Catering to your aircraft in Rio de Janeiro.
Santa Cruz Air Force Base is a military field in western Rio de Janeiro that lets business jets in by arrangement, and the whole catering plan starts with that. We cook and pack for the galley of your type, label by seat and restriction, and hand over to your agent. You re-plate and serve.
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.
Rio de Janeiro, the state and the city, gives a private jet menu a very clear identity. Rio de Janeiro private jet food leans on tropical fruit and on what the Atlantic and the farms of the interior supply: mango, papaya, passion fruit, heart of palm, hearts of palm salad, fresh coconut water, and cheese from the neighbouring state of Minas Gerais such as queijo minas.
On the hot side, an inflight menu built around local specialities starts with feijoada, the black bean and pork stew, which travels well if the farofa and the sliced orange stay in separate boxes. Moqueca capixaba or baiana, the fish stew with coconut milk and dendê oil, is another dish that reheats well when the sauce travels apart. Picanha, the cap of the rump, is carved cold or finished in the oven by the crew.
For private jet platters that stay light, we pair tapioca crepes, pão de queijo, small coxinhas and brigadeiros. Private jet snacks for a Rio flight often mean açaí cups kept chilled, roasted Brazil nuts and cassava chips, all easy to portion by seat. Gourmet inflight meals can take the same flavours in a more restrained form: grilled fish with a vatapá-style sauce on the side, hearts of palm and mango salad in individual dishes.
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.
Santa Cruz Air Force Base sits at ten feet above sea level on the western flank of Rio de Janeiro, and a business jet landing here is a guest of a military operation, not of a public terminal. Private jet catering at SNZ is therefore planned around access: who opens which gate, which agent signs the vehicle onto the apron, what the galley of your type can hold. Inflight catering, in-flight catering and general aviation catering all follow the same route here: the order is agreed first, then packed for the aircraft. Aviation catering for a state or diplomatic rotation, executive jet catering for a corporate group and cabin crew meals for a long wait on the ground are all prepared by former VIP flight attendants.
Corporate and executive flights into Santa Cruz are often one-day shuttles to Rio de Janeiro and back, with a short brief and a galley that has one oven. Business jet catering and corporate jet catering at SNZ is built around that: VIP flight catering for the cabin, charter flight catering for operators, luxury inflight catering with a private jet chef writing a bespoke menu around what your crew can warm and serve.
Santa Cruz is an air force field, so government and state aircraft are not unusual visitors. Government flight catering and head of state flight catering at SNZ is handled as a protocol matter: menus cleared in advance, a named team, discretion at every handover. VIP aviation catering and state visit aircraft catering follow the delegation's own instructions, never ours.
In Rio de Janeiro the allergen question hides in familiar places: farofa and feijoada often carry pork and wheat, moqueca depends on shellfish stock or fish, and cheese bread is made with cassava flour but frequently shares tables with wheat. Kosher, halal, vegan, gluten free, allergen free and kids meals are handled as a procedure: separate board, separate box, seat number on the lid, never a name. Special meals for Santa Cruz are agreed with the order, not improvised at the apron.
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 Santa Cruz are on request and billed with the order, and the field is the reason: there is no public concourse for a quick lunch, so flight crew meals are packed to be eaten in the crew room or the cockpit. Pilot meals and cockpit meals come in crew meal boxes marked CREW, crew catering is delivered to your agent, and different meals for pilots are available if the operator's policy asks for it. Cabin crew meals carry the same CREW mark on the lid.
Hand-over at Santa Cruz goes through your handling agent. We coordinate FBO catering with the general aviation terminal or the apron, plan catering delivery to the FBO around the agent's access, and deliver at the aircraft. Ground handling catering and handling agent catering at SNZ are the same service as anywhere, tuned to a military field.
On the Santa Cruz apron it is the airframe that dictates how the galley is loaded. A light or midsize jet takes the galley catering in a van to the door; a large cabin or a head of state aircraft may need a high loader, and on a military apron that is arranged with the handling agent and the base. Airside catering delivery and aircraft provisioning for SNZ follow the door height and the galley of the airframe, so tell us the type and we pack accordingly.
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.
Santa Cruz Air Force Base, at ten feet above sea level on the western side of Rio de Janeiro, is a Brazilian Air Force airfield used by business aviation by arrangement. Airport catering at SNZ is a matter of planning rather than choice: the base has no public concourse, and general aviation traffic is handled through agents and prior approvals.
Business aviation at SNZ is sporadic and arranged: official delegations, corporate shuttles and charter groups that avoid the busier Rio fields. Inflight catering, in-flight catering and aviation catering orders are small and specific; business aviation catering and executive jet catering for a guest list of six is typical, diplomatic flight catering for official visits is common, and cabin crew meals are packed for long waits. FBO services and ground handling services are provided by arrangement, making it a quiet business aviation hub.
Brazilian customs and sanitary rules apply to any food loaded onto or taken off an international flight, and fresh meat, dairy and plant products are tightly controlled. Catering bought and packed in Rio de Janeiro avoids import trouble; leftovers from international arrivals are normally disposed of under local rules, and your handling agent will confirm what the base requires.
Average rating from the cabin crew and pilots we cater for.
“Service planning came first at Santa Cruz Air Force Base, with 6 passengers choosing a seafood starter and warm vegetable sides and a small galley worktop influencing our preparation. I wanted clear identification on the desserts; The Galley Girls made the packing arrangement easy to compare with the order. We could distinguish the sandwiches at a glance instead of lifting lids just to establish what belonged to each service. For our team, the strongest part of their private jet catering menu was how they handled cabin service sequence.”
“Keeping the galley organised at Santa Cruz Air Force Base meant planning yoghurt pots and fresh berries for 10 guests with a changing departure schedule in mind. Instead of asking us to improvise, The Galley Girls explained how the canapés could be arranged during service. My main takeaway from this private aviation catering order was the practical approach to cabin service sequence. It made a difference to have the sandwiches ready without cluttering the galley work area during preparation.”
“On this departure from SNZ, 3 passengers had chosen a light pasta dish with grilled vegetables, and a family lunch request needed to be reflected in the order. Our brief for business jet catering was met with a sensible plan for final order confirmation. The confirmation from The Galley Girls showed the breakfast portions clearly enough for us to check the planned service quantities. We also checked the main courses before approval, which helped avoid a second round of questions later in the preparation.”
Private jet catering at SNZ is priced per dish and per seat, and the local items sit at the lower end: tropical fruit, tapioca, pão de queijo, grilled fish. Rio de Janeiro's rainy afternoons and humid summers push many departures late, and a late departure often adds a meal. If the window moves we adjust the order, and the invoice follows what was delivered.
Lead time at SNZ depends on who can open the gate. Tell us your handling agent and whether you are using an FBO or the terminal, and we build the hand-over around their access. Last-minute orders are handled, and the line is open 24/7 by phone and email.
When the list shifts at SNZ, the galley ends up with too much or too little food, and customs wants to see what stays aboard and what leaves. We pack in seat-numbered boxes, so a seat can be pulled or added and the agent can see exactly what is on board.
Can you bring food? In practice it is awkward: Brazil's customs rules on fresh produce, meat and dairy apply, and a military apron is no place to unpack a cool box. Crew meals ordered through us are packed in Rio, marked CREW and handed to your agent with the rest. They are a line on request, invoiced with the order, and a long wait on the ground is the usual reason crews add them.
Is catering part of a charter flying into SNZ? No. A private jet charter covers the aircraft, and food is ordered separately and invoiced on its own. Brazil's sanitary rules on food import are one more reason to source locally: we pack in Rio de Janeiro, label by seat, and your handling agent or the FBO receives it for the aircraft.
Tail, pax and diets — a flight attendant takes it from there, day or night.
