dnata shows live micro farms spotlighting fresh culinary innovation at WTCE | News
dnata Catering & Retail will showcase a live microfarm installation at the World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo (WTCE), offering visitors a tangible demonstration of how freshness, sustainability and culinary creativity are shaping the next phase of onboard dining.
Inspired by dnata’s catering facility in Melbourne, the microfarm allows culinary teams to grow select herbs on-site for use in menu development. Since its launch in 2025, the initiative has supported more than a dozen menu presentations and contributed to improved freshness, reduced waste, sustainability and enhanced menu creativity.
Herbs are harvested daily and incorporated into dishes served to 26 airline customers in Melbourne, highlighting how hyper-local cultivation can have a meaningful impact within large-scale airline catering environments. Building on its success, dnata plans to expand the microfarm concept to additional catering facilities including Brisbane, Sydney and Perth by 2026.
At WTCE, the live installation will consist of a 96-bowl micro-farm cabinet, showcasing how chefs integrate freshly harvested ingredients into menu design, with around 60 dishes already influenced by the initiative.
Robin Padgett, CEO of dnata Catering & Retail, said: “As passenger expectations continue to evolve, airlines are placing increasing emphasis on freshness, creativity and inclusivity in inflight dining.
“Our presence at WTCE highlights how dnata is responding through initiatives such as our micro farm and the continued evolution of specialty meals, working closely with our partners to improve both the quality and relevance of the onboard experience.”
Improving special meals and passenger experience
In addition to the microgarden showcase, dnata will highlight its refined approach to specialty meals, reflecting airlines’ growing focus on meeting diverse dietary, cultural and lifestyle requirements.
Special meals play an important role in shaping passengers’ perceptions of inflight dining and provide a valuable opportunity to increase overall satisfaction. dnata currently supports 20 specialty meal categories.
At WTCE, visitors will experience a curated selection of dishes that demonstrate culinary creativity, precision and the operational expertise required to consistently deliver specialty meals on a global scale. Some dishes include:
Slowly cooked vegetable tagine, freekeh pilaf, candied lemon and date chutney (VGML, VLML, MOML, HNML, NLML)*
Krabravioli with whipped ricotta, fennel salad and kombu beurre blanc (SFML, MOML)*
Lemon garlic and sumac chicken with green beans, stewed puy lentils, macadamia dukkah and candied cherry tomatoes (HNML, MOML, DBML)*
Sweet corn panna cotta with charred corn, miso butterscotch en croute (VLMV, GFML, MOML)*
Integrated catering and retail solutions
dnata will also showcase elements of its inflight retail offering, highlighting how integrated catering and retail solutions can support airline differentiation and unlock additional revenue opportunities.
The company currently supports five major airline retail programs globally, providing end-to-end program management, supported by market-leading data and analytics. dnata manages more than $200 million of retail inventory through its strategic supply chain teams and serves more than 40 million transactions annually through its retail programs.
Collaboration and involvement within the sector
Through its participation in WTCE, dnata aims to engage airline customers, suppliers and industry stakeholders in conversations around culinary innovation, personalization and sustainability, while strengthening relationships across its global network.
WTCE: a leading global industry event
WTCE is the leading global event for the travel catering, inflight retail and passenger comfort industries. In 2026, the event will take place from April 14 to 16 in Hamburg, Germany.
