Catering to your aircraft in Zanzibar.
Zanzibar runs on safari charters and island hops, with the apron at ZNZ filling around the dry-season peaks. We cook and pack for the galley you actually have, and the crew meals ride in the same hand-over.
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.
Zanzibar's private jet menu starts with the sea: grilled octopus in coconut, king fish in a spiced marinade, and lobster when the boats land it. Private jet food here is shaped by cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and vanilla from the island's farms, and local specialities such as urojo, a tangy mango and tamarind soup, are packed with the broth apart. An inflight menu for Kaskazini Unguja Region leans on tropical fruit, cassava, plantain and coconut rice, all cut for the seat plan and sealed for the drawer. Pilau, the spiced rice of the coast, travels well and reheats in a galley oven without drying.
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.
Aircraft arriving at Abeid Amani Karume sit at 54 ft above sea level, in humid Indian Ocean air that decides how every tray is packed. Private jet catering here means spice, coconut and fresh catch kept cold and sealed until it reaches the galley. Our inflight catering is cooked by former VIP flight attendants and re-plated by you. In-flight catering for Zanzibar leans on seafood and tropical fruit, and aviation catering for a safari charter is planned around a galley that may only have one oven. Business aviation catering for the island is mostly small groups on long weekends, and executive jet catering follows the same logic with a tighter brief. For a diplomatic flight, diplomatic flight catering is cleared by protocol first. Cabin crew meals ride along on request, invoiced like the rest.
Business jet catering at ZNZ usually serves small groups on safari or island charters. Corporate jet catering follows the same pattern with a tighter brief, and VIP flight catering adds a named private jet chef and a bespoke menu. Charter flight catering for Zanzibar is built around luxury inflight catering that holds up in heat.
For a delegation arriving at Zanzibar, the protocol office signs off the menu first. Government flight catering, head of state flight catering and state visit aircraft catering share one rule: discretion. VIP aviation catering adds a named team and sealed delivery.
Kosher, halal, vegan, gluten free, special meals, allergen free and kids meals are built on a separate board and packed apart. In Zanzibar the allergen to watch is wheat in chapati and mandazi, coconut in sauces and shellfish in broths, so each is declared on the seat card.
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.
Crew meals at ZNZ are ordered with the trip, on request and invoiced like any line. Flight crew meals and pilot meals are packed as cockpit meals that can be eaten with one hand, and crew catering for a safari rotation can mean boxed pilau or a grilled fish plate. Crew meal boxes are labelled CREW, and different meals for pilots are packed on request.
We deliver to the FBO and work through the handling agent for access. Ground handling catering at Abeid Amani Karume is planned by gate and slot, and catering delivery to the general aviation terminal is arranged with the agent on duty. FBO catering and handling agent catering share one hand-over.
Galley catering at Zanzibar depends on the aircraft type: a light jet gets a small drawer set, a larger cabin gets a full galley load. Airside catering delivery goes through the handling agent, and aircraft provisioning is planned around the door height and the apron on the day.
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.
Abeid Amani Karume sits at 54 ft on Unguja island and works as an airport catering stop for safari and island traffic. It is mostly general aviation, with FBO services and ground handling services for private flights. Zanzibar is a small business aviation hub.
Inflight catering and in-flight catering for Zanzibar charters are shaped by the dry season and heat. Aviation catering and business aviation catering orders are mostly small groups, executive jet catering uses the same kitchen, diplomatic flight catering is cleared by protocol, and cabin crew meals ride along on request.
Tanzania controls the import of fresh meat and dairy, so we source locally and cook on the island. Customs checks on food carried in can delay an aircraft, which is why catering for ZNZ is prepared in Zanzibar and ordered with the trip.
Average rating from the cabin crew and pilots we cater for.
“Timing and organisation mattered at ZNZ, where our order of smoked salmon bagels and sliced fruit for 10 people involved a short ground stop. We changed the quantities of salads, and The Galley Girls reflected the request in the final packing list. The order made flight catering services feel manageable because the storage requirements had been considered beforehand. We checked the sauces against the same summary, keeping the cabin team and the handling contact aligned.”
“Food presentation mattered to our 6 guests, but a revised passenger count also had to be considered when organising a cheese board and savoury canapés at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport. The order made airline catering feel manageable because the written menu details had been considered beforehand. The starters supplied by The Galley Girls were straightforward to check against the written menu before the cabin handover. We could distinguish the desserts at a glance instead of lifting lids just to establish what belonged to each service.”
“Nothing about the 10 guest order at HTZA called for excess complexity: just mushroom risotto and a green salad and sensible planning for a changing departure schedule. I appreciated the emphasis on final order confirmation throughout the crew meals arrangements. The Galley Girls gave us an update on the main courses before the handover, which helped us organise the cabin checks. Knowing where the crew provisions were packed meant the crew could begin the relevant checks as soon as the order arrived.”
Start with what Tanzanian customs allows in: we cook locally, so cost follows the dishes. King fish in coconut sits lower than lobster tail, and kids meals sit lower than a tasting menu.
With a big galley the menu opens up; with a small one it stays simple. Last-minute orders are handled at Abeid Amani Karume either way.
Customs here depends on what is carried in; local sourcing avoids it. The season sets the rhythm, with peak dry months asking for earlier planning.
You can, but a return leg ordered from ZNZ is simpler: we pack the way back at the same time, so the crew does not carry anything across customs.
No. Catering is not part of a charter: you order it separately and it is invoiced on its own. For a night departure or an early morning slot, the hand-over is set with the handling agent at the FBO, so the trays are at the door when the aircraft is.
Tail, pax and diets — a flight attendant takes it from there, day or night.
