Surrey · England
Festival Paella Catering in St John's
Paella for every guest: meat, seafood, vegetarian and vegan pans side by side. Paella street food for festivals, fairs, markets and community events in St John's.
- Seasonal markets
- Crew, volunteer and VIP catering
- School and charity events
Planning an event in St John's?
About our festival paella catering in St John's
One paella stall covers many diets: meat, seafood and vegan pans side by side. That simplifies your food line-up. Popular choices include churros, chicken and chorizo paella and giant-pan paella, and typical bookings are for community events and open days and school and charity events.
Summer fairs around St John's are often run by volunteers, so a self-sufficient trader makes life easier. We plan the timings around your day, whether that is speeches, a lunch break or a festival schedule.
For planners, venues and organisers
For repeat events, such as annual staff parties or seasonal fairs, let us know your dates early, so we can hold the date.
For big numbers, we plan pans and serving points to keep queues short, so everyone eats promptly. Let us know how long the food break is.
Should I cook it myself?
Cooking it yourself? Test your pan and burner first, have hot stock ready, and leave the rice alone once it’s in. And keep children and pets well away from the burner.
Plenty of people try cooking paella for their own party. Common mistakes are mismatched pans and burners, overfilling and stirring. If you’d rather be with your guests, we’ll do the cooking.
Live paella or other catering?
Most stalls cook to order. Paella is cooked in big batches and served from the pan, keeping queues short. Seafood and premium ingredients cost more than chicken or vegetable paellas, so your choice of paellas affects the total. We’ll suggest options to suit your budget.
Why us?
- Events in St John's and across Surrey
- Tapas, canapés and desserts if you want them
- Live cooking, not reheated food
- A clear, itemised quote
Read How we price And The cost guide.
Planning for every diet
Paella is one of the easiest dishes for mixed diets, because every paella has its own pan. A few tips:
- Check every diet is covered by the line-up
- Ask traders about packaging and waste
- Provide seating near the food
- Check allergen info is on display
We keep our pitch tidy and safe throughout the day.
Extra pans for busy periods.
The process
From set-up to serving, we look after the food, so you can enjoy your event. Any tapas or canapés are served first while the paella cooks. For an evening event in St John's, sunset is about 8:55pm in late May and 9:20pm in late June; after that, the pitch needs good lighting.
- First, we check the dates.
- We agree what we’ll serve and where.
- Burners and pans go up.
- The first pans are ready as visitors arrive.
- We serve, then pack down.
Preparing for the day
- Share the running order, including any speeches
- Give us your final numbers and diets
- Check the venue allows live cooking
Ask for a quote
Each quote is tailored to your event. Give us your date and numbers, and we’ll check availability at the same time.
Planning help
Events we cater in St John's
It covers several diets with one trader, which saves pitches.
We are booked for all kinds of occasions in St John's and nearby. Popular bookings include:
- Community events and open days
- Country shows
- School and charity events
- Village fêtes and summer fairs
Events in parks such as Brookwood Lye need permission from the council or landowner, and we’ll send any documents they ask for.
Comparing caterers
- Allergen information for each dish
- The deposit and payment dates
- A clear list of what’s included
- Whether crockery, cutlery and napkins are included
What affects the price in St John's
Live paella pricing is straightforward once we know the basics:
- Crockery and cutlery, or disposables
- Parking and unloading
- How long we’re needed on site
- The paellas you choose
The cost per head normally falls as numbers rise, since the set-up is much the same either way. Give us your numbers and we will quote.
What to tell us
When you contact us, it helps to tell us:
- A picture of where we’d cook
- Roughly how many adults and children
- What the venue already provides
- The date and time of the event
The quickest way to a quote is to send us your details through our quote form. Give us the details of your event, and we’ll suggest paellas and extras to suit.
The menu, dish by dish
Seafood paella
The seafood pan is a festival favourite.
Vegan paella
Vegans get a hot, filling dish.
Your questions about festival paella catering in St John's
How far is St John's from London?
Roughly 25 miles from the centre of London.
Could we have live paella in Brookwood Lye?
Only if the landowner, normally the council, allows it. Ask them first, and we will send any information they need.
Can you cook in the rain?
We need a covered spot, like a gazebo or open-sided marquee. We’ll agree a wet-weather plan with you.
When should we book?
Early, particularly for summer Saturdays. Ask about your date even if it is soon.
How long do you need on site?
We arrive well before serving to set up and start the stock. Once the rice goes in, it takes about 20 minutes, timed around your event.
Do you need water?
We’ll confirm our needs once we know the pitch details.
Can you trade at our festival or fair?
Send us the event details, dates and pitch information, and we’ll let you know if we are available.
Can you serve tapas as well?
Of course. Canapés with drinks or tapas for the tables, while the rice is cooking.
Places near St John's
More for events in St John's
St John's events: pitches and permissions
St John's is about 1 mile west of Woking, in Surrey. From the centre of St John's to the outskirts, we offer the same service: paella cooked live, every diet catered for and a clear quote. We cook in all 395 towns and villages across Surrey.
School fairs, for a school like The Winston Churchill School A Specialist Sports College, are a natural fit for a paella stall. For visitors coming by rail, Woking station is about 1.6 miles away.
This part of Surrey takes in GU21 and GU22, so your event can be anywhere in it. Your event could be at a home on Pond Road, Copse Road and Raglan Road. You’ll find St John's on the A324, so it’s easy for us to reach with the van and pans. Close by, we cover events in Goldsworth Park (1 mile north-east), Woking (1 mile east), Westfield (2 miles south-east), Horsell (2 miles north-east) and Mimbridge (2 miles north). Further out, we also cater in Guildford (5 miles south), Camberley (6 miles west), Epsom (14 miles east), Farnham (11 miles south-west), Ewell (15 miles east) and Egham (8 miles north).
Nearby you’ll also find Brookwood Hospital (1 mile west) and The Peacocks (1.6 miles east). The countryside around St John's includes Brookwood Lye.
- Schools near St John's include The Oaktree School (0.6 miles west) and Hoe Valley School (1.2 miles south-east)
- Local pubs include Royal Oak pub (1 mile north-west)
- 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