Catering to your aircraft in Matanzas.
Varadero fills in the winter months, when charter aircraft and business jets arrive for the resort strip along the Hicacos peninsula. You tell us the tail, the slot and the headcount; we cook, pack for the galley you actually have, and hand over at the aircraft through your FBO or handling agent.
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.
Matanzas Province gives a Varadero menu its character: spiny lobster from the northern coast, grilled red snapper, black beans with rice, yuca with mojo, plantains and tropical fruit. A private jet menu built here keeps the lobster cold and cooked to order only at the last stage on board, and the mojo travels apart so the yuca stays crisp.
For the inflight menu we lean on what the province does well: lobster tail, ropa vieja, tostones, avocado and mango. Private jet food from this part of Cuba is hot-weather food, so we pack it cold or sealed and mark the lid with the reheat step you do in your own oven. These local specialities are the starting point; tell us if the passengers want something plainer and we cook that instead.
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.
Runway 06/24 at MUVR is long enough for widebodies, yet the ramp is quiet for most of the year, and the winter season swings that completely. Private jet catering here is planned around heat, the return leg to Europe or Canada, and a galley that rarely has a chilled holding area ready. We also write inflight catering for in-flight departures north, aviation catering for crews turning round on the ramp, and cabin crew meals boxed separately from the guest trays.
Business jet catering at Matanzas is usually seasonal: corporate jet catering for visitors to the Varadero resort strip, charter flight catering for groups, and VIP flight catering for guests with a villa on the peninsula. A private jet chef can write a bespoke menu around lobster and tropical fruit, with luxury inflight catering touches such as chilled starters and a plated main finished in your galley.
Government flight catering at VRA calls for discretion and a named contact on our side. Head of state flight catering and VIP aviation catering follow the protocol office's guest list, not our menu, and state visit aircraft catering is sealed, labelled by seat number and released only to the authorised handling agent.
Cuban cooking hides allergens where a menu will not show them: shellfish in rice and stocks, peanuts in some sweets, wheat flour in fritters and sauces. For special meals at Matanzas we ask about the allergy first, cook that dish on its own board, seal it and mark the lid by seat number. Kosher, halal, vegan, gluten free, allergen free and kids meals are all possible, though kosher and halal need checking against what local suppliers can source.
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 and pilot meals at VRA are ordered with the flight and invoiced like the rest of the order, never as a gift. On a Varadero turn there is rarely time for a proper break, so our crew catering is built for one hand: a chicken rice bowl, a sandwich, cut fruit. Flight crew meals and cockpit meals can be set as different meals for pilots, so captain and first officer never share a dish. Crew meal boxes carry CREW on the lid and arrive with the guest trays through your handling agent.
FBO catering at Matanzas means catering delivery to the FBO for a quiet ramp where the general aviation terminal handles most private flights. We coordinate ground handling catering with your handling agent so the trays reach the aircraft on your slot, and handling agent catering covers any special access the apron requires.
A wide aircraft on the MUVR ramp changes how the load is done: the galley may sit above a high loader door, and aircraft provisioning has to follow the door height, not the menu. We confirm the type before we pack, galley catering is trolley-sized to match, and airside catering delivery is coordinated with your handling agent so nothing waits on the apron in the sun.
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.
Juan Gualberto Gomez International serves Varadero and the wider Matanzas Province. Airport catering here is simple and seasonal, general aviation is a small share of movements, and FBO services and ground handling services handle the private flights that arrive for the resort strip.
Varadero is a seasonal business aviation hub: most private flights arrive in winter and fall away in summer. Inflight catering and in-flight catering orders follow that pattern, aviation catering is planned around the type, and executive jet catering and business aviation catering meet visitors for the resort strip. Diplomatic flight catering is available for official visits, and cabin crew meals are boxed apart from the guest trays.
Cuban customs restrict raw meat, dairy and fresh produce entering the country on an aircraft, so we cook and pack locally and hand over sealed. Your handling agent can confirm what may stay on board for the next leg, and any food you carry in should be cooked and sealed.
Average rating from the cabin crew and pilots we cater for.
“Our priority at VRA was smoked salmon bagels and sliced fruit for 12 passengers, with a family lunch request shaping the service plan. The Galley Girls confirmed the handover contact and identified the salads, making the catering delivery easier for our team to track. The canapés went straight to the right colleague instead of circulating between several people during the turnaround. With private aviation catering, careful attention to written menu details matters as much to our crew as the menu itself.”
“Having 4 guests request vegetarian wraps and colourful salads at Juan Gualberto Gomez International Airport meant planning the portions carefully while accounting for several individual meal preferences. I gave The Galley Girls our storage brief and asked for the salads to arrive in compact food boxes. The order made business jet catering feel manageable because the storage requirements had been considered beforehand. We placed the desserts in their planned storage area without first having to reorganise all the catering boxes.”
“Getting a seafood starter and warm vegetable sides ready for 5 guests at MUVR required an order that accounted for limited fridge space. This experience of business aviation catering gave us a useful reference for managing written menu details on another departure. We described our serving sequence to The Galley Girls and asked for the crew provisions to be packed accordingly. The salads were reserved for the next stage, so the worktop stayed clear while we prepared the initial dishes.”
It depends on the dishes and on how long the aircraft sits at MUVR. Spiny lobster and fresh snapper cost more than rice, beans and fruit, and a long turnaround lets us plate more. Each dish is shown on the quote, so you can swap lobster for pork and see the difference.
A return leg ordered from here for the way back is easiest when sourcing is settled early: lobster and snapper take the longest, fruit plates and rice dishes the least. Tell us the slot and the headcount for the northbound sector and we plan the load; last-minute orders are handled.
Cuban customs want to know what goes on board and how much, so a late change in headcount means a corrected list. Tell your handling agent and us together. Locally cooked, sealed food is straightforward; imported meat and dairy are not.
People often ask whether they can you bring food of their own. You may, but customs can confiscate it on arrival or departure. Ask us for spiny lobster or tostones instead and it is cooked, sealed and delivered, with nothing to declare.
No, catering is not part of the charter; you order it separately and it is invoiced on its own. An early slot at Varadero wants coffee, pastries and sealed fruit, a night departure something filling but light, and either is arranged with the order.
Tail, pax and diets — a flight attendant takes it from there, day or night.
