Kenyan woman behind Emirates Airline’s meals

Glory Kinyua, a Kenyan, is an operations manager with Dubai-based Emirates Flight Catering Company. Here, she speaks to Home & Away at the company’s offices at the Dubai International Airport. [PHOTOS: FERDINAND MWONGELA/STANDARD]

When you hear inflight catering, what comes to mind? It will usually be curiosity about the menu offering, but behind the scenes, getting you that chicken or beef on a plane is a long process. This is where flight catering companies come in. At Dubai International Airport, the hub of Emirates Airline, this company is the Emirates Flight Catering Company, which can whip up to 180,000 meals a day.

Emirates Airline is their biggest client. While the whole company employs more than 10,000 workers, the section dedicated to the airline has about 4,500 workers. Glory Kinyua, a Kenyan, is the operations manager in this section. While curious about the flight catering process, I was even more curious about how a Kenyan came to be a manager in such a big company away from home when I caught up with her at her job. Kinyua went to Dubai 15 years ago, during which time she has risen through the ranks.

She, at first, desired to become an airline crew member, before she found her groove.

What were you doing before you joined Emirates Flight Catering Company?

After graduating from Alpina School of Hospitality Management in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1997, I came back to Kenya and worked at Nairobi Airport Services (NAS) for one year (at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport). I applied for a job with Emirates while working for NAS where I was a catering officer for international airlines.

Emirates Flight Catering is a big operation. How does your normal day look like?

A normal day begins with departmental meeting to review the past 24 hours and plan the next 48 hours. Planning, forecasting, training and supervision with attention to detail is critical in ensuring deadlines are met, results are achieved, and our objective of which is on time delivery and accuracy is satisfied. Every now and then, the company receives visitors ranging from airline clients to customers, visiting business delegates, media from all around the world. I guide our visitors for a detailed tour of the catering facility, emphasising “how and what it takes” to have your delicious meal on board.

What does your job entail?

My job title is operations manager for the planning and communications department for Emirates Flight Catering Company. The department is a central communications centre, where all information pertaining to passenger booking numbers, onboard requirements, aircraft schedules, meal order processing and customer invoicing are managed through integrated IT systems.

Fifteen years is a long time away from home. How do you cope?

Having been here this long, Dubai feels like a second home with sisters, cousins and friends working here as well. My family and friends living in Kenya often visit Dubai for business or holidays, a reason Dubai feels not so far away from Kenya.

Do you feel the desire to go and settle in Kenya?

Oh, yes I do and soon by God’s grace. I believe there is no better place to settle down than in Kenya.

How often do you go home to Kenya?

I do my best to come home twice a year or more, depending on work schedule.

How is it managing a multi-national mix of employees?

Very educative. One learns a lot from other cultures. It is not always easy, but patience and understanding are key to such exposure.

How different is the culture here from home?

The culture here is so diverse and quite different in many ways: the food we eat, language, norms and beliefs.

How has it been like adapting to a different cultural setup?

At first, it was very difficult to adapt to such diverse cultures. Socialising with most cultures still remains a wide gap here due to different beliefs, religions, education levels and exposure. Future aspirations, career growth, international exposure and experience are aspects that have been key to my adaptation and acceptance.