasting during the press tour, pay attention to the sausages:

...and meals on the morning flight Surgut-Kyiv on the way home. Everything is absolutely identical visually and just as tasty as in the presentation.
Well, maybe the pasta is a little different, but that doesn’t matter.

Resources where thematic pictures on in-flight catering are posted.