Catering to your aircraft in Chicago.
At 680 feet above sea level, with runways that run through lake-effect snow and January crosswinds, O'Hare moves business aircraft in every season. We pack Chicago's food for the galley you have, for the crew who has to serve 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.
Airport catering at O'Hare is Chicago on a plate that has to survive a galley. Illinois gives us the Italian beef, packed with its jus in a sealed pot and the roll kept apart, so nothing goes soft before you re-plate. Chicago deep-dish is a different problem: it does not hold, so we offer the flavour as a skillet bake you finish in the oven, or as a cold antipasto board. Garrett-style caramel and cheese popcorn works as a private jet snack for the cabin. Midwestern sweet corn in season, whitefish from the Great Lakes and Wisconsin cheese platters round out the private jet menu. A Chicago inflight menu built on these local specialities works because most of it is built to be portioned, labelled by seat and served from a drawer.
Local specialities decide an inflight menu in Chicago more than any chef's mood. Private jet food from Illinois leans on what travels: smoked Lake Michigan whitefish, Italian beef with its jus sealed apart, hot-dog-style canapés for the cabin, and a Rush Street-style steak cut that re-plates well. For a Chicago private jet menu we replace deep-dish pizza, which collapses in a drawer, with a skillet bake finished on board or a cold board with Wisconsin cheeses. In summer, Michigan cherries and sweet corn change the airport catering line; in winter, soups and braises carry the menu. All of it is chosen for the galley you have.
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.
Winter de-icing queues at ORD decide more about a tray than any menu does, and that is where private jet catering at O'Hare starts: with what still tastes right after a ground hold. Our former VIP flight attendants build inflight catering for Chicago departures around the real galley, the real crew and the real weather. In-flight catering here ranges from a quiet two-seat positioning leg to a full corporate shuttle, and aviation catering at KORD follows whichever runway the wind gives you. Business aviation catering for the general aviation side runs in parallel with the airline apron, so executive jet catering has to be coordinated with the handling agent. Diplomatic flight catering and cabin crew meals are set up the same way: confirmed, labelled, handed over at the aircraft.
At O'Hare, business jet catering and corporate jet catering follow the pattern of the trip: a Chicago executive shuttle is not a charter flight catering for a family group. VIP flight catering and luxury inflight catering are built by a private jet chef around a bespoke menu that fits the galley and the season.
For state visit aircraft catering out of ORD, discretion matters more than the dish list. Government flight catering and head of state flight catering are handled by a small, named team; VIP aviation catering follows the protocol brief.
At O'Hare, allergens hide in the same places as anywhere in Chicago: breaded beef, rolls, sauces thickened with flour, cheese-heavy sides. Kosher, halal, vegan, gluten free and allergen free meals are packed separately, sealed and marked by seat, not by name. Kids meals and other special meals are listed on the diet card that travels with the tray.
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 O'Hare are an on-request item, ordered with the trip and invoiced like any other line. Flight crew meals are packed for a galley that may have nothing hot: pilot meals that can be eaten one-handed on a long Chicago winter delay, and cockpit meals that stay out of the way. Crew catering for a full rotation means crew meal boxes labelled CREW, and different meals for pilots if the operator's policy asks for it. Each box is sealed and handed over with the passenger order.
FBO catering at O'Hare is handed over at the general aviation terminal by agreement with your handling agent. Catering delivery to the FBO, ground handling catering and handling agent catering are set against the aircraft's slot, with the ramp access confirmed.
The aircraft decides the loading: a light jet has a small door and no high loader, while a larger cabin may need one at the stairs. Galley catering for the type is agreed before the delivery, with the size of the galley, the oven and the drawer count known. Airside catering delivery at ORD goes through the handling agent, and aircraft provisioning is staged so the cabin door stays open as little as possible in winter.
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.
Chicago O'Hare is one of the biggest airports in the United States, and airport catering for business aviation sits on the general aviation side, with FBO services and ground handling services separate from the airline apron. General aviation here is active all year.
O'Hare is a business aviation hub where inflight catering, in-flight catering and aviation catering have to work beside airline traffic. Business aviation catering and executive jet catering follow your handler's slot; diplomatic flight catering and cabin crew meals are confirmed the same way.
The United States restricts imported meat, dairy and produce, so catering for international arrivals at ORD is built from domestic Illinois and Midwest products where possible. Waste from international flights has to be disposed of under US rules.
Average rating from the cabin crew and pilots we cater for.
“I wanted herb chicken with a quinoa salad for 3 guests at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, packed sensibly for a cabin team dealing with two separate meal services. The order made crew meals feel manageable because the galley preparation had been considered beforehand. We changed the quantities of snack boxes, and The Galley Girls reflected the request in the final packing list. The note about the fruit plates was easy to spot, and we could brief the rest of the team quickly.”
“Good preparation made the difference at KORD, where 6 guests expected a mezze selection with flatbreads despite a family lunch request. I wanted clear identification on the sandwiches; The Galley Girls made the packing arrangement easy to compare with the order. Keeping the side dishes identifiable helped the colleague taking over service understand the order without another long explanation. With FBO catering, careful attention to crew briefing matters as much to our crew as the menu itself.”
“Small packing details became important at ORD: our 8 passengers wanted prawn salad and small fruit plates, and we had a revised passenger count. 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 storage requirements stood out more than any sales pitch about airport catering.”
Start with one local product. Italian beef with its jus, for instance, prices differently from a caramel popcorn snack. How much does private jet catering cost depends on that choice and on how many are flying.
Customs rules in the United States decide how far ahead we need to know. Local Chicago products avoid the problem. Last-minute orders are handled; say if foreign-origin items are wanted.
On a light jet with one oven and a drawer, we keep the order lean so customs has little to deal with. A heavy jet's galley is a bigger job. The aircraft decides.
In a lake-effect snow window, departures move. Food brought on board in a paper bag may not last the hold. If you carry your own, keep it sealed and cold; ours is packed to survive the wait.
Charter contracts do not cover food. A catering order is its own item, and we can stage the return-leg meals from O'Hare at the same time as the outbound.
Tail, pax and diets — a flight attendant takes it from there, day or night.
