High-specification thermally insulated containers from German airline catering equipment designer and manufacturer B&W Engineering allow private airlines to present their clients with appetising food and beverages safely, even on long-haul flights.
The company believes specialist heating and chilling processes are most safely and cost-effectively carried out in professional kitchens on the ground. Sales & contracts manager Axel Scheewe explains that B&W’s Magic-Box (designed for hot food and water, fresh, chilled and frozen food and chilled beverages) and Cold-Box (for fresh, chilled and frozen food and chilled beverages only) enable instant onboard service independent of the aircraft’s power supply and with no pipework or galley interface needed.
In its basic form, the equipment consists of a series of insulated pull-out boxes, drawers and meal racks. The optional TempAccu (temperature accumulator) system, tempered before departure, provides supplementary cold or heat to extend safe operating time.
The Magic Box stores hot meals for more than 10 hours using TempAccu, and hot water to make drinks for twice as long. Depending on their make-up and density, fresh sandwiches can be held up to 17 hours in the standard Cold-Box, and almost 23 hours using TempAccu in the Magic-Box.
Ice cream can be stored for up to 24 hours after loading, and ice cubes for more than 20 hours. If meals are to be cooked from frozen on board, for example to cater for return flights, the equipment will hold them safely for 32 hours before they go in the oven.
The boxes are EASA and FDA approved and, as ATLAS and KSSU compatible inserts, are otherwise certification-free. Scheewe says they are well suited to business jets with restricted galley space and limited built-in refrigeration. The lightweight containers, with an anti-microbial lining, are easily washed and described as virtually maintenance free.