In Conversation... with Stephen Templeton, dnata

Stephen Templeton, dnata catering's new global head of culinary, talks grand ambitions and contemporary style

i've come from a restaurant and event hospitality background at Rhurbarb in the UK, catering for VIPs and celebrities who always expected us to be at the forefront of trends, innovation and style. Now it is time to bring that level of contemporary high-end catering to the airline world.

It's time to move away from that chicken and beef staple and bring cool, contemporary no-fuss food onboard where simple, quality, seasonal ingredients become superstars, presented with a wow factor that makes the meal a key reason to book a specific flight.

creating a dnata Dna

I started working with dnata Catering as a consultant six years ago, feeding the high street demands and trends we saw at Rhubarb into the operation. Now the goal is to take that a step further. With an evergrowing network of 65 catering locations across 13 countries, the biggest challenge is to create a global culture that everyone connects with and understands, plus clear goals and a way of working which every member of staff can identify with and which supports a specific dnata Catering style. We are creating a dnata DNA which will be recognised as our hallmark worldwide and the quality of the food will be at the heart of everything.

on trend

Chefs become chefs because they like to cook and want to be creative with food. They want to be proud of what they produce and that means buying great seasonal product and working with it in exciting ways. We will support them in that completely, empowering them to respond to cool culinary trends such as smoking, sousing, drying and pickling. In the wider culinary world everyone is using these techniques and airline caterers must apply modern twists to their offer too.

special meals

The issue of special meals is massive. On a recent flight out of Dublin, over 60% of the passengers requested a special meal. For too long airlines have had this trend on the back burner and seen it as a nuisance but these lifestyle eating choices are here to stay and we have to embrace them, create libraries of dishes that work, and present special meals so they look as good as any other meal. We will draw on the undoubted talents of the team and in a cut-throat market present the most exciting and innovative choices onboard.