Hidden behind Waterstones Hotel in Andheri (E), near the International airport, is the city facility of Skygourmet, the Indian arm of the independent global airline catering service Gate Gourmet. Its buzzing four-level kitchen churns out 16,000 meals for 68 departures per day for various domestic and international carriers. Resembling a high-maintenance food lab, the facility is divided into cutting, cooking, cooling and processing sections, including a bakery, confectionery and a separate kitchen for whipping up first class meals. Here, the items — fruit plates, vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian, Continental and Chinese meals, breakfast fare, desserts and even breads — are well-segregated, prepared and plated in-house before being shipped off to the flight. Wearing colour-coded uniforms, hair caps and face masks, the staff, as if on autopilot, takes care of every detail specified by different carriers, including the fruit cuts (read: papaya scoops for one airline and cubed for another), portion-sizes calculated on weighing scales, the plating as per pictorial references and most importantly, hygiene standards and the cooling chain process.