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."
Women pray at a Lahore, Pakistan, mosque during the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday on Friday, August 9. Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Photos: Ramadan around the world
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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"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.
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Indian Muslims offer Eid al-Fitr prayers on the ruins of the Feroz Shah Kotla fort and mosque in New Delhi on August 9. Muslims fasted from dawn until dusk during the holy month of Ramadan, the most sacred month in the Muslim year.
Bangladeshis cram onto a train as they rush home to their respective villages to be with their families ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr on Thursday, August 8. Ramadan commemorates the revelation of the Quran, the sacred religious text of Islam, by the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Mohammed, according to Islamic tradition.
A young Kashmiri woman admires her hand after it was decorated with henna at a market ahead of the festivities on August 8. The word Ramadan derives from the Arabic ramida or ar-ramad, meaning a fierce, burning heat.
Filipino Muslim women pray at Rizal Park in Manila on August 8.
Indonesian Muslims attend early morning Eid al-Fitr prayers near the coast in Bantul, Yogyakarta in central Java island on August 8.
An Afghan man prays at the Shah-e Do Shamshira mosque in Kabul on August 8.
Indonesian Muslims perform Eid Al-Fitr prayer on Parangkusumo Beach on August 8 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Javanese people jostle the "gunungan wadon" during Grebeg Syawal ceremony on August 8, in Yogyakarta. Grebeg Syawal is a tradition that follows the holy month of Ramadan to welcome Eid Al-Fitr. The tradition involves an offering of vegetables, peppers, eggs, and other items, called gunungan wadon brought to the Grand Mosque.
Royal servants carry gunungan wadon during the ceremony on August 8. Receiving part of the Gunungan is believed to be good luck and a blessing for the year ahead.
An Indonesian woman offers flowers on dried volcanic mud for family members who died during a volcano eruption in Sidoarjo in eastern Java as Indonesians mark Eid al-Fitr with pilgrimages to cemeteries to remember their dead.
Men gather around private cubicles at the East London Mosque in London on Wednesday, August 7, the last night of Ramadan.
People relax inside the Hamam al-Sammara Public Baths during preparations for the Eid Al-Fitr feast in Gaza City on August 7.
People wait for Iftar, the meal that breaks the daylong fast during Ramadan, on Tuesday, August 6, at the Jama Masjid, or Grand Mosque, in New Delhi, India.
Men pray during a special prayer service for Lailat al-Qader, also known as the Night of Power, at Jamia Masjid, a mosque in Srinagar, India, on August 6.
Bands of colored light reflect on the wall of a mosque as a boy looks up at a stained glass window in Gaza City on Monday, August 5.
A man prays outside the Dome of the Rock in the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on August 5.
People break the daylong fast at a mosque in Kolkata, India, on Sunday, August 4, 2013.
People read the Quran during Laylat Al Qadr prayers at Al Emari mosque in Gaza City on August 4.
Muslims gather for prayer on the last Friday of Ramadan at the historic Jama Masjid in New Delhi on Friday, August 2.
Observers sit on a ledge at the Jama Masjid overlooking a large crowd gathered for Friday prayers in New Delhi on August 2.
Palestinians use a ladder to climb over the separation barrier with Israel in Al-Ram on their way to pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, August 2.
Worshipers place the Quran over their heads in an act of penitence as they attend a Lailat al-Qadr, or Night of Destiny, prayer in the Imam Musa al-Khadim shrine in Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, August 1.
Muslim women pray on the 21st day of Ramadan at the Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar, India, on Wednesday, July 31.
Muslims enjoy the Mediterranean sea in Jaffa, a mixed Jewish and Arab part of Tel Aviv, Israel, as they break the Ramadan fast at sunset on July 31.
A boy helps his friend put on a turban during their Quran lesson at a mosque in Ampang, Malaysia, on Tuesday, July 30.
Men take part in a religious ceremony in Manama, Bahrain, on Monday, July 29, commemorating the death of the seventh-century Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, who was killed during the month of Ramadan.
Girls read the Quran at a mosque in Sanabis, Bahrain, on Saturday, July 27.
A woman buys sweets in Herat, Afghanistan, on July 27.
Palestinian women hold prayer beads as they pray outside the Dome of the Rock at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Friday, July 26.
Palestinian worshippers pray outside al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on July 26.
A man smokes a hookah Thursday, July 25, in Jaffa, a suburb of Tel Aviv, Israel, as Muslim worshipers break their daylong fast.
Muslim men pray July 25 at a mosque in Surabaya, Indonesia.
A Kashmiri Muslim nomad drinks tea as her family breaks their fast at a temporary base camp on the outskirts of Srinagar, India, on July 25.
A man fasting for Ramadan cools off in a waterfall on July 25 in Islamabad, Pakistan.
A Kashmiri Muslim man reads verses from the Quran in a mosque in Srinagar, India, on July 25.
A mosque worker prepares meals for the poor and those coming to break their fast at the mosque on July 25 in Nairobi, Kenya.
In Baghdad City, a man prepares to serve sweets as dusk approaches on Wednesday, July 24.
A Muslim man prays at the Jame Mosque in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, July 23.
A Pakistani student of a madrassa, or Islamic school, attends a test in reciting verses of the Quran in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday, July 22.
A man prays after breaking his fast on July 22 inside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
Girls leave a religious school in Herat, Afghanistan, on July 22.
Children read the Quran at a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday, July 21.
A man reads the Quran at a mosque in Gaza City on July 21.
People work at an ice factory on the outskirts of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on July 21.
Muslim men attend prayers in a mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday, July 20.
Outgoing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, prays at the holy shrine of Imam Abbas in Karbala, Iraq, on Friday, July 19, during the second Friday of Ramadan.
Muslims offer prayers in New Delhi on July 19.
Men prepare food to break their fast during the month of Ramadan in Herat, Afghanistan, Thursday, July 18.
Men make lemang, a typical Indonesian food from West Sumatra made with sticky rice cooked in bamboo, in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 18.
Public waker Mohammad al-Jamalah rouses people with his drum in Gaza City, signaling the time for the pre-dawn meal before fasting begins again on July 18.
Girls read the Quran during Ramadan in their classroom at Madrasatur-Rashaad religious school in Hyderabad, India, on Wednesday, July 17.
A girl holds out her hands during Dua prayers on July 17 at the school in Hyderabad.
Muslims offer noon prayers on July 17 at the Red Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Men break their fast on July 17 at the Shrine of Hazrat Ali in Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan.
A row of children joins the night prayer known as Tarawih on Tuesday, July 16, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A pair of newlyweds prepare to pose for wedding photos at Niujie Mosque in Beijing on July 16.
A teacher shows a carving of the Quran at the Islamic Boarding School of Ashriyyah Nurul Iman in Parung, Indonesia, on July 16.
A man washes his feet before noon prayers at a mosque in Karachi, Pakistan, on July 16.
Muslim soldiers from the Kenyan Contingent serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia pray on July 16 inside a military base near the southern Somali port city of Kismayo .
Street vendors sell sweets in Sanaa, Yemen, on Monday, July 15.
Muslims rest at a mosque in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Sunday, July 14.
Children watch as adults pray at a mosque in New Delhi on July 12, the first Friday of Ramadan.
Muslims break their fast in New Delhi on July 12.
Men are reflected in glass as women pray inside the Jamia Masjid, or Grand Mosque, in Srinagar, India, on July 12.
A young Muslim boy folds an umbrella in New Delhi on July 12.
A man reads the Quran at an old Mughal-era mosque in New Delhi on July 12.
A woman makes her way to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City on July 12.
A young boy walks past elders offering Friday prayers at the Mecca Masjid mosque in Hyderabad, India, on July 12.
A worker drains and rinses boiled soy beans at a small tempeh factory in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 12. Tempeh is an Indonesian staple made from fermented soy beans. The Indonesian government has said that it will increase food imports during Ramadan to reduce inflation caused by increased food consumption leading up to the Eid Al Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month.
Volunteers arrange food to break the fast at a local mosque in Karachi, Pakistan, on Thursday, July 11.
Indian Muslim women offer prayers after breaking their fast in New Delhi on July 11.
A young Muslim girl arranges food plates before Iftar, the evening meal when Muslims break their fast, at the Jama Masjid mosque in New Delhi on July 11.
A man distributes bread for a fast-breaking evening meal, or Iftar, at the Eidgah mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednesday, July 10.
An elderly man reads verses of the Quran, Islam's holy book, on July 10 in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen.
Turkish people wait to break their fast on July 10 at Eyup in Istanbul.
Students perform afternoon prayers at an Islamic boarding school on July 10 in Medan, Indonesia.
Students sit in circles during a Quran recital class in Medan on July 10.
A Muslim man performs ablutions before evening prayer on July 10 at the historic Wazir Khan mosque in Lahore, Pakistan.
An Indonesian woman prays at a mosque in Jakarta on July 10.
Women hold prayers on the first night of Ramadan at the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Tuesday, July 9.
Anti-government protesters in Turkey take a break from their first day of fasting during Ramadan after sunset on July 9 in Istanbul.
A customer tries on a cap ahead of Ramadan, in Peshawar, Pakistan, on July 9.
A child waits as men attend midday prayers at Strasbourg Grand Mosque in Strasbourg, France, on July 9.
People buy dates in Karachi, Pakistan, on July 9.
A man recites prayers at a mosque in Jakarta on July 9.
Women hold prayers on the first night of Ramadan in Jakarta on July 9.
A man selling dried fruit waits for customers in an old market in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, July 8.
People walk past parasols in Jerusalem on July 8.
A man cook sweets in Kabul on July 8.
Police destroy hundreds of bottles of alcohol and pirated DVDs seized during recent raids as they prepare for Ramadan in a Jakarta police station on July 8.
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