Norwegian Salmon Stars on Qatar Airlines
A Qatar-based company is using traditional Scandinavian methods to smoke fresh Norwegian salmon — which is now being served on board Qatar Airways flights as part of the bespoke à la carte dine-on-demand menu for customers flying in the airline’s First Class and Business Class cabins.
The dishes include Pre-Sliced Smoked Salmon, Tender-Loin Smoked Salmon and Chilled Salmon Gravlax, in addition to an Atlantic Salmon Fillet option. More than 70,000 smoked salmon dishes a month are carefully prepared and served on board Qatar Airways flights. The locally-produced dishes are sourced from Doha-based company Ocean Fish, one of the region’s seafood producers and the largest supplier of smoked salmon in the Middle East.
Ocean Fish uses fresh Norwegian salmon, flown on board Qatar Airways flights direct from Oslo to Doha, then transferred to the airline’s chilled cargo facility.
A salt and sugar mix is carefully hand-rubbed into the fish, which is placed in chiller boxes to infuse for 24 hours to give it flavor. The mix is then removed slowly by water over a number of hours. Using traditional methods, the fish is smoked over beechwood. The fish is repeatedly smoked and then allowed to rest, enabling it to mature and dry. It is then smoked again over 10-14 hours to further infuse it with Ocean Fish’s trademark aroma.
(Photo courtesy of Qatar Airways)
