Emirates is one of the most famous airlines in the world, known for its luxurious planes—you know, the ones with a bar in first class—and fabulous destinations (hello, Dubai). But something most people don't realize is that Emirates takes the airplane food game to the next level. From the inspiration behind their recipes to the mind-breaking number of meals they serve in a year, here are seven facts that will convince you to book yourself on an Emirates flight simply for the food.
First things first: Yes, Emirates does serve 225,000 meals per day.
Earlier this year Business Insider reported that Emirates serves 225,000 region-specific meals to passengers every day, and although it sounds crazy, it's true. The airline has 1,800 chefs who cater for about 520 flights per day. That breaks down to 209 meals per minute. Just let that sink in.
They use 12,450 recipes each year.
According to the airline, chefs draw inspiration from the destinations Emirates flies to. For example, if you’re flying to India, you may see a crisp kachori as a menu option, a spokesperson for the brand says. With 520 flights per day to countless destinations, you can imagine all the different options the catering team creates.
The menu changes—a lot.
With the aforementioned TWELVE THOUSAND recipes being used each year, it's no surprise that Emirates is constantly changing up their menu. There are 1,300 different menus used per month, with new menus rotating in each month.
The most popular menu items are not what you'd expect.
Given that there are so many different menu items inspired by places all around the world, you'd probably never be able to guess the most-ordered meals...so we'll just tell you. The Emirates signature dishes that are requested most are Emirati machbous (a spiced rice and meat dish), Arabic mezze selection (kind of like tapas), and sticky date pudding (it looks more like a slice of cake than pudding). The dark chocolate raspberry truffle dessert is also a fan favorite, which isn't that surprising at all.
There's a kids menu! But there's a catch...
As someone who is a picky eater, I've learned to always appreciate a kids menu. The good news? Emirates has one! The bad news? Passengers over twelve can't order from it. Still, it's pretty exciting for parents, so here's what you need to know: Children ages two to twelve will automatically receive a child meal, and infants below two-years-old will automatically receive a baby meal, unless otherwise specified. There are even Asian vegetarian and Western vegetarian kids meals available.
Emirates has your dietary needs covered, no matter what they are.
Speaking of vegetarian options, Emirates has something for almost every dietary need, including a gluten-free meal, low-cholesterol/low-fat meal, lactose-free meal, diabetic meal, a low-salt meal, and of course, vegetarian meals. They also offer religious meals such as Indian vegetarian, vegetarian Jain, non-vegetarian Hindu, and Kosher.
The airline spent over $1 billion on catering in 2018.
The number sounds staggering, but given all the stats above (see 209 meals per minute), it's actually not that hard to believe Emirates invested more than one billion dollars into the 110 millions meals they served last year.
