This food review of the Special Meal Gluten Free Emirates was conducted by Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Mariah Bikakis.
Travelling as a coeliac comes with its fair share of obstacles, but also brings me great joy when gluten-free food is done well. This Emirates flight from Melbourne to Dubai was the first leg to my final destination of Lisbon, Portugal and the commencement of my two-month European getaway. I pre-selected the “gluten friendly” specialty meal on the Emirates website, which wasn’t very reassuring to read as a coeliac as it is quite a confusing term. However I did note there was a disclaimer on the website stating these meals are technically gluten-free, however are processed in a facility that may contain gluten.
Special Meal Gluten Free Emirates – Main Meal Service
Take-off was 9.15pm, with dinner being served as the main meal of the flight.
My gluten-free special meal was delivered first at 10.30pm, with the cabin crew confirming my gluten free meal request to me when they handed me the meal. Unfortunately, the cabin crew did not provide any description of the meal nor a menu so I was unsure what the meal was. I had almost finished my meal when the regular meal service began around 11pm, at which point I was offered a drink.
The gluten ‘friendly’ meal consisted of:
- A hot main dish – Moroccan style lamb/beef with green beans and fragrant steamed rice
- A gluten-free white bread roll
- A salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato)
- A dessert (some kind of apple cake)
- A small bottle of water and condiments (salad dressing, margarine and soy milk)
Overall, the main meal service was very enjoyable, however there were some minor adjustments that could be made to improve the experience. I found the meat quite flavoursome and aromatic, which paired nicely with the sultanas and aromatic rice. However, there were only 4 small pieces of meat with the rest being sauce. The rice itself was quite dry but when mixed through with the sauce it was more palatable. The green beans were cooked perfectly with a nice bite – I love it when beans are cooked well. The side salad though was super sad looking with consisting of only 1 small tomato, 2 slices of cucumber and a few small pieces of iceberg lettuce. The bread roll was served cold and was quite dry but dipping into the salad dressing helped make it palatable.
Nutrition comment
Unfortunately, all the carbohydrates seemed low in fibre which meant it didn’t fill me up as much as I would have liked. It would have been great to have more coloured vegetables in the meal by either adding more to the Moroccan dish and removing the side salad (the side salad was so small it really didn’t add to the meal at all), or by enhancing the side salad. All the carbohydrate components of the meal were refined, so swapping the rice and bread roll to gluten-free higher fibre options would help improve the fibre content of the meal and keep me fuller for longer. The green beans are a good source of folate, thiamine and vitamin C, all of which can be lost in water during cooking, so having them lightly steamed is a great way to preserve these nutrients.
Special Meal Gluten Free Emirates – Second Meal Service
The second meal was breakfast, which was served 3 hours before landing (9.5 hours after the first meal service). Given the first meal was served late in the evening and I slept for most of the flight, I wasn’t starving at this point despite the long break between meals. Once again, no description of the meal was provided but the crew stated my name and gluten free meal request upon handing me the tray. My special meal didn’t look too dissimilar to the regular meal service and consisted of:
- A hot main dish – 2 vegetable fritters (with spinach, peas and capsicum) served with potatoes, roast tomato and cannellini beans in an aromatic sauce
- Fruit salad (grapes, melon, watermelon and pineapple)
- Unsweetened yoghurt with blueberry sauce
- A gluten-free white bread roll
- A small bottle of water and condiments (margarine and soy milk)
Once again, I enjoyed the overall taste of this meal. The breakfast fritter, despite being well-seasoned, had a bizarre mushy texture and it was unclear what it was actually made from. I suspect it may be the vegan option too as it didn’t appear to be a traditional egg-based fritter. I was happy to see some legumes on my plate and loved the Moroccan-style sauce that the beans were cooked in. Once again, the bread roll was served cold and was quite dense- heating it up would improve the texture drastically. The portion of fruit was quite generous and super refreshing by being served cold. I found the addition of soy milk and margarine an odd choice – why not serve regular butter and milk when there is already dairy on the plate? Looking up information on this brand showed it to be a source of monounsaturated fats (aka “good” fat), and negligible in trans fats (the “bad” fat typically found in some margarines).
Nutrition comment
Overall, this dish made up for the lack of veggies in the first meal service and was quite nutritionally balanced. The fritters and beans provided an excellent source of fibre and protein, to help keep me fuller for longer. The main thing that could be improved was swapping the white bread roll to a high fibre alternative. It was great to have unsweetened yogurt served with breakfast. Yogurt is a good source of calcium, protein and probiotics – and with the addition of only a small amount of blueberry compote, the overall sugar content would be fairly low.
Final Thoughts on Special Meal Gluten Free Emirates Economy class – Melbourne to Dubai
Overall, I enjoyed the dining experience on this flight from Melbourne to Dubai, as the gluten free Emirates meals were tasty. When compared to the regular meals served on board, I felt as though my gluten free special meals did not differ too drastically and were of similar quality (despite the constant struggle of being served dry and crumbly gluten-free bread on board). Small touches like metal cutlery were a nice surprise when travelling economy. Overall, the meals were relatively balanced but could be improved with more high fibre foods carbohydrates and colourful vegetables. Providing a printed or electronic menu for the special meals, or for the crew to provide a verbal description of the main meals would help elevate the experience of passengers who have requested special meals. For many people with dietary requirements, like myself who has coeliac disease, great comfort is taken in knowing the ingredients in the foods we are eating. It would also help increase the interaction between passengers and cabin crew, providing a nicer dining experience.
NOTE: All pictures of Gluten Free Emirates Economy Class special meal were taken by Mariah and foods reviewed were from the foods given on the flight. There may be different options available at other times.
To read about the gluten free Emirates meal Dubai to Lisbon, Portugal see review.
For more special meal reviews check out Low Lactose Cathay Pacific economy meal review.
