Catering to your aircraft in Ocala.
Ocala's apron fills in bursts around the horse sales and show weeks, and the rest of the year it runs quiet. We cook and pack private jet catering for that rhythm, and for the small galleys that fly in and out of KOCF.
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.
Ocala is horse country, and the plate follows the land: Florida citrus, strawberries from the Plant City season, Gulf shrimp, smoked mullet and Southern sides such as collards, cornbread and key lime. A private jet menu for Ocala leans on what is fresh in north-central Florida, because guests flying out of horse sales tend to want something that tastes of the place. The inflight menu is written so that each item survives a small galley: private jet platters travel chilled, while the hot dishes are finished in the oven and plated at altitude. Private jet food from here should not feel like airport food. Gourmet inflight meals use local specialities as the anchor, and private jet snacks cover the quiet legs, such as citrus, boiled peanuts, pimento cheese and benne wafers. Local specialities from Florida are listed on the menu below, and anything else can be sourced to order.
For a flight out of Ocala, the Florida pantry does most of the work. Citrus is the constant, and in spring there are strawberries and Gulf seafood; the Southern kitchen supplies the comfort side. Our private jet menu for Florida pairs a chilled seafood or poultry course with a hot main finished in the aircraft oven, so the inflight menu stays simple to run in a light jet galley. Private jet food here is plated for whoever is flying home from a horse sale or a show week. Private jet platters keep well in the drawer, gourmet inflight meals are written around Florida produce, and private jet snacks, from boiled peanuts to citrus, suit short hops. Local specialities are never an afterthought: the market in Ocala sets the line-up, and we adjust to the guest.
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.
Jim Taylor Field is a quiet general aviation field until a big equestrian event lands. Then the ramp gets busy, and private jet catering at KOCF has to work around full FBO parking and tight departure slots. We pack in-flight catering for the galley you have, with business aviation catering and executive jet catering menus built for light cabins, plus diplomatic flight catering and cabin crew meals when the trip calls for them.
Business jet catering at Ocala usually means a small party out of a light jet. Corporate jet catering and VIP flight catering here are plated with simple service in mind: the private jet chef writes a bespoke menu around Florida produce, and charter flight catering is packed to be finished in a drawer-and-oven galley. Luxury inflight catering is about restraint at this field, not volume.
When a state or government aircraft uses Jim Taylor Field, the order is shaped by protocol, not by the kitchen. Government flight catering, head of state flight catering and VIP aviation catering run through a named team, and state visit aircraft catering is traceable from ingredient to tray. We agree the menu with the protocol office and keep Ocala handovers discreet.
Special meals at Ocala are a procedure, not a promise on a label. Southern kitchens hide allergens in the places you would not look: shellfish stock in grits, flour in gravies, dairy in cornbread, nuts in pralines. We cook kosher, halal, vegan, gluten free and allergen free meals on separate boards and in sealed boxes, and we write kids meals around what children actually eat on a short leg. Each tray is marked by seat and restriction, so a special meal never gets mixed in with the main service.
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.
On a short Ocala turnaround the crew eats last and fast, so crew meals have to open one-handed. Flight crew meals, pilot meals and cockpit meals are packed on request and billed like any other item, in crew meal boxes marked CREW. Crew catering can include different meals for pilots, so the captain and first officer are never served the same dish.
FBO catering at Ocala is delivered to the FBO on the field, where your handling agent takes it airside. Catering delivery to the FBO is coordinated with the general aviation terminal so the trays reach the aircraft on your slot. Ground handling catering and handling agent catering work the same way here as at any other airport.
Most traffic at Ocala is light and mid-size, so galley catering is usually loaded by hand through the main door. When a larger aircraft calls, we plan the aircraft provisioning around its door height and the available equipment. Airside catering delivery goes through your FBO and handling agent, and the type and the tail decide whether the carts, trays or boxes go on board.
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.
Ocala International Airport, also known as Jim Taylor Field, is a general aviation airport serving Florida's horse country. Airport catering here is driven by the sales calendar and by the owners and operators who fly in for it, with FBO services and ground handling services on the field.
Ocala works as a small business aviation hub tied to the horse industry, and inflight catering here reflects that. In-flight catering for a light jet has to be compact; aviation catering for a bigger arrival has to be planned. Business aviation catering and executive jet catering are packed to the galley, diplomatic flight catering goes through protocol, and cabin crew meals are ordered like any other item.
International arrivals into the United States are subject to agricultural import rules, so meat, fresh produce and dairy from abroad may be held or discarded. At Ocala, the practical effect is that you order for the next leg and do not plan on keeping leftovers from a foreign sector.
Average rating from the cabin crew and pilots we cater for.
“A request for vegetable tartlets and a dessert selection, 7 passengers, and a changing departure schedule: that was our brief for the departure at Ocala International Airport - Jim Taylor Field. After a final adjustment to the desserts, The Galley Girls gave us one revised order summary to work from. The note about the salads was easy to spot, and we could brief the rest of the team quickly. My main takeaway from this inflight catering order was the practical approach to portion planning.”
“Nothing about the 6 guest order at KOCF called for excess complexity: just a cheese board and savoury canapés and sensible planning for a small galley worktop. I asked The Galley Girls to review the sauces quantities against the passenger brief, and the proposed portions made sense. We also checked the starters before approval, which helped avoid a second round of questions later in the preparation. The order made in-flight catering feel manageable because the portion planning had been considered beforehand.”
“Keeping the galley organised at OCF meant planning yoghurt pots and fresh berries for 6 guests with an evening cabin service in mind. We discussed the dimensions before confirming; The Galley Girls grouped the sandwiches into sealed meal containers that were easy to handle. The cabin service sequence stood out more than any sales pitch about vip inflight catering. We placed the main courses in their planned storage area without first having to reorganise all the catering boxes.”
Pricing at KOCF follows the order, not the airport. A quick departure slot usually means chilled platters and snacks with one hot dish, and a longer ground time opens up multi-course service. Gulf seafood or beef moves the total up, and a simple cold lunch keeps it down.
What makes an Ocala order easy is picking one local product and building around it, such as Florida citrus or Gulf shrimp. Last-minute orders are handled, and a seasonal product is easiest to source on short notice. Send the slot and headcount and we confirm the menu.
If you arrive at OCF from outside the country, leftover catering is generally not allowed to stay on board. The US limits agricultural items, so we prepare a fresh menu for the departure leg instead. Domestic hops from Ocala have no such issue.
A small galley does not rule out a good meal. If you are flying a light jet or turboprop out of KOCF, we pack meals that need no assembly beyond re-plating. You may bring your own items, but we recommend letting us handle the part that needs an oven.
A private jet charter does not cover food. We take a separate order, which is delivered to your FBO or handling agent and placed on board. Heavy-traffic weeks at Ocala make a confirmed order useful.
Tail, pax and diets — a flight attendant takes it from there, day or night.
