Homemade food is not only tastier, but also healthier than fast food or lunch at a nearby cafe. It’s good that in our time “food to go” has become a fashion trend for everyone who is passionate about a healthy lifestyle and takes care of their family members. Light snacks can be carried with you in convenient and beautiful lunch boxes, and soups are kept hot in special thermoses. Such devices make life easier, it remains only to choose among the variety what is right for you. Let's take a look at a few options that are available in DesignBoom.
Compact snacks
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If you're looking for a container that's small but roomy enough for your child to carry their school lunch in, the Emerald GoEat™ Lunch Box from British brand Joseph Joseph is the way to go. It consists of two departments. In the lower, divided by a partition, you can store dry food - salad ingredients, nuts, fruits, cereals or pasta. The top container is ideal for snacks and liquid meals. Its lid is equipped with a special locking ring that prevents leakage. There is a chance to bring lunch without staining the contents of the bag or briefcase, while the food will retain its taste and aroma. Food can be reheated in the microwave after removing the lid.
Double Decker Lunch
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In some containers it is convenient to take two meals with you at once. This is suitable for those who do not have time to have breakfast or work in shifts. In this case, pay attention to multi-level lunch boxes with several sections. Agree, it’s better to customize the containers for yourself than trying to “get along” with a smaller lunch box and fight your appetite. Model MB Original jungle from the French manufacturer Monbento meets the requirements listed above. Two 500 ml containers are placed one above the other and secured with a special strap. The kit includes a gravy boat, which also serves as a convenient container divider into separate sections. The container has an elegant design, is made of food-safe plastic and is suitable for heating in the microwave. However, it is not recommended to carry liquid foods in it.
Food is like a holiday
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Italian lunch box O EAT burgundy from Guzzini resembles a designer and is made as a designer accessory. With this device, you can create a varied and balanced diet, enjoying delicious food, without looking up from work. Such nutrition has an immediate effect on performance and productivity.
The design consists of two containers, the halves of which can be combined with each other. Dividing partitions and silicone tape are used for reliable fixation in the boxes.
The material of which this bright and cheerful lunch box is made does not contain toxic components and can be heated up to 100 ° C. Looking at this accessory, the mood and appetite rise. Still, the Italians know how to turn every meal into a holiday!
A bowl of soup in a handbag
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English manufacturers have pleased with another novelty - an orange Food Flask thermos from Black + Blum made of stainless steel. Now you can carry soups and other hot dishes with you, regardless of whether you have a microwave in the office or not.
Thanks to the vacuum flask and double walls, the food stays hot for up to six hours. The thermos can be carried even in a horizontal position. A sealed lid with a silicone seal will prevent liquid from leaking out of the container. All parts of the device are made of environmentally friendly materials.
A standard serving of 400 ml of food is placed in the container - this is a deep enough plate, so you will not be left hungry. The spoon is designed so ergonomically that it is convenient to scoop food from the bottom with it. It is attached to the thermos with a soft faux leather strap, so it will never get lost in a bag or backpack.
For example, sandwiches made from two halves of whole grain bread, between which you can put lettuce leaves, boiled chicken or a slice of beef, hard cheese, cucumber circles and bell pepper rings, are very tasty, healthy and convenient. Sandwiches should be closed, without sauces and soiled foods, so that the child can comfortably snack. The container has enough space for vegetables, hard fruits and nuts.
In the DesignBoom online store you can buy a food container for every taste and color. For users of the site "Eat at Home" until January 30, 2019, there is an exclusive 20% discount on all lunch boxes. To take advantage of this unique opportunity, enter the promo code edimdoma20 in a special line at checkout. Enjoy delicious and healthy snacks from the perfect lunch boxes!
Meals in economy class is perhaps the most enjoyable moment during the flight in an airplane and its integral part is the lunch offered. This moment leads to the revival of all passengers, and they are satisfied, looking forward to this action. As soon as the aircraft gains the required altitude and reaches the flight level, pleasant smells are immediately heard from the front of the aircraft. This warms up food for passengers in special ovens.
Hot food is served to passengers only if the flight lasts two or more hours. When the flight is shorter, passengers are mainly offered sandwiches, juice and water. Or just cupcakes with tea or coffee, and, of course, water. When flying for more than two hours, each airline tries to feed its passengers to the full, and some save on food.
In-flight meals are prepared by special services that operate separately from the airport. This service is called catering. In catering, everything is cooked, cut and placed in special disposable molds. So, for example, durable dishes for hot foil dishes are called a cassette, and the whole delivery, complete with hot food, salad, or pieces of vegetables, cold cuts, or fish, this whole set is called a lunch box.
Products that are purchased for cooking - only the most High Quality as well as the latest. Catering is strictly responsible. This service has to be responsible for everything. And for the quality of the products, and the freshness of the products. The time allotted for cooking before transferring it to the plane is also limited, it should not be more than an hour and a half. Therefore, be aware that if your plane is delayed for more than two hours, in catering, work is in full swing to prepare new in-flight meals for passengers in order to provide you with only freshly prepared food. Loading food on the aircraft takes place one hour before the departure of the aircraft. A special car, with a lift, drives up to the aircraft, and the food is reloaded in containers designed for this purpose.
And so, the most pleasant moment came when the senior flight attendant announced to the passengers that lunch was provided.
Meals on the plane. Economy class.
Everyone starts to move, and get comfortable in the chairs. The economy class menu is usually different. It all depends on how much the airline paid for the contents of your lunch. A hot dish may contain fish, chicken, sausages, beef stroganoff. As a side dish, they usually offer potatoes or rice. A few slices of cucumber and tomato, rarely diluted with a slice of sweet pepper, or a few olives. This is a vegetable menu. But already cold cuts, it consists of several pieces, among which chicken roll, sausage, or ham, they will not give you more.
Sometimes cutting is fish. Be sure to include a few slices of bread and a bun, which relies on a few grams of butter or jam. When serving lunch, flight attendants mainly offer several types of juice, their range includes tomato, and apple, less often orange. And, of course, carbonated or non-carbonated water. Devouring the proposed menu, everyone is busy, they forget that this is a flight.
And some of the passengers, dissatisfied, having rummaged through the contents of the lunch box, defiantly leave the lunch untouched, emphasizing their status by this, they indulge in sleep, having previously asked the conductor for a blanket. To “warm up”, recently they offer a hundred grams of wine, or a small can of beer, but most airlines try to save on alcoholic drinks, or transfer alcohol to a paid bar service. And, at the end of the meal, you will be offered tea or coffee with a small cake or cake.
Passengers who, for whatever reason, need special meals, such as dietary, vegetarian, children's, kosher, or other, must, when booking a ticket, be sure to declare this. Data about you must be processed by the airline, and ordered, a special meal chosen by you for the flight. And be sure that you personally, on board the aircraft, will be provided with an order! It's good to fly - most of those who prefer air travel like it, but it's tasty to fly - everyone likes it!
The lunch box is a modern, ergonomic food storage container. The container has a tight lid, attractive design and comfortable shape. Boxing is easy to take with you to work and travel. You can reheat and comfortably consume a variety of foods. Wear-resistant and environmentally friendly materials provide 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 you all the most interesting things about the varieties and choice of food containers.
What is a lunch box?
Under the name of a lunch box, a multifunctional container is hidden, which helps to eat properly and tasty anywhere. This is a lightweight container where you can put different food or pour drinks and take it all with you to work, school, on the road or on a picnic.
Closing may vary. Manufacturers offer to buy containers for carrying food with or without heating, with a fun, childish design and without decor. There are different materials and number of compartments. You can individually pick up a lunch box for the needs of a particular person.
lunch box is a container for foodTypes of food boxes
Disposable lunch boxes
Cheap disposable containers are made from durable safe materials and allow you to carry any food hygienically. Popular brands in this category:
- Horeca - good white disposable containers, designed for cold and hot food, withstand temperatures of +70 degrees, have 1 common section, made of polystyrene (price - 370 rubles);
- Styroplast - a popular brand of disposable food containers, white boxes, consist of two sections, made of polystyrene, sections are separated by a partition, oval-shaped container, no lid (price - 8 rubles).
Heated lunch box
Electric lunch box
Food-grade plastic containers are able to quickly heat food, are equipped with a sealed lid with a silicone seal and several fasteners. Most models warm up in 5 minutes, are powered by the mains. Demanded products:
- Bradex Bento - hermetic blue thermal 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 a socket, made of stainless steel and plastic, a fork and a spoon are included, a volume of 1.5 liters (price - 2000 thousand).
Lunch box heated by car cigarette lighter
Car lunch boxes are equipped with a wire 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 - a stylish orange-white car lunch box, heated from the cigarette lighter, the volume is 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 food container 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 of children is the key to health, well-being and successful studies. The child should eat fully, and not solid snacks. School lunch boxes allow the child to show independence - to take food with him, to eat at school or on a trip. 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 belt, a handle and a side pocket, inside plastic containers with a transparent lid, volume 0.8 and 0.6 l, the bag can be washed (price 2800 rubles);
- Lunch Kit Floral Soft - a 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 sections for food
If you need to take several servings 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 from this category:
- Lunch Box - a container with several compartments, with blue and transparent details, a removable container for first courses, suitable for a microwave, made of food-grade plastic (price - 600 rubles);
- Whip Bear - 4-section lunch box with a positive print, the departments are arranged in tiers, a spoon is included, it helps to keep the shape of the products, it is made of environmentally 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 happens that only one or a few light snacks are required. Small containers are indispensable here, where you can put all your favorite products for healthy snacks. Demanded products:
- Go Eat Joseph Joseph - a subminiature container made of polypropylene and silicone, of an unusual shape, keeps food well from negative influences from the outside and mechanical damage, heating in the microwave and washing in the dishwasher are calculated (price - 700 rubles);
- Black Blum Bento Box Lime - a compact container made of polypropylene and silicone, the case is shock and fall resistant (price - 930 rubles).
2 tier and 3 tier food box
The division into sections can be not only with the help of horizontal partitions, but also through the construction of several floors:
- Monbento Square - a sealed and reliable double container for adults, square, machine washable, designed for heating food in the microwave, volume 1.7 l, branded cutlery is stored under the lid (price - 2300 rubles);
- Gamer - 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 must be eaten warm, so the ability to heat food containers is extremely important. Not everyone is suitable for a heated lunch box or for a car. Today, many people use food containers that can be placed in the microwave. 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 - a very convenient lunch box, divided into 4 sections, volume 1.5 l, 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-green box for food, square shape, made of food-grade plastic, vacuum tight transparent lid with two sealed latches, a fork 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. The lunch box can have 1-3 or more compartments, which is convenient for carrying multiple 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 storing food and heating in a microwave oven, this is a good material. Glass containers have one feature that almost everyone considers a disadvantage - it's heavy weight compared to other materials.
Silicone
Lunch box seals are often made from silicone. Thanks to a strip of elastic material, the groove of the lid lies exactly on the container and there are no gaps left. Therefore, you can take the first dishes with you, and they will not spill. Bacteria do not multiply on silicone and food remains do 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 that is used to make eco-friendly and practical disposable food containers. 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-section container. When choosing sizes, consider how comfortable it will be for you to carry food with you. Make a decision based on how many meals and foods you usually eat. Lunch boxes with several tiers are convenient for work. The most common lunch box volume is 1.5 liters with 1-3 compartments.
Number of containers
A lunch box can consist of several containers. Thus, you take with you several separate containers with different dishes and you can heat them up separately. One container may be enough for you, but if you need to take more food with you, then consider a set. It is better if this set is complete with a special dense bag that can be hung on the shoulder.
Number of branches
Even if you are at work or school for a long time, move in transport, you still need to provide yourself with good nutrition. Lunch box with 3-4 compartments is a great opportunity to take several dishes with you wherever you go. In the course of carrying products are not mixed up, thanks to a special design and a dense cover. Small containers with several departments are very convenient. These lunch boxes fit easily in a women's bag and do not cause inconvenience.
To accurately select 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, yogurts or cookies;
- if you plan to use 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, biscuits 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 may look like a single-tier or two-tier design - if compactness is a priority, then a single-tier one is better;
- remember that in a one-story container with several departments - the flavors of dishes and products inevitably mix;
- find out in advance whether it is possible to put the lunch box in the microwave to heat food - there are both materials that are not designed for heating, and special resistant materials that can withstand heat well;
- if there is no microwave, then get a lunch box in a thermal bag, the food in it 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 put in the dishwasher, then it will always be crystal clean.
As you can see from the description of models and tips for choosing, there is a great variety of good lunch boxes for all occasions. On sale there are containers for people with different needs and abilities. The purchase is possible in a supermarket, hardware or online store. Without containers, it is impossible to imagine lunch at work or a snack in transport, in nature. Don't skip meals to keep your performance and good mood while away from home.
By the way, it is very easy to identify a person on board an aircraft who flies very rarely or flies for the first time.
Usually he eats everything clean, and then, at the very least, opens a wet napkin, which, in theory, should be used to wipe his hands before eating.
I usually arrive at the airport early. If I am flying for more than 5 days, then I take a large suitcase with me, which I need to pack, and this is the time. By the time I get to the airport, even in a taxi with a good driver, it takes at least half an hour. Anyway, by the time the food was served, I was already pretty hungry. So on very rare occasions I don't eat anything. Ural Airlines By the way, the food is pretty decent. 
I usually drink coffee on the plane. The fact is that I really love good tea, at home and at work I brew myself specially strong, large-leaf tea. I do not regret sugar and lemon. So I can’t drink tea from bags that are offered in the air. But, I tolerate instant coffee with milk or cream quite well. And it's really bad without drinking. 
If you are flying from Yekaterinburg, then almost certainly, asking for a chicken, you will receive a chicken with such a patch of lemons. I don't mind the combination of chicken and citrus, not at all. But in this case, the lemon dried to the state of tops does not improve the already suffering appearance of this dish at all. But, in general, if you throw out the lemon right away and forget about it, then everything else is quite edible. 
On Moscow-Ivanovo flights, which sometimes last a little less than an hour, food is not served. So just drink. 
I usually eat the hot meal and a slice of bread first. I cut the bun in half and make a sandwich with cheese and sausage. I just eat melted cheese.
If you asked for fish on a Ural Airlines flight, then specify what kind of fish it is. If it's a "fish medallion", don't hesitate. See him in the photo? This is not a fried boiled sausage, but a fish medallion made from ground fish meat, very greasy and completely tasteless. 
By the way, about drinks. I'm a crazy sugar bag collector. Therefore, if suddenly sugar is served with tea in a package that is unfamiliar to me, I have to ask the stewardess to bring another bag of sugar. Because it’s impossible to drink coffee without sugar, and I can’t spend a new sugar bag in such a mediocre and utilitarian way. 
In this photo, the dinner that Orenburg Airlines served us on the way to Antalya. Everything seemed normal, but no one understood why there were 4 pieces of black bread. Many passengers gave the bread back. 
And here we are returning from Turkey. It was very unusual to see the symbols not of the carrier company, even if it was a chartered charter, but of a tour operator.
By the way, this dinner "gone" in an instant. The fact is that between breakfast at the hotel and the serving of this lunch on the plane, about 7 hours passed and there was especially nowhere to eat. After the hotel buffet, the menu and portions seemed very meager. 
For some time now, Ural Airlines has also begun to pack food in neat paper boxes. It has become more pleasant and convenient to have lunch. 
In general, what I sometimes don’t like about the service on board is that the crew offers to choose one thing from “meat”, “chicken” or “fish” and at the same time does not talk about the side dish at all. For me, sometimes, the choice of garnish will be more of a deciding factor when choosing. For example, I don’t really like pasta, because in most cases they are cooked poorly. 
Ural Airlines once carried me on a shabby Tu-154M.
I have absolutely nothing against Tu-shek, but the interior is cramped in the Urals, that's a fact. We flew with a colleague, he is a little bigger than me in terms of build, so I had to eat there carefully in order to knock food out of each other's hands with my elbows. We sat in the fifth row, which gave great legroom, but at the time of breakfast you feel immured in this clip-on table.
Fed, traditionally, plentifully enough for a two-hour flight. Economy class.
For hot food, I took chicken. The chicken is traditionally topped with oranges and served with rice and green beans. I traditionally threw out oranges, everything else was quite tasty, although the chicken turned out to be a bit dry.
A traditional wet wipe was also present in the lunch box. 
ZAO "Avia Management Group" had to fly from Moscow to Ivanovo. The Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, I have already talked about it.
The ration was poor. I bought a very tasty peach cocktail in Kroshka-kartoshka in Domodedovo, again in a clean zone, yeah. Water was on board. Water is produced in the city of Furmanov, Ivanovo region. 
It's scarce, because the flight is only 50 minutes, and the plane is very small. 
I tell you, I like Ural Airlines.
I returned on the day of knowledge from the capital to Yekaterinburg with my favorite airline (Ural Airlines, yeah).
So, I learned on the day of knowledge that in Tu154, flying at an altitude of 10 kilometers, 3 small pieces of an unknown bird, fairly watered with tomato ketchup, are called very briefly "Chicken".
I sighed, ate, of course. But overall breakfast was pretty poor.
The mythical "Chicken" was complemented by pasta. I'll have to ask if they run the risk of serving pasta on flights to and from Rome.
A piece of black bread was compensated by a white roll.
Under a piece of cheese and an olive lay something like a ham, and at the very bottom a leaf of lettuce was hidden.
The cake was sweet, so I boldly donated the sugar to my home collection instead of the tea. If I want coffee instead of tea, no one asked me.
The tomato juice was so-so.
Advertising inside the lunchbox made it possible to admire the new buildings in Yekaterinburg and think about why half of our residential buildings are being built by a company called ATOMstroykompleks. 
While digging through the photo archives, I came across this one. He flew on April 12, returning home from Moscow to Yekaterinburg.
I remember that there was no alternative and I had to fly with unloved S7 airlines.
A set of food is traditional for this flight. Not very fresh bun, noodles with chicken, juice, which I usually don’t drink, but take with me.
That's what I liked about Siberia, so it's a glass of water in the diet. I can't just eat without drinking water.
In general, the flight is like a flight, although then it was put in Perm, and not in Yekaterinburg, because of the weather, and there I ate and got drunk in a cafe, but that's another story, I told about that. 
He flew with Ural Airlines, again on a shabby old Tu-shka 154th.
Salad "appetizing", a set of sausages, cookies, chocolate, two pieces of mustard cheese.
The main course was pasta bows with a couple of pieces of cauliflower and beef with prunes and, of course, tea. 
I flew, as they say, face to the wall.
So that non-passengers would not go crazy with inconvenience, holes for the legs were made in the wall, through which I periodically kicked something there.
But, plus this - I didn’t have a table, but a real tabletop for three.
Sitting was really uncomfortable, but eating was unrealistically comfortable compared to the usual places.
The meat pasta was delicious. Well, not exactly to lick your fingers, but delicious. 
They serve food in these lunch boxes. Outside self-promotion, I'm already irrelevant. 
I read about the sausage set, what is first-class, what is higher, it’s not interesting. 
Salad "Appetizing" was delicious and crispy! However, the label said that they made it on Friday, and I flew on Monday morning.
Although what will be done to sauerkraut. 
In general, I ate hot, ate a salad, opened sausages, looked at this smiley. 
And then he took a bun, cheese, these sausages and made a sandwich from the tear your face series. 
I couldn’t finish my chocolate and cookies, I took it with me. Irony of fate, by the way, the cups are promotional, but they don't offer coffee on board. 
I love that after eating, the garbage was neatly collected back into the lunch box.
Sometimes for this you have to break mugs and forks, bend plastic knives, turn plates into matyoshkas and generally remember Tetris. 
I didn't fly, but my sister did. Remembering my bzik on the topic of airplane food, I took a picture of breakfast. Claims everything was delicious.
Lufthansa flight from Yekaterinburg to Frankfurt am Main.
In my opinion, a pancake, even with jam, is not food. Although some meat and cheese were also given out.
It certainly looks very appetizing. 
Aeroflot has cool planes, good fares, a cool own terminal at Sheremetyevo.
But the food on the route Yekaterinburg - Moscow - Yekaterinburg is not very good.
This year I did not often fly them, but nevertheless.
In the photo above - breakfast on the way from Yekaterinburg to Moscow. Cheese-sausage-boiled pork is covered with a leaf of bitter lettuce. Olive for a snack. A piece of bread, butter, cake for dessert. Mustard - so that there is something to occupy the mind, trying to attach it somewhere. Hot coffee. 
But this is dinner on the flight Moscow - Yekaterinburg. Added jam, bread and cheese. In general, one gets the feeling that Aeroflot does not use catering in Koltsovo and brings hawk on return flights from Moscow. 
But the Ural Airlines fed in the Urals. Traditionally plentiful, although the buckwheat was undercooked. 
UTair makes sure that passengers do not get better on their flights.
Fly a little over two hours. A round trip ticket costs 17,000 rubles.
They flew on the An-24 of a very respectable age. I get very tired of this plane, it's noisy, the pressure drop is strong, it's crowded.
We were fed with half a glass of juice, caramels were handed out on takeoff and landing, there was also a glass of cola - but I drank it, did not take a picture. 
On the way Yekaterinburg-Moscow-Hannover and back, they were fed on the planes.
I have already eaten quite a lot of Aeroflot food, all of it is monotonous, so when buying tickets, I ordered all kinds of special meals such as gluten-free, low-calorie, and everything kosher and Hindu. But the booking system broke all plans, saying that special meals were not offered on these flights. Well, no, there is no trial.
But when they boarded the plane and flew off, the flight attendant comes up to me and says a little funny phrase "Mr. Lebedev, did you order kosher?"
Well, I think the booking system turned out to be cunning and something was ordered there. Well, once ordered, they brought it.
Crispy pickled cabbage with carrots.
Sausage, from which I don’t know, but apparently not pork.
A kosher bag of kosher coffee, all in letters in Hebrew.
Big bun. The usual one, it is good to spread it with oil and consume it with tea.
A piece of cookies with raisins, delicious.
Touching red fish on skewers. The brown color of the fish is caused not only by my photographic talent, but by the exposure of this fish to the air itself. Dried up in the best traditions of roach for beer. Didn't try to chew.
Hummus from Perekusov. This is a kind of chickpea paste, with mustard flavor. She probably had to spread the bun. But I didn't.
Jam half a spoonful of peach, tasty but small.
They gave out a solid plastic mug, and everyone else had to be content with paper glasses. And there were two forks, apparently one for cabbage, another for sausage.
Well, a kosher certificate that all these dishes were cooked in compliance with and under supervision.
On the Moscow-Hannover flight, the flight attendant approached me in advance. He asked me to personally break all the layers of polyethylene in which my kosher diet was packed in order to take out a hot casserole from there to warm it up.
Like he can do it himself, in my presence and at my request, apparently otherwise kosher is violated.
It even somehow became uncomfortable for me that they are rushing around with me like with a hand-written sack.
One way or another, everything that needed to be printed out, warmed up.
On the hot side there was something meaty that floated in liquid mashed potatoes with carrots. The taste of meat was like beef, but I can’t unequivocally say.
Everything else was no different from the flight to Moscow. Bun-jam-cookies-cabbage.
But the fish was fresher, not dry, so I ate it.
The cookies were no longer on the way here. Delicious, but no raisins.
A kosher certificate was always attached to the entire kosher diet, coffee was natural everywhere, flight attendants were friendly and polite, and compatriots clapped happily at the time of landing.
Catering for passengers on board an aircraft is an extremely important and rather complicated process, in which a number of factors must be taken into account, including the duration of the flight, time of day, type of aircraft, passenger service class 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 ration depends on the class of service, but always includes at least three or four dishes (meat, fish, poultry), as well as tea, coffee, juices. Meals for first and business class passengers are distinguished by a wider range of delicacies. Grocery sets are formed not in stock, but in batches as the order arrives. Dishes are prepared, served and packaged 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 closed with cellophane or a lid, and then stored at a certain temperature until serving in carts already on board. Ready-made cold dishes are packaged on plates, half-trays and placed in special containers before serving to passengers; products in vacuum packaging - in thermal containers or cooler bags; some components of the diet are stored in individual packaging (the so-called snack boxes, lunch boxes, diner boxes). All packaged products are labeled - information about the content, manufacturer, release date and expiration date, as well as the flight number, date, and time of departure. The menu for flight attendants in most cases is the same as for passengers. But much more stringent requirements are imposed on the quality of food for the flight crew. Meals for pilots are prepared separately; at all stages of preparation, packaging, transportation, the kits undergo numerous checks and are marked with special markings. Passenger service varies depending on the class of service. In the first one, it is similar to a restaurant one: first - an appetizer, then - hot and then dessert. In other classes, all dishes are brought immediately. The table setting is also different. In economy and business classes, food is usually served in a disposable container, and disposable or reusable plastic utensils are also used. Hot dishes are packaged in special aluminum containers (cassettes) or plastic ones made of crystallized polyethylene terephthalate, which are able to withstand temperatures above +150 °C without deformation. In first-class lounges, meals are served in porcelain or even crystal dishes (unlike ordinary aviation dishes, they are thinner and stronger), with cutlery made of stainless steel or cupronickel. Disposable in-flight catering packaging is most often made from polymers and aluminium. It must meet a number of criteria such as safety for human health, inertness to food ingredients and resistance to the development of microorganisms, as well as be light in weight and compact. Many airlines have limited requirements for package sizes, which is related to the dimensions of on-board equipment (containers, trolleys, etc.). The cost of a power kit can vary significantly depending on the budget of 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 the food package is automatically included in the ticket and is up to 5% of the total ticket price. Air catering experts emphasize that catering simply cannot be cheap due to the cost of security and difficult logistics. However, in recent years, a segment of low-cost airlines has formed on the international market, where food is not at all an obligatory part of the flight: this gives the passenger the opportunity to save money. If desired, he can order products from the menu for some money. Sky Express is the only Russian carrier operating in the low-cost segment. According to data for 2007, on average, each of its passengers purchases food in the amount of 50 rubles during the flight, and the main sales here are not provided by ready-made packaged sets of products, but by separate items - sandwiches, chocolate bars, etc.
Kitchen factories
Issues related to the formation of food packages for in-flight meals are the responsibility of air catering 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 is developed, which meets the stringent requirements of air catering. In Russia, full cycle catering still prevails. The larger the airport, the larger its main catering manufacturer, which is often the only one. In Moscow, as well as in the whole country, the Domodedovo Air Service company is in the lead, depending on the season, producing 45-60 thousand meals daily for 250-300 flights. It provides more than 45 Russian (about 80% of the domestic air market) passenger traffic) and 40 airlines from near and far abroad countries. The second largest is AeroMar (20-45 thousand rations) - a joint venture between Aeroflot and LSG Sky Chefs Corporation, the world's No. 1 company in the production of flight meals for air carriers. Then follow "Restaurant at MA Vnukovo" (15-25 thousand sets) and "Aero-Food Catering" - "daughter" International Airport Sheremetyevo. In St. Petersburg, the in-flight catering service of the STC Rossiya, located at the Pulkovo airport (about 10 thousand), is the leader in the aviation catering market. 6 thousand rations per day). A special niche is occupied by the Moscow company Provider-Service - it serves exclusively VIP passengers. Catering packaging in Russia is produced and sold by no more than four or five companies, including Planet Thermoforming, Misteria, and the SHL group. They offer disposable lunch boxes (PET, polystyrene) for cold and hot dishes, snack boxes, plates, salad bowls, cups, glasses, cutlery of domestic production, as well as reusable plastic dishes from the largest foreign manufacturers De Ster, W.K. Thomas and others. The leading domestic manufacturer of aviation aluminum casseroles for hot dishes is RUSAL-Sayan foil. Representatives of companies that failed to enter the market for disposable flight catering packaging complain about its closeness and tight control by officials. Indeed, the number of players in the air catering segment is very limited, and there are few suppliers of packaging for on-board food packages. It is very difficult for new companies to enter this segment, even despite 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, flight catering is mainly produced by airport holdings or global operators such as LSG Sky Chefs, which operates in more than two hundred airports. There are very few small independent companies in this market. Although it is quite possible to assume that Russian business realities only exacerbate this closeness. Thus, the Provider-Service company was once not allowed into Vnukovo, whose general director 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, so there are very few people who want to invest in the struggle for a place and take risks from scratch.
Market in flight?
Domestic manufacturers of disposable catering packaging consider this market to be very attractive, because the volume of air transportation in Russia is increasing every year. So, according to the Association of Producers of Services for Passengers in Transport, in 2006, domestic airlines carried 38 million passengers, and in 2007 this figure increased by as much as 18%! Accordingly, with the growth of passenger traffic, the demand for food packages increases, and then for packaging for them. At the same time, according to packers, the main share of sales is made up of standard plastic containers. Sometimes, instead of the usual transparent lunch boxes or white plates, airlines order colored ones (to match the corporate color of the airline), sometimes with corporate symbols. The fact is that the primary issue is still the quality of the dishes, but in the packaging you can do without any special frills - the main thing is that it meets sanitary standards. The global catering market is, according to experts, in a state of stagnation. Most foreign carriers seek to save money, and first of all, they “sacrifice” the catering of economy class passengers. This principle is followed Russian airlines.
According to experts, over the past ten years, Aeroflot's expenses for passenger meals have almost halved: if earlier the price of a meal in economy class was $5, now it is about $3.8. Of course, in this situation, it does not make sense for carriers to invest heavily in improving the appearance or design of single-use packaging. However, not everyone is so pessimistic. Despite the difficulties, the market for in-flight catering packaging 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 sets for Russian airlines mainly in disposable dishes and containers, now more orders are received for serving in reusable dishes.” Domestic catering companies are introducing technology for packaging perishable food products in a gas-modified environment. The Domodedovo Air Service, which introduced this method back in July 2003, became a pioneer in this area not only in aviation, but also in the entire food market. In the process of packing dishes with gas, a special package with high barrier properties is used, which ensures tightness and prevents the penetration of aggressive environments and oxygen. In June 2008, Domodedovo Air Service, together with the engineering center Gastronorm, launched a consulting project, within which a set of works will be carried out to optimize the packaging of in-flight rations. During the experiments, the latest packaging technologies for finished products used at in-flight catering plants in the United Arab Emirates, England and America will be tested. Another trend is the gradual transition to environmentally friendly and easily recyclable packaging. Thus, in September, Aeroflot announced a set of measures aimed at reducing the consumption of fuel and other energy resources and, at the same time, at improving environmental performance. Along with the renewal of the park aircraft, implementation electronic ticket and other actions will be the replacement of plastic containers and cups with paper ones. Some Russian airlines use single-use packaging as a tool to build passenger loyalty. For example, food for children is packaged in a specially designed colorful lunch box and supplemented with a funny toy. And here is an even more interesting example: at the request of Austrian Airlines, Chef Helmut Osterreicher, who has four crowns (the national equivalent of Michelin stars), came up with 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 as a postcard to anywhere in the world for free. According to the company's specialists, sometimes up to 4,000 such postcards are sent per 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. Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation Gennady Onishchenko noted that, according to the departments of Rospotrebnadzor for the subjects of the Russian Federation, in 2005-2006, 490 inspections of in-flight catering shops were carried out. Of the 1,500 laboratory samples taken from finished products on board aircraft, more than 11% did not meet the microbiological standards. In in-flight catering shops, this figure on average in Russia amounted to 5%. Moreover, in a number of regions it significantly exceeded the average Russian one: 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 issued a resolution “On Ensuring the Sanitary and Epidemiological Safety of In-Flight Catering for Air Passengers and Aircraft Crew Members” in connection with the deterioration in the quality of food on Russian airlines. Representatives of airlines 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 the production of catering, but it was in conflict with Russian law, so it was canceled. Although Rospotrebnadzor carries out one-time inspections, it simply does not have mechanisms to influence the situation as a whole. The quality of the packaging is also not controlled by anyone.
Under the sound of wheels
Catering on trains is another seemingly attractive market for food industry players, if not for one “but”. The fact is that in our country JSC "Russian Railways" is a monopoly carrier and does not want to give away a single tidbit of "its" business. This is understandable, because the catering service, for example, brings in 5% of the income from passenger transportation, although the profit could be more. Unlike aviation, where on-board meals became standard immediately with the advent of regular flights, food packages in lunch boxes appeared on the Russian railway only in the early 1990s and have not become particularly widespread during this time. Now they can be obtained in luxury carriages, 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 passengers long distance. The average price for a standard set of products is 200-300 rubles plus 20% service charge. An average of 15–35 people per train eat in dining cars. RZD leases about half of the restaurant cars to private catering operators who not only serve visitors, but also deliver lunch boxes to luxury cars (business class and economy class). And the main manufacturer of food packages for railways is Domodedovo Air Service. The company delivers 2-3 thousand rations per 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 must consist of a cold appetizer, a hot dish of your choice, fruits, confectionery, mineral water, tea, coffee, sugar. A "cold" set may include yoghurts, croissants, butter, processed cheese or caviar in small packages, 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 these days? - angry one of the interlocutors PG. - This is such a plastic thing, where greasy sausage is cut, yogurt and a roll are put, which can kill. For this, 300 rubles are taken. RZD regularly reveals passengers' preferences regarding meals on the way through surveys. Lyubov Polkovnikova, Deputy Head of the Catering and Passenger Service Department of the Federal Passenger Directorate of Russian Railways, says: “Most passengers prefer hot meals. In addition, many want to see fresh fruits and vegetables on the menu. But this often makes it difficult to comply with sanitary standards: such products quickly deteriorate, although the latest technologies using a modified gas environment make it possible to meet such desires. Guaranteed food sets, the so-called lunchboxes, are criticized the most. Passengers are already tired of such rations, we will gradually move away from this. Moreover, we plan to completely change the concept of catering on the railway - from food standards and cooking systems to dishes and packaging. Now, for example, different utensils and packaging are used depending on the class of the car. For business class passengers, meals are served on porcelain dishes, cutlery is made of stainless steel, plastic containers and disposable cutlery are used for service in economy class carriages. In some directions, foam boxes are used, adopted in the fast food system, in others - cassettes, as in airplanes. Obviously, it is necessary to switch to a single standard of diets and their serving.” In the future, Russian Railways specialists intend to achieve the same high-tech food as on board an aircraft. “In the West, they don’t cook in dining cars, but only warm up and serve dishes. Of course, 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 dining cars, but we strive to minimize this,” says Lyubov Polkovnikova. The lag behind foreign countries is also due to the fact that the rolling stock of Russian Railways is outdated. About 200 out of 880 restaurant cars are suitable for work on new technologies (using ready-made frozen meals). railway transport drastic changes began to take place. In the fall of 2008, the Arpikom company, which manages several restaurant chains, announced that it was entering the in-flight catering segment for train passengers by creating a joint venture with Russian Railways, Unified Food Network. The joint venture is already building the first high-tech factory-kitchen for the production of ready-made food. Mikhail Zelman, the founder of Arpikom and Unified Nutrition Network, 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 should develop differently. Now it is necessary to offer solutions in the field of mass catering, and not to develop local restaurants. Russian Railways constantly holds tenders to provide passengers with meals on trains. But why don't we participate in them today? We do not want to collect 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 Power Supply Network". This is a company that invests in the construction of factories that will produce in principle New Product. There are only a few such productions all over the world, and in Russia there is not a single one at all. If we compare our factory with the existing production of Domodedovo Air Service, then this is like cars produced in 1905 and 2005. Both will take you to the place, but the efficiency of work cannot even be compared. In our production, the human factor is practically leveled. On the contrary, we are trying to simplify the technology. It is not possible to prepare full-cycle meals on board. There is no guarantee that you will not be poisoned, as technological failures can occur. Only the heating and serving operations can be left on board. Our task is to choose dishes that will not lose quality when heated. I am convinced that today technology makes it possible to achieve in large-scale production best quality food than cooking at home. And talk about "grandma's food" is all marketing. There should be professional food standards and a single menu on board.” The total investment in the project is about $100 million.
