East Sussex · England
Festival & event paella in Barcombe, East Sussex
Treat your guests to live paella at your event in Barcombe. We cook from scratch on site, and serve it straight from the pan.
- School and charity events
- Race days and sports events
- Farmers’ and Christmas markets
Festival paella catering in Barcombe
Festival paella catering in Barcombe, made fresh on the day
Crew meals are timed to your schedule, keeping your team fed. We cook chicken and chorizo paella, seafood paella and vegan paella, and we are often booked for village fêtes and summer fairs and community events and open days.
Near Barcombe, events may be far from shops and cafés, so a hot-food stall is a big help. Your quote spells out exactly what’s included: menu, staff, crockery and anything else you choose.
- Area
- Barcombe (BN8)
- County
- East Sussex
- Dietary options
- Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and halal
- Also available
- Canapés, desserts, sangria and staff
- Price
- Quoted for your event
- Page updated
- 23 October 2026
The menu, dish by dish
Giant paella pans
A pan the size of a cartwheel, full of saffron rice.
Chicken & chorizo paella
A hearty, smoky pan.
Barcombe questions
What’s the nearest station to Barcombe for guests?
The closest is Cooksbridge station, roughly 1.5 miles away.
Can you run a stall at a school fair in Barcombe?
Yes, if the school is happy for us to cook on site. Tell us the date and pitch details.
Can the paella be cooked in a hall?
Only in a suitable, well-ventilated area with the venue’s permission. Courtyards, doorways and terraces often work.
Do you do desserts?
Yes. Spanish desserts such as churros or crema catalana.
Can you cook halal paella?
Yes. We use halal chicken and leave out pork and alcohol, in its own pan.
How many paellas should we have?
Two or three is usual: meat or mixed, seafood, and vegetable or vegan. We will help you decide the split.
Can you serve tapas as well?
Yes, and it’s a popular combination. Tapas go out first, then the paella.
What do you need at the pitch?
Tell us what’s available at the pitch and we will confirm what we need.
Barcombe events: pitches and permissions
Barcombe is about 3 miles north of Lewes, in East Sussex. Whether your event is in the middle of Barcombe or on the outskirts, festival paella catering works the same way: paella cooked live, every diet catered for and a clear quote. Barcombe is one of 289 places in East Sussex we cover. We cook right across the region, from Barcombe to Brighton (9 miles away).
School fairs, for a school like Barcombe Church of England Primary School, are a natural fit for a paella stall. For visitors coming by rail, the nearest station is Cooksbridge station, about 1.5 miles south-west. Events in and around the South Downs National Park, within about 3 miles of Barcombe, often have rules about vehicles, ground and waste; we’ll follow the site’s requirements.
Festival paella catering in BN8 is planned around your venue. Other places close to Barcombe for festival paella catering include Barcombe Mills (1 mile east), Barcombe Cross (1 mile north), Upper Wellingham (1 mile south-east), Mount Pleasant (1 mile north) and Cooksbridge (1 mile south-west). Larger places within reach include Eastbourne (15 miles south-east), Seaford (10 miles south), Lewes (3 miles south), Hailsham (11 miles east), Crowborough (11 miles north-east) and Uckfield (5 miles north-east).
Nearby you will also find Lewes Castle (3 miles south) and St John under the Castle Lewes (2.6 miles south). Green spaces nearby include Offham Hill and Malling Down.
- Schools near Barcombe include Ringmer Community College and Sixth Form (2.5 miles south-east)
- Pubs nearby include Anglers Rest pub (0.5 miles east)
Organising for someone else?
If you are organising for someone else, whether you’re a planner, an office manager or an event organiser, we’ll work directly with you and the venue. It keeps things simple.
For larger events, we plan the number of pans and serving points around your timings, so everyone eats promptly. Tell us how long you have for food.
Catering for every guest
Allergies and diets are taken seriously. Help us by following these steps:
- Make allergen information visible at every stall
- Ask about peak-time capacity
- Give traders a single information pack
- Feed crew and volunteers at set times
If crew or volunteer meals are booked, they’re served at the agreed times.
Bowls and forks for eating on the go.
How the day works
When the rice goes in, it’s left alone. That’s how the grains cook evenly and the toasted base, the socarrat, forms. The smell generally draws people over. Summer events in Barcombe have daylight until about 9:15pm at midsummer and about 7:05pm by late September, which helps evening trading. For winter markets, dark by about 3:55pm, the pitch needs lighting.
- We check your dates.
- We agree menu and pitch.
- Burners and pans go up.
- Pans are cooking as gates open.
- We serve, then pack down.
Getting ready for the day
- Let us know who to talk to on the day
- Get the venue’s permission for cooking
- Tell us where to park and unload
Getting a price
We need only a few details to quote: date, location, guest numbers and diets. You can fill in our quote form.
Related guides
Places near Barcombe
More for events in Barcombe
Cook it yourself or book a caterer?
You can cook paella for a crowd yourself, but it takes practice. Large pans need the right burners, and getting the rice right for dozens of people takes experience. Our guide to cooking paella for a crowd explains how.
Some hosts like to cook themselves. The usual problems are a pan too big for the burner, too much rice and stirring once the rice is in. If you’d rather be with your guests, we’ll do the cooking.
Who books festival paella catering in Barcombe?
It copes with peak times, thanks to big-batch cooking.
Live paella suits almost any gathering. In Barcombe, people book us for occasions like:
- Farmers’ and Christmas markets
- Community events and open days
- County and country shows
- Crew, volunteer and VIP catering
Running a fête for a church like The Parish Church of St Mary? A paella pan draws people in.
Questions to ask before booking
- How dietary needs and allergies are handled
- If the price includes VAT
- How many staff are coming, and for how long
- The wet-weather plan
Why live cooking beats a buffet
Hot-cabinet food lacks theatre. A huge pan cooking in view sells itself. Comparing caterers? Look at what each quote includes: staff, crockery, bread and salads, travel and VAT. Our quotes spell it all out.
Why Barcombe hosts choose us
- Crockery and waiting staff if you need them
- Everything cooked fresh at your event
- Fast service from the pan
- Every diet catered for, pan by pan
Take a look at Our prices page Or What paella catering costs.
How we price festival paella catering
The same guest numbers can mean different prices, depending on:
- Starters, canapés and desserts
- Crockery and cutlery, or disposables
- Your choice of paellas
- How many staff you need
Live paella pricing depends on the event. A simple paella lunch costs less than a wedding with canapés, three paellas and waiting staff. We itemise everything in your quote.
Details that help
You do not need everything decided to ask for a quote, but these help:
- A picture of where we’d cook
- Which courses you have in mind
- What the venue already provides
- Diets and allergies you know about
To get a price, use our quote form. Tell us about your event in Barcombe, and we will put together a menu and price.
- Cooked live in giant pans at your event
- Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal options
- Paella, tapas, canapés and desserts
- Sangria, bar staff, crockery and waiting staff