Airports Authority of India (AAI) launches first-of-its-kind Airport Kitchen in Chennai
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has recently launched a first of its kind Airport Kitchen equipped with state-of-the-art-facilities at the Chennai International Airport. This unique and mammoth kitchen is fully equipped with the latest applications, high-end equipment, and cutting-edge technology. Spread across approximately 15000 sq. ft., it will be operated and managed by Travel Food Services (TFS).
The kitchen brings international standards to India, whilst completely adhering to FSSAI norms. It also boasts of VRV for air-conditioning, hydro pneumatic systems for domestic water supply, and fire suppression systems. The modern and expansive kitchen houses thirteen cold storage facilities, with the total capacity of over 20,000 liters, food automation machines for frying, grilling, roasting and so on; high capacity ventilation equipment, and elevators to name a few. Furthermore, it is equipped with appliances that include — cooking centers to conduct various cooking jobs such as stewing, braising, deep-frying and boiling, along with blast-chillers to get the temperature of hot food from over 75 degrees to below 5 degrees (danger zone) within 2 hours. In order to significantly improve the efficiency and output, it also has automated LPG-operated cook-woks with a capacity of 80kgs, vegetable cutters, rice washers, coconut scrappers, high-pressure jet washers, and refrigerated vehicles for dispatch.
AAI and TFS are extremely particular about consistently maintaining high quality and hygiene standards, thus, the kitchen also includes key processes like — segregation of dairy, fruits and vegetables, and butchery post receiving them, vegetable washing and sanitisation of fruits and vegetables (especially perishable ones), and all quality checks, stringently conducted by various departments at various stages of food production.
Commenting on this initiative, Shri Arvind Singh, IAS, Chairman, Airports Authority of India said, “We are extremely delighted to launch one of the India’s largest first-of its-kind airport kitchens at the Chennai international airport. AAI is committed to bring the World Class technology and innovation. The kitchen is testimony of this advancement. With the latest equipment, automation technology and processes in place, we are looking at serving an ever-increasing customer base with better service, skills, speed and the highest quality standards. We are delighted that our human touch on ground has also seen growth with Speech and Hearing Impaired (SHI) community’s service at our Coffee Box outlets.”
With all of this and more, the kitchen not only ensures good practices and consistent hygiene, but also increases efficiency in terms of time taken to prepare a meal.
