Foodfolk Australia have opened their permanent Melbourne inflight catering kitchen at Tullamarine (in a building that was previously a cold store and logistics warehouse). Managing Director Salim Hazife showed us the freshly refurbished site last week.
Philippine Airlines have engaged Foodfolk to cater on their Perth and Melbourne flights, with the permanent kitchen replacing a temporary arrangement. Royal Brunei Airlines was the contract that originally brought Foodfolk to Melbourne some two years ago.
The prior tenant was shipping produce from Australia to the world by air freight, and the warehouse side was dealing with container loads and ULDs. There was one large cold room at the site, which Foodfolk subdivided, retaining some of the existing walls.
Foodfolk say the kitchen can produce over 12,000 meals a day (enough for around 14 to 16 international widebody departures a day and an array of other industries).
They’re currently running two departures a day and have tenders in for four more. There are around 22 people working there at the moment, and the company expects to hire up to 100 more people.
The layout is modelled on the Foodfolk Perth facility (adjusted to suit the space), which opened last year with a capacity of more than 40,000 meals a day.
Foodfolk operates on lean production principles, with the product moving to the person rather than the person to the product, and everything flowing left to right through the building.
Goods inwards and the bonded warehouse are the starting point, then it passes through cooking, chilling, plating, packing and tray assembly before going to the dispatch chiller, with the trucks loading at the back. Hazife said the dispatch chiller could be set up for as many as ten airlines.
The building is 95 per cent halal, with a small pork area demarcated by red floor lines. The kitchen holds halal certification, with MHCT auditing its part-halal operation against the MS 1500:2019 standard.
Hazife said: “We’ve got plenty of room for expansion.” There’s one conveyor dishwasher with room for a second, and one oven that will take three. More brat pans and chillers are on the cards.
Right next to his office, a wall is going to come down to create a packing room for the dry goods and amenities.
“The plan is to punch through here and have our equipment packing room,” he said.
Welcome to your new permanent home in Melbourne, Foodfolk!
Photos: Nik Loukas
Nik founded Inflight Feed in 2012, blending his passion for inflight dining with over a decade of experience in the airline industry. For the past 13 years, he has travelled the world, exploring and reviewing airline meals across countless carriers.
CNN Travel, The New York Times, and BBC World News have featured Nik’s expertise. When he’s not on the ground, you’ll find him at 35,000 feet, camera in hand, capturing the unique flavours of air travel. Follow his inflight meal adventures on Instagram: @InflightFeed.