The Maltese love for food is as legendary as the food the archipelago boasts. But what happens when the omnipresent ħabaq (basil), sagħtar (thyme) and more of nature’s Mediterranean bounty are plucked from the shrubs on cultivated terraced fields and make an appearance at an altitude of 30,000 feet?

According to Emirates regional catering manager Ravi Nage, what happens is magic for the senses. We picked Ravi’s brain about what makes Emirates opt for local ingredients. Ravi was in Malta to create and develop four in-flight menu cycles for 2016, specifically designed for the daily routes departing from Malta to Dubai.

What can you tell us about Emirates’ approach and philosophy to food onboard?

Most Emirates products are designed, developed and executed with a primary interest in mind: to deliver authenticity, exclusivity, and total comfort. We want to feature a product which is locally produced and locally sourced. This is sustainable not just for the business but also for the Maltese economy.

Do you view this as one way of supporting Maltese farmers and producers?

Absolutely. When you source your produce locally, you are directly supporting the farmers and the local supply chain. Furthermore, you are adding more revenue into the local economy due to the transactions.

Also, as an airline, we want to showcase natural cuisine and real authentic flavours as part of the passengers’ experience. Locally-produced ingredients certainly add to that.

Seared mahi mahi served with a tomato and caper sauce.

Sustainability can, indeed, be a driver of economies, not a cost. For example, for many of our 150 destinations we uplift water, which is bottled in Dubai. In Europe, however, we take a different approach. We uplift it or we get it supplied from a point in Europe itself, so it doesn’t go to Dubai then travels back. These are positive environmental impacts.

Another detail, for example, is that the toys which are presented to kids onboard are also eco-friendly.

Maltese food transcends the kitchen; it is a way of life. What are your thoughts on that?

We have created an exclusive menu for Malta, featuring traditional dishes. Technology is obviously helping with that. In the past, we were only offering rolls, so Maltese bread would have never been on the radar because it is a loaf, not a roll. As soon as loaves became possible, the baker showed me a speciality Maltese loaf and we introduced that. This year is the first time we are delivering the crunchy Maltese ħobża onboard.

When you talk about Emirates food, you mention menus and the elaborate lengths you go to secure speciality bread. How do you transpose fine dining concepts to an airline?

Emirates is dedicated to deliver a five-star experience, something which goes above passengers’ expectations. We want to be able to bridge that gap of taking the taboo away from being ‘airline food’. We want to show our product as restaurant food, something which you would normally get in an exclusive restaurant.

Our primary focus has always been; ‘what can we do?’ Of course, the parameters of having it packed, delivered and reheated will always be present as we cannot have it prepared and cooked on site, but we will always select products that will keep well.

So, instead of working forward, we look at it from a retro angle. We look at what will feature well when it is in front of the passenger, as opposed to just starting at the front with a new cuisine and seeing how it will work out.

Emirates regional catering manager Ravi Nage during his visit in Malta.

How do you gauge customer expectations?

There are certain factors, the first being Customer Affairs & Service Audit Department. They look at the geographical data from the markets and provide us with certain parameters of whose travelling in that region. Once we know the nationalities of these passenger profiles, we determine what the menu will actually comprise. The primary focus, for us, is the Dubai hospitality experience. That’s where we start the menu from, and then build up a second angle which will be the local angle. This is when the typical Maltese dishes come into play.

Passengers from Malta in first class and business class on their way to Dubai can expect the likes of Maltese seafood salad served with a red pepper dressing, bigilla (bean paste), seared lampuka (mahi mahi) served with a tomato and caper sauce; tuna with prawns and calamari in tomato and pesto sauce; panfried swordfish served with a lemon caper sauce and herb butter; seafood in a curried pineapple sauce; and more.

Emirates serves six courses in the first class, three in the business class, and a full tray service in the economy class, while also providing special meals for religious and other dietary needs. Special meals can be requested when flight bookings are made or even up to 24 hours before departure. Children’s meals are another special feature.

Emirates operates daily scheduled flights between Malta and Dubai using Boeing 777-300 aircraft. Emirates flies twice weekly to Malta, on Mondays and Wednesdays, via Larnaca in Cyprus, and on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays the airline operates the Dubai - Malta route on a circular routing via Tunis in Tunisia. The return flight flies direct from Malta to Dubai.