QR�s onboard catering has come a long way since the days of track side refreshment rooms and onboard buffet cars� and the proof is literally in the pudding when QR picked up two awards at the State Finals of the Queensland Restaurant and Caterer�s Association Awards held in September. Traveltrain Holidays� Catering Unit and their kitchen staff contractor, Life Style Chef, shared a win in the �Best Site Caterer in Queensland� and �Best Institutional Caterer in Queensland� awards categories.

Traveltrain Holidays� Catering Unit Manager Denzil D�Silva says the recipe for success, after only one year of operation, is being proactive in developing catering products that are innovative and ground breaking in terms of process and delivery.

From March 2005 to July 2005 the Traveltrain Holidays� Onboard Services team worked tirelessly to develop the Catering Unit from a green field site at Roma Street Transit Centre to the fully operational commercial unit it is today.

Care and attention was paid to the design and layout of the premises, the kitchen fit-out, refrigerated food service design and vehicle and the logistics of transporting catering products from the Catering Unit to the trains.

�What sets us apart from any interstate competitor is our ability to produce and manage food, that is fresh and available on our long distance Traveltrain services across the state,� Mr D�Silva said. �This award is a great way for us to celebrate our one year anniversary of operations.�

Each week the Catering Unit delivers more than 2200 meals for the Tilt Train, The Westlander and The Inlander services; produces meals for The Sunlander buffet menu, The Spirit of The Outback � la carte menu; and prepares an average of 120 delicious meals from the five-star style menu on The Sunlander�s premium class - Queenslander Class.

�Queenslander Class� signature dish is the famous Seafood Platter,� he said. �The seafood is picked up in Townsville and prepared by the onboard chef.�

�We are thrilled because 2006 marks the first time Queenslander Class has included a hot and cold medley of fresh seafood from the Great Barrier Reef, hot crab cakes and oysters Kilpatrick on the trains.�

It�s a big change from the days when specially built dining cars were introduced on trains such as The Sunshine Express in 1935, but dining cars have been in regular use since the 1920s.

�In those days meals generally consisted of soup, roasts, cold meat joints, meat and salad, jellies, puddings, tea and coffee,� he said. These days the catering team take into consideration quality, quantity, eye appeal, preparation, flavour, balance, nutritional value, time and service levels etc.

All state winners were automatically entered into the National Restaurant and Caterer�s Association Awards, which were announced in October. QR Onboard Catering were national finalists in their category.

Media Contact: Jodi Clark, Publicist, QR Passenger Services phone 07 3235 3862 or 0405 621 812 email Jodi.Clark@qr.com.au.