CALGARY — Molly Brandt, executive chef for in-flight catering company Gate Gourmet, sees her role as similar to that of a fashion designer creating haute couture. Her tasting events for airline clients are similar to a runway show, she said, in that she unveils one-of-a-kind menu items that have taken months to develop. If clients like them, her creations are simplified and modified into "fast fashion" — her term for the final product that lands on the air passenger's tray table.
"The goal here is I'm trying to move this forward and I'm trying to keep it modern and fresh," said Brandt. "It can be really, really challenging. You truly have to think outside of the box to create something that's very special.
" The challenges of providing meals at 30,000 feet were on display Tuesday, when Gate Gourmet gave reporters a tour of its Calgary facility — one of eight the Swiss-owned air catering company operates across the country. Gate Gourmet counts Air Canada, WestJet and a number of international carriers operating in Canada among its customers. On any given day, the company caters to between 500 and 600 flights, both domestic and overseas.
In Calgary alone, Gate Gourmet produces about 5,000 meals per day, cooking and assembling them on-site and then loading them on trucks for delivery directly to waiting planes. Like the rest of the aviation industry, Gate Gourmet has only recently emerged from what president and managing director for Canada Tony Colliss described as the "ex.