Abu Dhabi ( CNN ) -- For most people working in the United Arab Emirates , the holy month of Ramadan is a restful time . It is a month of fasting , reduced working hours , family time and quiet religious contemplation . But not for Karsten Gottschalk . He 's the executive chef at the Armed Forces Officers Club & Hotel in Abu Dhabi , and it 's his busiest time of year . Gottschalk 's job during Ramadan is to feed at least 20,000 people every day . That means preparing more than 600,000 meals throughout the month . `` It 's a lot of food , '' says Gottschalk . First thing he does is `` get my calculator out and start calculating what I need . '' During the holy month , followers of the Muslim faith fast by refraining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset . The month of Ramadan starts 10 days earlier every year , based on the Islamic lunar calendar . Ramadan explained . The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque commissions Gottschalk 's kitchen to prepare meals for people to break their fast at the mosque . Gottschalk leads a 500-strong team in the kitchen , and cooking starts at 6 a.m. During the working day , 7,000 kilos of vegetables are peeled and diced , 5,000 kilos of rice boiled in vast pots and 10,000 chickens cut in two and roasted . By the end of the month , 800,000 kilos of food will have been prepared in the kitchen . Time matters for Gottschalk . Every slice and dice is done by the clock , until all meals are packaged and date-stamped by 3 p.m . The food is then transported in heated trolleys aboard trucks to the mosque , a short drive away . The meals are given out for free . During the weekend up to 35,000 people join the feast , to which both Muslims and non-Muslims are welcome . Every person receives a box which includes rice topped with half a chicken , a vegetable stew , a portion of salad , an apple , a yoghurt drink , a fruit juice and some water . The meals must be kept warm , distributed and ready to eat the minute the sun goes down , which is marked by a call to prayer . Ramadan acts as 'Super Bowl for adverts ' in the Middle East . `` The challenge is that we are doing it over a month , '' says Gottschalk . `` It 's not a day or two event . It 's consistency over one month of Ramadan . '' He adds : `` We have to give our fasting friends a lot of good food . Every day the same standard , the same quality . '' The guests sit on the floor across eleven air-conditioned tents outside the mosque to protect against temperatures which can reach up to 45 degrees Celsius during the U.A.E . summer . They then tuck into delicacies prepared over so many hours by Gottschalk 's team , continuing a tradition that was begun by the ruling family of the U.A.E . at the mosque nine years ago . Back then , 4,000 meals were given out a day . The numbers are far bigger now -- and Ramadan is unlikely to get any quieter for Gottschalk .
For most people in Abu Dhabi , the holy month of Ramadan is a restful time . But not for Ramadan , executive chef at Karsten Gottschalk in Abu Dhabi . His team feeds 600,000 people a day during Karsten Gottschalk -- 600,000 meals through the month . By month 's end , 800,000 kilos of food will have been prepared in the kitchen .