How to Write a Catering Order for a Private Jet — The Definitive Guide

Writing a catering order that produces exactly what you want starts with understanding what your kitchen needs to produce it. From DFK's production side, a well-written catering order is the single biggest factor in whether the food that arrives at your aircraft matches your expectations. Here's what makes an order work — and what makes it fail.

The Eight Elements of a Complete Catering Order

1. The Flight Basics

Departure airport (ICAO or IATA code), FBO name, departure date and time, and your delivery window (typically T-45 to T-60 minutes before departure).

2. Aircraft Information

Aircraft type (e.g., Gulfstream G550, Challenger 350, Citation Latitude) and tail number. Aircraft type tells us your galley equipment — which determines what can be reheated and how. Don't skip this. An order for a micro-galley light jet needs to be built differently than an order for a large-cabin with a full convection oven.

3. Passenger and Crew Count

Separate passenger count from crew count. Passenger meals and crew meals are different in size, style, and often in menu — crew working a long duty day needs substantial, practical food, not the same formal service as the passenger cabin.

4. Dietary Requirements — Specific and Exhaustive

This is the most important element. Do not generalize. "One guest has an allergy" is not usable. "PAX 2 has a severe tree nut allergy — all preparations must be made with dedicated utensils and separate from any nut-containing items. PAX 3 is vegetarian, no meat or seafood." That's usable.

Include: allergens, severity level, religious dietary requirements, general preferences, and specific items passengers won't eat regardless of preference (some passengers have non-allergy categorical refusals that still matter).

5. Service Style and Menu Direction

What type of service do you want? Cold board, hot service, formal multi-course? If you have a preferred menu tier or specific items in mind, say so. If you're deferring to the kitchen, say that — we'll recommend what works best for your flight duration and timing.

6. Flight Duration and Meal Timing

How long is the flight? When do you want to serve? "4-hour flight, serve lunch starting 30 minutes after departure" is all we need to calibrate portion size, service complexity, and menu composition appropriately.

7. Specific Requests

Any specific items, brands, or elements that are important: "Mr. X always drinks Voss still water." "The principal drinks only Perrier." "They'd like a quality cheese course as a third course." "Please include a child-appropriate option for a 6-year-old, no nuts."

8. Contact Information

Your name and a direct phone number where you can be reached during the production window — not the FBO's number, your personal or work cell. If we have a question or a change, we need to reach you directly.

Common Order Writing Failures

• "Whatever looks good" without any other context: This produces food that may or may not match what you had in mind. The kitchen will do its best, but "whatever looks good" is an invitation for assumptions.
• Allergen flags without specificity: "Guest has food allergies" tells us nothing actionable. Name the allergen.
• Wrong aircraft type: Ordering for an "Embraer" without specifying Legacy 500 vs. Phenom 300 means we may package for the wrong galley setup.
• Passenger count without crew count: We'll produce for passengers. We won't guess whether to include crew meals.

The Order That Produces Exactly What You Want

The best catering orders DFK receives are from flight attendants and coordinators who treat it like a professional briefing — specific, complete, and with room for the kitchen team to apply their expertise within the parameters you've defined. You don't need to design the menu. You need to give us the parameters to design it well for you.

Order with DFK — we'll ask the right questions if anything's missing.