Catering to your aircraft in Praia.
Nelson Mandela International is Santiago's main field, and its season runs from the dry winds to the summer. Tell us the tail and we build the menu around it.
We know the galley, the diet card and the 5 a.m. re-plate — because we lived them. So we built the caterer we always wished we could call.
Fourteen years on VIP and head-of-state cabins. Can plate for twelve in a G650 galley and still land it hot.
The one who reads every diet card twice. If it says no cross-contact, it means no cross-contact.
Answers at 5 a.m. when the leg moved overnight. Same-day swaps are her love language.
Praia is the capital of Cape Verde and the gateway to the Sotavento Islands, so a private jet menu built here leans on the Atlantic. Tuna, wahoo and grilled lobster are the fish an inflight menu can carry well, and local specialities such as cachupa, the slow-cooked maize and bean stew, travel in a sealed pot for re-plating. Private jet food from Praia also means papaya, mango and passion fruit from the Santiago valleys, goat cheese from the interior and the island's strong coffee from Fogo. We cook for the galley you actually have and mark every tray by seat.
Tail, pax, diets, timing. One message — no portal, no quote form. Answered at any hour, by a flight attendant.
Leak-proof boxes, marked by guest and restriction, with reheating times written on the lid.
Two minutes out of the drawer. Whatever you ordered for the crew comes in the same delivery, and one clean invoice follows.
Santiago is a volcanic island where the sea decides the menu, and Nelson Mandela International (GVNP/RAI) sits at 230 feet on its southern coast. Private jet catering here starts with the day's tuna and ends with a galley-ready tray. Inflight catering, in-flight catering and aviation catering for business aviation catering, executive jet catering and diplomatic flight catering all run through one call, with cabin crew meals ordered alongside.
Corporate jet catering into GVNP tends to be a one-night stop for a team on a regional tour. We handle business jet catering, VIP flight catering and charter flight catering from the same brief. The private jet chef writes a bespoke menu for luxury inflight catering from the fish and fruit landed on Santiago.
Government flight catering at Praia comes with protocol attached. Head of state flight catering and VIP aviation catering are planned with a named team, sealed trays and traceable ingredients. State visit aircraft catering is agreed with the protocol office before anything is cooked.
A vegan menu at Praia is built from what Santiago grows: sweet potato, cassava, beans, papaya and banana. Cachupa is the example to watch, since the classic pot carries pork, so a vegan version is cooked separately from the start, in its own pot and on its own board. Kosher, halal, gluten free and allergen free meals are written the same way, as a procedure per tray, with kids meals and other special meals marked by seat.
A sheet per guest. Separate boards, separate boxes.
Sealed, certificate in the same box.
Their own menu, nothing to cut at altitude.
Vegan, low-carb, light — composed, never compromised.
Pilot meals are the first question in crew catering for GVNP. Crew meals and flight crew meals are packed in boxes by role, with different meals for pilots on separate trays, so cockpit meals stay apart from guest food. Crew meal boxes are ordered on request and billed on the same invoice.
FBO catering at Praia ends at the general aviation terminal, where the tray changes hands. Catering delivery to the FBO is set against your slot, and your handling agent opens the apron gate for the airside step. We brief the handling agent catering contact on the seat plan and the type, so ground handling catering runs on the access rules of GVNP and nobody improvises at the door.
At Praia the aircraft type decides how the galley is loaded: a light jet takes trays by hand at the door, while a larger cabin may need a high loader at the apron. Galley catering is packed in carts or boxes to match the aircraft, and airside catering delivery follows your handling agent's access rules at GVNP. Tell us the type and the galley and aircraft provisioning is planned to fit it.
Mention it when you orderCertified, inspected, with cold-chain records filed against your trip.
Whichever terminal you park at, handover is at the aircraft, on your slot.
Allergen sheet per guest, halal and kosher on request, sealed and labelled.
Itemised and trip-report ready, sent after the leg.
Nelson Mandela International sits at 230 feet on Santiago's south coast, the capital's only international gateway, and general aviation parks beside the main apron. Airport catering here follows a traffic pattern with a peak in the dry season, when FBO services and ground handling services at Praia are at their busiest.
Praia works as a business aviation hub for transatlantic stops and regional tours, with general aviation handled through the terminal and its FBO services. Ground handling services here are small and personal, so the brief matters. Inflight catering, in-flight catering, aviation catering and business aviation catering are written per trip, with executive jet catering, diplomatic flight catering and cabin crew meals ordered alongside the crew meals.
Cape Verde is strict on animal products brought in from abroad, and general aviation traffic is not exempt. At GVNP the FBO services and ground handling services team will tell you what applies to your flight; since we source on Santiago and hand over sealed trays, there is little to declare.
Average rating from the cabin crew and pilots we cater for.
“One detail shaped our order at RAI: a tight boarding window, alongside a request for vegetable tartlets and a dessert selection for 4 passengers. We described our serving sequence to The Galley Girls and asked for the breakfast portions to be packed accordingly. Our colleague could take over the canapés without asking where every component had been placed during preparation. I would discuss airport catering with them again, especially when packing arrangement needs careful coordination.”
“Working around a changing departure schedule at Nelson Mandela International Airport, I asked for a seafood starter and warm vegetable sides in portions appropriate for our 5 passengers. With several people involved, The Galley Girls kept the canapés and delivery arrangements together in a concise order update. Knowing where the starters were packed meant the crew could begin the relevant checks as soon as the order arrived. The order made inflight catering feel manageable because the written menu details had been considered beforehand.”
“Despite two separate meal services, we wanted the 9 guests at GVNP to enjoy roasted chicken and seasonal vegetables without a complicated cabin service. Instead of asking us to improvise, The Galley Girls explained how the snack boxes could be arranged during service. For in-flight catering, that attention to storage requirements made the order noticeably easier to manage. We could finish the fruit plates as each guest was ready, rather than laying everything out at once.”
Cost is set per menu, not per tray, and Cape Verde's import rules shape it. Fresh produce and meat brought in from abroad can be held at customs, so cooking locally at Praia avoids that risk. Local tuna costs less than imported beef, for example. Send the menu and headcount for a quote.
The aircraft type comes first. A midsize jet with a full galley can take hot courses; a light jet takes cold plates. Either way, Praia orders are planned from the type, and last-minute requests are handled.
A harmattan haze or a gusty day can change a slot at GVNP, but customs stay constant: imported food is inspected. Our trays are made from island ingredients and sealed by seat, so the check is quick. Ask your handling agent for current rules.
Foreign fresh food runs into customs here, so the cleaner option is a return-leg order placed at Praia. We cook for the departure and hand over at your FBO. Tell us the next sector and the headcount.
Charter contracts rarely cover food. At Praia, an after-dark departure still means a separate catering order, billed like any other. Tell us the departure time and the galley.
Tail, pax and diets — a flight attendant takes it from there, day or night.
