A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

Three U.S.-based catering providers with a combined 75 years of experience&nbsp;will be co-exhibiting this year at MEBAA. While they serve different regions, New York–area Rudy’s Inflight Catering; Air Gourmet, which has offices in the western U.S.; and southern Florida-based Silver Lining Inflight Catering&nbsp;will share Stand 624 to demonstrate their shared vision and culinary offerings to show goers.

 


“MEBAA is a great show for all three of our companies since we tend to get clients that are based in the Middle East that sooner or later come to our individual markets,” said Michael Linder, Silver Lining’s owner. “We each feel comfortable recommending our clients to one another because we know that we share the same level of commitment.”

 


Linder’s company has been serving the southern Florida market for nearly two decades and he believes that MEBAA offers an excellent chance not only to educate attendees&nbsp;but to also learn. “The show allows us the opportunity to not only see many of our Middle Eastern clients, but also the chance to listen and understand some of the challenges our clients are facing when they travel to our areas of service,” he said.

 


The three companies share the core principles of safety, service, value,&nbsp;and creativity&nbsp;and have been co-marketing for the past few years.

 


“Many of our clients are the same, and a few years ago we decided that it would make sense to share booth space at a few of the international trade shows we all attend since we felt there was also a shared vision we have in regards to client satisfaction,” said Rudy’s Inflight Catering principal&nbsp;Joseph Celentano, adding that each of the companies takes pride in the fact that they are independently owned and operated. “We’re not overseen by a large company; we individually have 'skin in the game,' and we each agree that the pride of ownership makes us go the extra step to make our clients satisfied.”

 


Rudy’s has operated out of New Jersey business aviation hub Teterboro Airport for the past 35 years&nbsp;and serves airports throughout the metro New York region. Likewise, Air Gourmet, which has been in operation for over 20 years, provides in-flight catering from its kitchens in the key western destinations of Los Angeles and Las Vegas. “Our shared vision of focus and attention to detail is something we felt, gives us an advantage over many of our competitors,” explained Carla Cockriel, the company’s facility manager.

U.S. Flight Caterers Join To Show Off Their Creativity

Independently-owned Rudy's Inflight Catering, Air Gourmet and Silver Lining Inflight Catering serve a different regions in the U.S., but share a vision

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