The local table at La Tontouta is French by method and Pacific by ingredient. A private jet menu for Province Sud starts with what the lagoon and the plain produce: Pacific prawns from the west coast farms, mahi-mahi and wahoo, and rusa deer from the central ranges, which is the one red meat that is properly local.
Bougna is the dish you will be asked about. Yam, sweet potato, taro and banana leaf cooked with chicken or fish and coconut milk, traditionally in an earth oven. We pack it as a sealed portion that holds in the drawer, which makes it a workable inflight menu item and not just a curiosity.
Private jet food here also means fruit that ripened on the tree: lychee in the summer months, mango, papaya, and the citrus that Caledonians eat as a snack. The coconut crab is real but protected and seasonal, so we only plan it when it is legal and available.
These are the local specialities we build around. Everything is packed to the galley, with the oven items, the sauces and the cold plates separated, and labelled by seat.
