Hampshire · England
Festival Paella Catering in Pennington
Paella street food for festivals, fairs, markets and community events in Pennington: paella made from scratch in big, shallow pans, in full view of your guests.
- Sports clubs and race days
- Music and food festivals
- Country shows
Festival paella catering in Pennington
About our festival paella catering in Pennington
Organisers can book us as a stall or as caterers for staff, crew, volunteers or VIP areas. Typical bookings include open days and community events and school and charity events, with chicken and chorizo paella, seafood paella and vegan paella.
Events near Pennington are frequently volunteer-run, so a trader who brings everything and needs little help is a bonus. All the cooking equipment comes with us, and we clear our cooking area away afterwards.
DIY paella versus live catering
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.
You can cook paella for a crowd yourself, but it takes practice. Large pans need the right burners, and getting the rice right at scale is tricky. Read how to cook paella for a crowd.
Places near Pennington
What else we do in Pennington
Paella compared with other options
Food that sits in a hot cabinet is not much to look at. Paella cooking in full view sells itself. There’s no one-size-fits-all price for live paella. A garden party lunch and a full wedding menu are very different jobs. We itemise everything in your quote.
What you get with us
- Add tapas, canapés and Spanish desserts
- Drinks service on request
- Crockery and waiting staff if you need them
- Separate pans for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal guests
What happens on the day
The cooking is part of the entertainment. Onion, garlic, peppers and tomato go in first, then the stock and saffron, then the rice, which cooks without stirring while your guests chat. At midsummer, events in Pennington stay light until about 9:25pm, which helps evening trading. Winter markets, dark by about 4:05pm, need a well-lit pitch.
- Send us your event details and pitch information.
- We send our menu, needs and paperwork.
- We arrive and set up at the agreed time.
- We cook and serve throughout.
- We clear and leave the pitch clean.
Before we arrive
- Ensure the spot is clear of anything flammable
- Let us know who to talk to on the day
- Make sure we can park close by to unload
How to get a price
Every quote is put together for your event. Give us your date and numbers, and we will check availability at the same time.
Read more
Planning the cooking area
Every venue is different, so we ask about the space before we confirm. In general, we need:
- Spacing from tents and other structures
- The event’s site rules and timings
- Access for unloading at set-up
If you are unsure, send a picture of the space and we will say what we think before you book.
Menu ideas
- Chicken & chorizo paella
- Vegan paella
- Churros
- Tapas
- Giant paella pans
- Seafood paella
What festival paella catering costs
Two events with the same number of guests can cost different amounts, depending on:
- Travel, parking and access
- How many guests are eating
- Waiting and bar staff
- Your choice of paellas
The cost per head normally falls as numbers rise, because the cooking set-up is similar for different sizes of event. Tell us your numbers for an accurate price.
Getting an accurate quote
You don’t need everything decided to ask for a quote, but these help:
- Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal and allergy numbers
- Expected numbers
- A picture of where we’d cook
- Your date and when you want to eat
Not sure what you need yet? No problem: tell us about the occasion and the guests, and we’ll suggest a menu. To start, send us your details through our quote form.
Planners, venues and businesses
If your event is in a public space, such as a park, check what permission you need first. We can send whatever the landowner or council needs from us.
If you run the same event each year, tell us your dates early, so we can hold the date.
Catering for every guest
Nearly every event has some special diets. To cater well for them:
- Feed crew and volunteers at set times
- Provide seating near the food
- Ask for allergen information at each stall
- Put all trader information in one pack
We set up at the agreed time.
Bowls and forks for eating on the go.
Common questions in Pennington
What’s the nearest station to Pennington for guests?
Lymington Town station, about 1.2 miles north-east of the centre.
Do you trade at school fairs around Pennington?
Yes, if the school is happy for us to cook on site. Send us the date, pitch and expected numbers.
Can you do gluten-free paella?
A gluten-free pan is no problem. Tell us about any coeliac guests when you book so we can plan it carefully.
How far ahead should we book?
As soon as you have a date. Popular dates book up first, so contact us early.
Can you cater for children?
Children are welcome. Tell us how many and roughly how old, and we’ll plan for them.
What about pudding?
Yes. Churros, crema catalana and tarta de Santiago are popular choices.
Who clears up?
We clear our cooking area away when service is finished. Waiting staff can clear tables if you book them.
Can you cater for crew and volunteers?
Yes. Crew, volunteer and VIP catering is available, with or without a public stall.
Who books festival paella catering in Pennington?
It covers several diets with one trader, which saves pitches.
We are booked for all kinds of occasions in Pennington and nearby. Popular bookings include:
- Crew, volunteer and VIP catering
- Charity and school events
- Country shows
- Festivals
For visitors coming by rail, the nearest station is Lymington Town station, about 1.2 miles north-east.
What to look for in a quote
- Plates, cutlery and napkins, or disposables
- Payment terms and deposit
- Staff numbers and hours
- Exactly what’s included in the price
Pennington events: pitches and permissions
Pennington is about 1 mile south-west of Lymington, in Hampshire. Tell us where your event in Pennington will be, and we’ll plan access and set-up before the day. Pennington is one of 683 towns and villages in Hampshire where we cook. Our events stretch from Pennington to Southampton (about 14 miles away).
School fairs, for a school like Priestlands School, are a natural fit for a paella stall. Running a fête for a church like Church of St Mark? A paella pan draws people in. Within about 5 miles is the New Forest National Park, where events may have extra rules on vehicles and waste; we work to the site rules. The coast is within about a mile of Pennington, so for seaside events we plan a sheltered pitch.
Here we cover the SO41 postcode area. Local streets include Mead Road, Pound Road and Elm Avenue; an event at home on any of them works well with live paella. We also cook at events in Lymington (1 mile north-east), Lower Pennington (1 mile south), Walhampton (1 mile north-east), Everton (1 mile west) and Lymore (2 miles south-west). Further out, we also cater in Totton (12 miles north), Hythe (10 miles north-east), New Milton (5 miles west), Ringwood (12 miles north-west), Locks Heath (15 miles north-east) and Warsash (14 miles north-east).
Nearby you’ll also find St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery (0.9 miles north-east) and Yarmouth Castle (3.9 miles south-east). Not far away are Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes Nature Reserve.
- Schools near Pennington include Pennington Infant School (less than half a mile north)
- Pubs nearby include White Hart Inn (under half a mile north-east)
- 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