AIRLINES & ALLIANCES

A Deep Dive into Decadence: The journey of Emirates’ Caviar from source to sky

From Persia to Poland, Emirates selects and serves some of the world’s most premium Ossetra caviar for its First Class customers. With First Class flyers invited to savour unlimited amounts of the delicacy onboard, Emirates has noted an increase of more than 30% in caviar consumption, year on year. The route recording the highest levels of customers enjoying caviar are Emirates flights between Dubai and London, followed by flights to and from Dubai to Paris and Sydney, and then Moscow and Bangkok.

Celebrating the fine nature of the delicacy, Emirates has developed a signature caviar service ritual that is appreciated by First Class customers for its intentional reverence and respect for the gourmet treat. To ensure it is always an impeccable dining experience, Emirates invests significantly into storing and serving caviar correctly – even providing a dedicated chauffeur drive service to transport caviar to and from aircraft. Caviar is dispatched individually for each flight, and to maintain the cold chain – approximately 165 trips are carried out each day.

Emirates’ refined ritual of caviar in the air

Caviar is considered a delicacy for many reasons, including its rarity and cost, and the sensory experience it offers—an indulgence that has captivated connoisseurs for centuries. Harvested from the roe of sturgeon – each tiny, glistening bead holds a subtle complexity of taste: delicate yet bold, briny yet buttery, with a texture that melts on the tongue.

Onboard Emirates, First Class customers are invited to enjoy unlimited caviar, served as a luxurious, mindful ritual that highlights the rarity of the delicacy. Emirates cabin crew first don pristine white gloves and lay a fresh linen tablecloth on the customer’s table. A curated array of accoutrements are then placed on the cloth for the full caviar experience – crispy melba toast, soft blinis, egg yolk, egg white, chives, white onions, sour cream, and lemon. Emirates cabin crew invite the customer to pair caviar with a glass of Dom Pérignon champagne, which Emirates has exclusive rights to serve in the sky globally. Dom Pérignon’s complex notes of toasted brioche and almond are a sumptuous counterpoint to the salty, nutty, and briny flavours of the caviar, while the acidity and minerality of the champagne cuts through the creamy mouthfeel of caviar to form a perfect pairing. As is the tradition with fine caviar, diners are presented with a pure Mother of Pearl spoon so that the delicate taste is not tainted by oxidation from stainless steel utensils. Finally, an exclusive Emirates engraved caviar presentation bowl is placed in front of the customer, and the lid ceremoniously unveiled to reveal the glimmering aperitif.

About the sturgeon

Emirates serves caviar from the Acipenser baerii fish, commonly known as the Siberian sturgeon. Caviar from Acipenser baerii is medium-sized, ranging in colour from dark grey to brown or black with a smooth, clean taste with a delicate texture and mild briny flavour. This species of sturgeon is native to the major river systems that flow into the Arctic Ocean, including the Ob, Lena, and Yenisei rivers in Siberia. Siberian sturgeon is selected for caviar production due to its relatively fast growth and adaptability to aquaculture environments, sometimes growing up to 2 meters in length and weighing around 100 kg. This sturgeon matures more quickly than other species, typically producing eggs between 5 to 7 years of age, making it a popular choice for caviar farming. Acipenser baerii plays a vital role in the modern caviar industry, offering a high-quality and more responsible alternative to wild-sourced roe.

Preparation process

As the world’s largest operator of international First Class travel – offering 26,800 seats a week and the largest inventory of international First Class seats in the industry, Emirates’ requirement for caviar is significant. As part of a meticulous production process, the caviar for Emirates is rinsed with water, accentuated with salt and stored in a chiller before being delivered to Emirates’ supplier. In Dubai, the caviar is then vacuum packed into ring pull tins, pasteurized, cooled and stored in chillers, before being delivered to Emirates.

Logistics and delivery

In Dubai, the supplier delivers caviar to Emirates Flight Catering Facility (EKFC) in Dubai three times a week. It arrives in dedicated vehicles which have a controlled temperature of below 5°C for every delivery, and when it is ready to be loaded onto aircraft, it is transported by its own dedicated Emirates chauffeur in a special vehicle, to ensure it is maintained at the perfect temperature. Across Emirates’ many destinations, official caterers also receive caviar from Emirates’ supplier to maintain exceptional standards across all routes.

Emirates’ caviar is available to all First Class customers, across all global routes as a complimentary service.

Read more about First Class dining with Emirates

Source: Emirates