Reading · England
Festival & event paella in Whitley Wood, Reading
Paella street food for festivals, fairs, markets and community events in Whitley Wood: paella cooked from scratch in huge pans, right in front of your guests.
- Sports clubs and race days
- Christmas and farmers’ markets
- Country shows
Festival paella catering near Whitley Wood
Should I cook it myself?
You can hire equipment and do it yourself, but there is shopping, prep and hours of cooking. We take care of all of it.
You can cook paella for a crowd yourself, but it takes practice. A big pan needs a burner that heats it evenly, and getting the rice right at scale is tricky. Our guide to cooking paella for a crowd explains how.
Festival paella catering for your event in Whitley Wood
We can trade as a stall or cook for crew, volunteers and VIP areas. Popular choices include churros, seafood paella and chicken and chorizo paella, and we’re regularly asked to cater village fêtes and summer fairs and charity and school events.
Events near Whitley Wood are often volunteer-run, so a self-sufficient trader makes life easier. You can add tapas, desserts, sangria, bar staff and waiting staff, so the whole menu comes from one caterer.
Dietary needs and planning tips
A little planning makes sure everyone can eat. Here’s how:
- Ask for allergen information at each stall
- Check how many portions traders can serve
- Agree waste arrangements with traders
- Give traders a single information pack
Allergen details are available at the stall.
Crew, volunteer and VIP catering.
What we need at the venue
Every venue is different, so we ask about the space before we confirm. In general, we need:
- A pitch big enough for the pans, burners and serving table
- Your arrangements for power, water and waste
- Firm, level ground
If in doubt, send us a picture of the spot and we will advise.
Popular choices
- Seafood paella
- Giant paella pans
- Chicken & chorizo paella
- Vegan paella
- Churros
- Tapas
Places near Whitley Wood
What else we do in Whitley Wood
Paella compared with other options
For crew catering, sandwiches are easy but uninspiring. A hot paella keeps crew going. There is no one-size-fits-all price for live paella. A simple paella lunch costs less than a wedding with canapés, three paellas and waiting staff. Your quote spells it all out.
What you get with us
- Waiting staff and crockery on request
- Every diet catered for, pan by pan
- Drinks service on request
- A clear, itemised quote
Occasions we cook for in Whitley Wood
Organisers book paella because it draws people into the food area.
Live paella suits almost any gathering. People in Whitley Wood book us for events such as:
- County and country shows
- Summer fairs and fêtes
- Open days and community events
- Charity and school events
For visitors coming by rail, Reading Green Park station is about 1.9 miles away.
Questions to ask before you book
- What happens if it rains
- When final numbers are due
- If the price includes VAT
- How many staff are coming, and for how long
Step by step
The paella is cooked in huge, shallow pans over gas burners. We need a level, ventilated spot, and we agree where that is before the day. Summer events in Whitley Wood have daylight until about 9:25pm at midsummer and about 7:05pm by late September, so evening trading generally finishes in daylight in high summer. For winter markets, dark by about 3:55pm, the pitch needs lighting.
- Tell us about the event and pitch.
- We send our menu, needs and paperwork.
- We arrive and set up at the agreed time.
- We cook in full view and serve all event.
- We pack down and tidy the pitch.
Preparing for the day
- Leave space around the cooking area
- Give us a contact for the day
- Have a level space ready for the pans
Ask for a quote
It’s easy to get a price: share your date, venue, numbers and diets. We’ll come back with a clear quote.
Related guides
FAQs for Whitley Wood
Can you cook in Pearman's Copse?
Only if the landowner, usually the council, allows it. Ask them first, and we will send any information they need.
Which station should guests use for Whitley Wood?
Reading Green Park station, about 1.9 miles north-west of the centre.
Can you cater for vegetarians and vegans?
Of course. Vegetarian and vegan paellas are cooked in separate pans.
Where do you cater?
We cover London and the South East, Reading included. See all areas.
How long does the paella take?
We get there in good time to set up. Once the rice goes in, it takes about 20 minutes, timed around your event.
Who clears up?
Our cooking area is packed away and left clean. Ask us about table clearing if you need it.
What documents can you send?
Share your trader requirements.
Do you do desserts?
We do. Churros, crema catalana and tarta de Santiago are popular choices.
For planners, venues and organisers
For big numbers, we plan pans and serving points to keep queues short, so guests are fed quickly. Let us know how long the food break is.
If you are planning an event on someone’s behalf, whether you’re a planner, an office manager or an event organiser, we will work directly with you and the venue. It saves passing messages back and forth.
Running an event in Whitley Wood
Whitley Wood is about 2 miles south-west of Earley, in Reading. Whether your event is in the middle of Whitley Wood or on the outskirts, we offer the same service: paella cooked live, every diet catered for and a clear quote. Whitley Wood is one of 34 places in Reading we cover.
Events in parks such as Pearman's Copse need permission from the council or landowner, and we will send any documents they ask for. School fairs, for a school like Geoffrey Field Infant School, are a natural fit for a paella stall.
Here we cover the RG2, RG7 and RG6 postcode area, and we can cater your event anywhere in it. Streets in the area include Tidman Road, Church Lane and Spencer Road, and we can cook for an event on any of them. Being close to the M4, Whitley Wood is easy for us to reach with everything for your event. Other places close to Whitley Wood for festival paella catering include Whitley (1 mile north), Great Lea Common (1 mile south-west), Shinfield (1 mile south-east), Three Mile Cross (1 mile south-west) and Ryeish Green (1 mile south). We also cook in nearby towns such as Caversham (4 miles north), Norcot (4 miles north-west), West Reading (3 miles north-west), Tilehurst Within (4 miles north-west), Arborfield Garrison (4 miles south-east) and Caversham Heights (4 miles north). As one of the bigger places in Reading, Whitley Wood has lots of places to hold an event.
Nearby you will also find Royal Berkshire Hospital (2.4 miles north) and The Oracle (2.6 miles north). Green spaces nearby include Sonning Hill and Longwater.
- Local schools include John Madejski Academy (0.6 miles north) and Crosfields School (0.7 miles north-east)
- Pubs nearby include The Six Bells pub (less than half a mile south-east)
- Parks and local facilities nearby include University of Reading library (1.8 miles north-east)
About the dishes
Seafood paella
Seafood paella is always popular.
Chicken & chorizo paella
Popular with families.
- 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