Issue 25 - Cathay Pacific Catering Services

Issue 25 • January 2010
A newsletter for partners and friends of CPCS whom we cherish...
Issue 25 • January 2010
Contents
p.3
p.4
p.4
p.5
CEO Message
Cathay Pacific Airways Support and Excellence Award 2008
Experienced and Loyal – Long Service Award 2009
Transporting the Best Gourmet Food to 30,000ft –
Hong Kong Chefs Association Media Luncheon
of the 2010 International Culinary Arts Team
p.5 Emirates Presents Premium Quality Meals
p.6 SQ A380 Inaugural Flight
p.6 New Customer – TNT Airways
p.7 Step up for the Environment – Clean Air Charter Certification
p.7 Putting Waste to Use – Reuse and Recycle Campaign
p.8 Government Internship Programme – New Graduates Join CPCS Family
p.9 Oxfam Corporate Donor Award
p.9 The Hong Kong 24 Hour Charity Pedal Kart Grand Prix
p.10 Louis Pang – New Production Chef
p.11 Magical Moments – When Tabasco Meets Custard and Napoleon
p.11 Young Chef Shines – Chris Ho Appointed as Junior Assistant Cook
p.12 Wine and Dine Festival – Serving over 3,000
p.12 Vietnam Air Caterers
CATHAY PACIFIC CATERING SERVICES
11 Catering Road East, Hong Kong International Airport, Lantau, Hong Kong
Telephone : (852) 2116 2288 Fax : (852) 2765 7355 Sita : HKGHMCX
We welcome your comments on our newsletter. Please contact Pat Cheung at
Telephone : (852) 2116 2012 Fax : (852) 2765 7355 Email : pat.cheung@cpcs.com.hk
2 Food for Thought
A newsletter for partners and friends of CPCS whom we cherish...
CEO Message
Alex Chau, CEO
As predicted, 2009 has proven to be a very difficult year for the
world economy with the airline industry in particular suffering
from the sustained economic downturn. Falling passenger and
cargo demand caused many business sectors within the
industry to tighten their belts and aggressively reduce their
operating costs to offset declining revenue.
Recently we have seen world leaders from around the globe
gather in Copenhagen for the United Nations Climate Change
Convention. This is an environmental issue close to our heart
and is reflected through one of our corporate mission objectives:
to develop environmental and corporate social responsibility
leadership.
This, of course, forced all organisations to review their business
models and the options open to them. At CPCS, our approach
to these continued cost pressures has been to build closer
relationships with both our customers and suppliers and to
collaborate on cost saving initiatives through process and supply
chain operational efficiencies.
In recognition of our role in helping to improve the air quality in
the Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region, by reducing the
amount of pollutants generated from our operations and by
recycling kitchen waste and other materials, CPCS was awarded
the Clean Air Charter Certification this year from the Hong Kong
Chamber of Commerce.
Through these initiatives we have been able to maintain our
investment in customer service resulting in macro performance
improvement in many aspects of our key service level
performance indicators, with a 6% increase in customer
compliments noted. CPCS recently commenced catering
operations to the world’s largest airliner, the A380, and we will
continue to develop our customer service focus throughout
2010.
As we come to the end of a difficult year, we face 2010 with
renewed confidence as world-wide demand for air travel finally
begins to show a few green shoots of recovery and industry
forecasts predict Asia will lead the way to growth.
In closing, I would like to thank all CPCS staff for their dedication
and hard work and our sister kitchens, customers and suppliers
for their ongoing support over this difficult year. Let us stride
purposefully into the next decade and enter a new era of even
closer cooperation and partnership.
F OOD f o r T h o u g h T 3
Cathay Pacific Airways
Support and Excellence
Award 2008
“We understand the requirements of emergency catering
support under adverse weather conditions.” said Leo Chan,
CPCS Catering Services Manager. “Being flexible and
maintaining effective communication among internal parties
and airline personnel are the keys to successful operations in
typhoon conditions. As the first contact point with customers,
our catering coordinators listen to customers’ needs with
great care. They are experienced in promptly initiating total
solutions to cabin crew and station.”
Such is the dedication of the CPCS catering Coordination
team that Cathay Pacific presented them with the Support
and Excellence Award 2008 on 14th July last year. The
award recognised their dedication to duty during the 27
typhoons that caused delays and disruption to HKIA last
year.
Congratulations to our CX operation team!
As a reliable and trustful business partner, CPCS is always
ready to provide immediate support and customised care to
achieve the on-time performance targets of airlines.
Experienced and Loyal –
Long Service Award 2009
CPCS understands high quality people are key to providing the best products and
services to customers. To express our heartfelt thanks to our long serving staff, an
award presentation ceremony and celebration dinner was held on 13th November,
with department heads and supervisors in attendance.
Lui Yim Kwong (left) receives his long
service award from Ivan Chu,
Director, Service Delivery of CX
215 staff received the award for serving CPCS for over 10 years, with 110 of them
having served for more than two decades. The most experienced staff member on
the stage this year was Lui Yim Kwong from the hot, first class section of the
Production Department. Lui has been a member of the CPCS family for three-anda-half decades.
“I am glad to have witnessed the
growth of the company over the past
35 years,” said Lui Yim Kwong. “The
current highly-automated building
makes our work easier and more
efficient.” Lui Yim Kwong has been
preparing first class entrées since the
age of 22.
CPCS has regarded people as its most
valuable asset for 42 years and our
experienced and loyal team will
continue to serve our customers with
skill and professionalism.
4 Food for Thought
A newsletter for partners and friends of CPCS whom we cherish...
Transporting the Best
Gourmet Food to 30,000ft –
Hong Kong
Chefs Association Media
Luncheon
This summer, our chefs worked with the Hong Kong Chefs
Association (HKCA) National Culinary Team to launch a series of
specially designed first and business class menus for one of our
valuable customers, Cathay Pacific Airways.
An in-flight food menu media luncheon was held at CPCS in
August covering over 20 main courses, 8 desserts and 10
appetisers and was attended by 20 media representatives invited
to mark the achievement.
“It is more challenging to replicate the restaurant chefs’ art in
large scale food production and maintain daily quality and
consistency.” Jorg Kubisz, our Executive Chef, commented. “Our
culinary team has spent several months working with HKCA
chefs, discussing and formulating modifications. These
co-operations are inspiring and have expanded our culinary
horizons to offer a variety of attractive
meal choices in the future.”
CPCS understands the constraints of
cabin service as well as our customers’
desire to offer the best gourmet food to
their passengers. As a customer-focused
in-flight catering specialist, our culinary
team is dedicated to overcoming these
challenges and to achieving customer
satisfaction.
Group picture taken at CPCS meal
presentation room
Emirates Presents Premium
Quality Meals
To generate maximum exposure of in-flight food products in
the public domain, Emirates invited media and food journalists
to a food product presentation event held at the Emirates
lounge, Hong Kong International Airport on 23rd
September 2009.
The event was catered by CPCS chefs and began
with an introduction by George
Banks, Food Product Manager of
Emirates, who flew specially to
Hong Kong to host the
presentation, and was
followed by a food
display and phototaking session.
A ft e r w a r d s , t h e
Chef Mark Shek was honoured to take part in this event
assembled guests and food journalists were invited to join a
food tasting comprising selected dishes of their choice,
prepared on-site by CPCS chefs Raymond Tse and Mark
Shek.
“CPCS was honoured to take part in this event and delighted
to be given the opportunity to showcase the premium
quality in-flight meals served on Emirates’ flights. I’m glad
that all the guests enjoyed the meals being served and
that the event went so successfully.” said Steven
Chong, CPCS Airline Account Manager for
Emirates.
Chef Raymond ensures everything
is tip-top quality for Emirates
F OOD f o r T h o u g h T 5
SQ A380
Inaugural Flight
Following the successful delivery of catering services to the
inaugural flight of Singapore Airlines’ A380 Airbus, the largest
passenger aircraft in the world, at Hong Kong International
Airport on 9th July 2009, Cathay Pacific Catering Services
now provides catering services on a regular basis to six
scheduled Singapore Airlines flights each day out of Hong
Kong.
To welcome the arrival of the giant, we have not only featured
special dishes but also invested in special aircraft catering
trucks capable of loading the super jumbo. In addition, to
ensure smooth and safe operations, a CPCS team including
our airline account manager, catering supervisors and
coordinators visited Singapore’s Changi Airport to familiarise
themselves with the aircraft and undergo special training on
door operating procedures, aligning trucks to the aircraft and
simulated catering and de-catering of the A380.
From left: Steven Chong, Tong Wing Kay, Kwan Ka Sing
The first flight by the A380 into Hong Kong was indeed an
enormously important occasion for everybody in the airport
community and CPCS is very proud to have played a part in
this memorable occasion for both the aviation and airline
catering industries in Hong Kong.
With the success of the inaugural flight our experienced
teams, complete with advanced hardware, are ready to
provide the resources required for this model of aircraft and
we hope to extend our service by offering our expertise to
other carriers as more A380s come into service.
New Customer –
TNT Airways
We are pleased to announce that TNT Airways (3V) has
joined our customer base. CPCS will cater crew meals
for its Hong Kong to Liege, Belgium route three flights a
week starting from 17th September 2009.
Founded in 1999, Belgium based TNT Airways provides
multiple services, including cargo and passenger
charters. TNT's air network connects Liege to 71
European destinations daily and not less than 12
intercontinental destinations through partner airlines.
6 Food for Thought
A newsletter for partners and friends of CPCS whom we cherish...
Step up for the Environment –
Clean Air Charter Certification
CPCS is proud to have received the Clean Air Charter certification from
the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong
Business Coalition on the Environment earlier this year. This recognition
demonstrates that CPCS is continuing to develop its support for
environmental protection.
Project consultants conducted a walk-through audit and interviewed
Bonny Chan, our Quality Assurance Manager. The audit report
recognised CPCS achievements towards six commitments of the
Clean Air Charter with the following highlights:
d) S et up an Environmental Steering
Committee to address issues concerning
the environment and CO2 emission control.
All management members are involved to
e n s u r e e nv i r o n m e n t a l p o l i c i e s a r e
communicated and supported throughout the
company. While the whole aviation industry is
working together to reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases, CPCS, as a caring business
partner, will strengthen its commitment
towards carbon reductions.
a) Overall direct carbon emissions were reduced by 6.29% in 2008;
b) By renewing our transportation fleet we aim to eliminate air
pollutants generated from delivery service vehicles. Currently:
- 94 vehicles have been equipped with diesel engines;
-15 hi-loaders have been replaced by new models with Euro 4
standard engines;
- Two hybrid cars have been purchased;
- All vehicles undergo regular checks to ensure maximum fuel
efficiency and performance;
c) Good Class of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) obtained for office areas in
2008;
Putting Waste
to Use –
Reuse and
Recycle Campaign
To preserve natural resources and to reduce the amount of
household waste, our Quality Assurance Department
launched a Reuse and Recycle campaign in August to
encourage staff to exchange unwanted books, magazines and
multi-media resources. Over 1,800 publications and 250 multimedia resources were collected during the campaign and
staff were also invited to donate HK$5 to Orbis for each item
they wished to exchange.
We were proud to see active participation from the whole
CPCS family, from management to frontline staff and a total
of $1,987 was contributed to Orbis with over 1,000 items
successfully exchanged. These actions support another of our
missions: to develop environmental and corporate social
responsibility in leadership.
The campaign creates a social atmosphere enabling staff to form
lasting bonds
F OOD f o r T h o u g h T 7
Government Internship Programme –
New Graduates Join
Nurturing talent to ensure a secure and prosperous future is a
corporate social responsibility that CPCS management places
great value upon. To provide opportunities for young talent to
flourish, CPCS participated in the Internship Programme for
University Graduates launched by the HKSAR government in
2009.
CPCS
Family
after receiving the comprehensive training here. I look forward
to exploring all the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
We welcome this group of young people to the CPCS family
and we are eager to see their contribution to the aviation
industry after their training.
The six-month Internship Programme aims to broaden
university graduates’ horizons and provide insights for their
career development. Eight fresh graduates were recruited to
the programme and have been benefiting from crossdepartment on-the-job training since September.
“This programme offers me a valuable opportunity to learn
the operations of the aviation industry and to improve my
communication and interpersonal skills. I would like to develop
my career in CPCS as well as contribute to its development,”
says Cindy Wai, government intern from Coventry University.
Victor Lai, graduate from the Hong Kong Polytechnic
University, thinks the programme is the launch of his aviation
dream. “I foresee being more sophisticated in the workplace
Front (from left): Chan Ka Yan, Chan Ki Man, Chan Man Wai, Lau Yuk Yu, Wai Fong Ting, Back (from left): Lai Man Ho, Ha Man Ho, Lai Ho Tou
8 Food for Thought
A newsletter for partners and friends of CPCS whom we cherish...
Oxfam Corporate
Donor Award
For the second consecutive year, CPCS was honoured to receive the Oxfam
Corporate Donor Award on 24th July in recognition of our continuous support
of Oxfam’s charity projects.
Donations made are not solely the decision of the CPCS management; every
CPCS staff member contributes through our ‘Thank You Note’ motivation
programme launched in 2007. For every appreciation note our staff write to
each other, the company donates HK$10.00 to the Oxfam Education
Programme in Beijing. We are glad to report that 2,600 ‘Thank You Notes’ have
been issued since the scheme began, resulting in a total contribution of HK$
26,000 by CPCS to the programme.
Vincci Ngai, Assistant Training & Staff
Communication Manager, receives the award from
Myolie Wu Hang-yee, Hong Kong celebrity
CPCS staff will continue working as a team to integrate corporate social
responsibility into our daily lives by active participation in the campaign.
The Hong Kong 24 Hour
Charity Pedal Kart Grand Prix
The Hong Kong 24-hour Charity Pedal Kart Grand Prix organised
by the Hong Kong Round Table was successfully held on 14th –
15th November at Victoria Park, Hong Kong. The event, whose
motto is: “Pedal for those who can’t”, is a long-established
charity race in Hong Kong and has raised over 30 million dollars
for needy charities since its inception in 1986.
This year, a total of 33 teams enrolled in the
race, of which 4 teams entered from Cathay
Pacific Airways. CPCS not only offered
catering sponsorship to CX pedal kart teams,
but also five staff from different departments
joined the race for the first time to raise
funds for the underprivileged.
As the light faded the competition
became fiercer and more
challenging at night but neither
the cold wind nor the rain
affected the spirits of the CX
teams. “It was really
encouraging and inspiring to see
From left: Paulus Lin, Eugenia Tai, Ricky Wong, Vincci Ngai, Bonny
Chan
so many people enjoying this 24-hour competition. My thanks
to the pit crew, who were on duty 24 hours making sure all the
karts were in good condition - and they also lifted the
competitors out of the karts to save time during the race!
I really enjoyed it and will definitely take part again
next year; I hope more people from CPCS
will, too." enthused Bonny Chan, the
Quality Assurance Manager.
Everyone’s efforts paid off, with the
CX Men’s Team named the overall
champions and receiving the
Aviation Cup for the second
successive year. The Ladies Team
came second in their category.
F OOD f o r T h o u g h T 9
Louis Pang
New Production Chef –
Process Quality Control And Food Safety Management
We are delighted to welcome Singaporeborn Louis Pang to the CPCS family. Louis
began his career at the age of sixteen,
working as a chef for many popular hotels
and restaurants in Japan, Singapore,
Holland, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong
Kong before joining CPCS. He gained
valuable experience and dedication to
stringent hygiene practice from his initial
culinary training in Tokyo. He has also been
awarded the National Trade Certificate, which focuses on food
science, business development and menu planning.
“Hygiene cannot ever be compromised,” said Louis. He has a
10 Food for Thought
great appreciation for food safety and
hygiene. He believes that having stringent
quality control systems in place at every
level of production gives customers an
assurance of the quality of CPCS products.
Louis loves the challenge of being
production chef of CPCS in the area of
process quality control and food safety
management. When speaking of his new
role he says: “I am looking forward to my new role and the
challenges it will bring, as well as relishing the culture of
service excellence.”
Outside the kitchen, Louis enjoys music, cooking and sports.
A newsletter for partners and friends of CPCS whom we cherish...
Magical Moments –
When Tabasco Meets Custard and Napoleon
“We have recreated Napoleon with Tabasco,” smiled Sam
Hung, captain of our Bronze Award winning team from the
Hong Kong Young Chefs Club's Hot Chef Team Challenge
2009 hosted in September. The innovative minds of our young
chefs successfully impressed the judging panel by creating a
magical moment – spicy dessert!
science.” Chan Wai Fung’s team also designed a hot dessert:
spicy custard dumpling.
Creativity is a journey without a destination. We look forward
to seeing our young talent create more magical moments in
the future with their innovative ideas.
Each team was asked to design six different types of amuse
bouche in three hours with Tabasco as one of the ingredients.
The challenge was not just about creativity and taste; hygiene
practices were also taken into account. Our second team took
away the Silver Award and Best Hygiene Award from the
stage. Chan Wai Fung, captain of the team said, “The hygiene
practices of CPCS have already become a part of our
professional life.”
“The competition was fun,” commented Chan Wai Fung, “We
have proved that with detailed planning and teamwork,
transforming creativity into practical ideas is not rocket
From left: Law Lok Him Cook Trainee (CT08), Chan Wai Fung Cook
(CT07), Lee Chi Shing Cook Trainee (CT08)
Young Chef Shines – CPCS Junior Assistant Cook Included in
2010 International Culinary Arts Team
We are honoured that our graduate chef trainee, Chris Ho, has been selected as one of the
junior assistant cooks in the 2010 Hong Kong National Culinary Arts Team. Chris will work
with culinary professionals from the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre,
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel, Hong Kong Disneyland Hollywood Hotel and The Hong
Kong Jockey Club to represent Hong Kong at the FHA 2010 Culinary Challenge in
Singapore in April 2010.
The competition includes the preparation of a 3-course lunch, buffet entrée, eight
sets of appetisers, cold cuts and dessert for the judging panel. “Meeting the
professional team was a great experience,” Chris shares. “Through the menu
discussions I got to learn about the most advanced technology in meal
preparation.” Chris will assist with the preparation of cold dishes.
Last year, chefs from 10 countries participated in this event, an event that CPCS
is delighted to support as exposure to other young talents will raise the skills of
all and further enhance the reputation of Hong Kong cuisine.
From left: Chris Ho receives a tailor-made uniform
for the competition from Jenny Lam
F OOD f o r T h o u g h T 1 1
Wine and Dine Festival –
Serving over 3,000
In response to the call of the Hong Kong Chefs Association,
CPCS sent a team of 19 chef trainees to assist with the
culinary services at the opening ceremony of the Wine and
Dine Festival organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board on
28th October.
our chef de partie from central hot kitchen, who led the chef
trainee team.
CPCS is delighted to support such activities and subsequently
further develop our talent pool in support of the CPCS mission
to be the most valued catering service partner in Asia.
The team prepared 4,000 canapés of cherry wood smoked
salmon rolled with crisp fennel and pan-seared scallop infused
with X.O paste at our kitchen before the event. They also
provided a buffet service to 1,500 government officials, media
and press representatives at the ceremony. Both the food and
the services provided were well received by our professional
working partners from Disneyland Hotels, the Convention
Centre, Swire Hotels and professional culinary training
schools.
“We were glad to have the chance to work with other culinary
professionals at the festival and the experience has inspired
us with ways to improve our services,” commented Alan Yip,
Great team work delivers great service
Vietnam Air Caterers
2009 has been a successful year for Vietnam Air Caterers with
two new contracts being awarded.
Delta Airlines (Northwest) started catering uplift of its daily
flight service to Narita Airport in June 2009 and Cambodia
Angkor Air (K6), the new national airline of the Kingdom of
Cambodia, started flying daily from Saigon to Siam Riep and
Phnom Peng in August 2009.
Gold Certificate for 2008 from United Airline (UA)
12 Food for Thought
Apart from the new customers, it was with great honour that
VAC received a Gold Certificate for the year 2008 from United
Airlines (UA) in July 2009. This was indeed a compliment and
recognition of the high quality of their hygiene audits, on time
performance and excellent passenger feedback.