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Flying
Gourmet |
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Food,
glorious food! From sushi to Swiss steak , caviar to
chocolate mousse, there are 1,001 different ways to prepare
a single item, and
the
highest
demands of any industry. This is a field in which Cara
excels as Canada's premier company providing meals for
people on the go. Like most success stories, it all began
with a company called Canadian Railway News. Fraser Biggs,
Supervisor at Cara's Vancouver Flight Kitchen, provided a
brief capsule of the company history. "We've been around for
130 years, firstly in the steamship business on the Niagara
River; then we started catering to the railroads. Over a
century later, we're still in the railroad business -- Rocky
In round numbers, Cara enjoys 60 per cent of the airline business in Canada, and 40% of the Vancouver market; Air Canada, British Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Singapore Airlines. Air China, American Airlines, United Airlines, Canada 3000 and Air Club, AirBC, Canadian Regional, Greyhound and WestJet -- all rely on Cara for their food service needs. BC Tel, which has its own small fleet of executive jets is part of its corporate market. Cara also supplies 3,000 hot meals a day to the Vancouver School Board. "I couldn't even guess the number of different menus we have. on file", said Biggs, "the whole operation is run by computer -- all our menus -- it's an ever- changing market. Where we have the edge is in service and dependability. " Cara saw the opportunity at Expo 86 to cater to an even broader range of countries and tastes, serving 5,000 people at the Expo Centre's Grand Opening. The Vancouver flight kitchen, second largest of 9 across Canada has 512 employees. A privately owned company, Cara trades on the stock exchange , and its restaurants include such famous names as Chicken Chalet, Harvey's and Second Cup. "Cara's a great company to work for", said Briggs. "We are very stable, treat our employees well and invest a lot of money in training." Airline food? Each airline has its own specifications and level of service, according to Briggs. "Air Canada has a good track record for the quality of its food. That's because they pay that much more for catering as opposed to some carriers. You have to appreciate that airlines are limited to space; under the circumstances they do a great job. We have a beautiful board room, and I can take the same food we prepare for a flight and serve it on nice china dishes --you'd never guess the difference. We have people in our boardroom for first class dinner and they're absolutely amazed." Cara's head chef actually creates the menus in concert with the airlines. For example, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines executive Chef in Amsterdam flies to Vancouver to consult with Cara's chef. It's the same with British Airways and others. Quality
Masters How do
they earn the right to be called Quality Masters? A key part
of an airline's in-flight Image, Cara takes this
responsibility very seriously. There are so many complicated
variables involved prior to the boarding and loading of a
flight that one sometimes wonders how it could all possibly
come together, but it does to such a high standard of
excellence that Cara is proud to be a significant
contributor and innovator within the Airline Catering
Industry World-Wide. For information on Cara Airport
Services, phone (604) 278-9144, fax (604) 278-4929.
.
More
on food from Gourmet Spot (www.gourmetspot.com). Okanagan
Wine Train is now on track! Vancouver
Wine Festival 2000. Ask
us for details. |
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Mountain
Railtours from Vancouver to Jasper, Banff and Calgary being
prime customers. In the 1930s we entered the airline
business, and by 1951 across Canada, Vancouver to Halifax,
we served about 1,500 meals a day. Today the Vancouver
Flight Kitchen alone provides over 12,000 meals
daily.
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