Emirates catering arm to set up kosher food production facility in UAE

Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) has entered into a partnership to set up a dedicated kosher food production facility in the UAE.

The partnership, with CCL Holdings founded by Ross Kriel, will be called Kosher Arabia and is expected to begin production by January 2021.

Kosher Arabia is certified by the Kashrut Division of the Orthodox Union (OU), which will work in partnership with the South African Union of Orthodox Synagogues (UOS) to provide the highest level of excellence in kosher certification to Kosher Arabia.

The culinary team at EKFC will handle all food production, while CCL Holdings will provide certification and production supervision including support for menu development and foodstuff procurement.

Saeed Mohammed, CEO of Emirates Flight Catering said: "We are delighted to enter into an agreement with CCL to provide kosher food. For many years, EKFC has been offering kosher meals primarily to our airline customers, via an outsourced supplier overseas. We've been watching the global trends for kosher food, and with recent developments we expect that demand for kosher food in the UAE and region will grow quickly. Our partnership will cover all food channels and we will also explore opening restaurants across Dubai and the GCC."

Ross Kriel, founder of CCL Holdings, and President of the Jewish Council of the Emirates (JCE) said: "Kosher Arabia was set up to supply kosher food to meet the growing demand in the UAE, not only from the Jewish community here but also from other consumers looking for healthy and halal-compliant options."

Emirates Flight Catering runs one of the world's largest catering operations, serving more than 100 airlines.