Isle of Wight · England
Paella Catering for Afton events
Hot, generous and cooked in front of everyone: live paella catering, cooked fresh in giant pans at your event in Afton and the surrounding area.
- Garden get-togethers
- Retirement and leaving parties
- Community events and fairs
Planning an event in Afton?
Paella catering in Afton, cooked live
A couple of different pans covers everyone: meat, seafood and vegetarian or vegan paellas. Each is cooked separately, so diets are easy to manage. Popular choices include vegetable paella, black rice and paella Valenciana, and typical bookings are for christenings and family gatherings and garden get-togethers.
For a rural spot like Afton, the countryside is part of the appeal: a paella cooking in a garden or field feels right at home. Let us know about access and ground conditions. Every guest is catered for, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal included, each in a separate pan and clearly labelled.
- Area
- Afton (PO40)
- County
- Isle of Wight
- Diets
- Gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, halal
- Add-ons
- Tapas, churros, sangria, crockery
- Quotes
- Contact us for a quote
- Updated
- 23 October 2026
The menu, dish by dish
Seafood paella
Seafood paella starts with a good fish and shellfish stock. Shellfish goes in towards the end so it stays tender.
Paella Valenciana
In Valencia, the recipe is fiercely debated. The traditional pan has chicken, flat green beans and butter beans.
What else we do in Afton
Afton questions
What about events near the coast?
Yes, as long as we can shelter from the wind. Wind is the main issue on the coast, so we plan shelter.
Do you come out to small places like Afton?
No, we cook in small places too. Let us know about access and parking.
Who clears up?
We pack down our cooking area after service. Waiting staff can clear tables if you book them.
What equipment do you bring?
Pans, burners and ingredients all come with us. You just need a suitable spot and access.
Can you feed a lot of people?
Yes. Large pans and fast service from the pan make it well suited to crowds.
Do you offer halal options?
Yes. Halal paella is cooked with halal chicken and no pork or alcohol, in its own pan.
Do you do desserts?
Yes. Spanish desserts such as churros or crema catalana.
Can you cater for children?
Yes. A simple chicken paella is generally popular with children. Tell us how many are coming.
Perfect for your event in Afton
Live paella feeds a crowd quickly and suits most diets, which is why it works for so many occasions. It gives people something to gather round, too.
Almost any gathering can work with live paella. In Afton, people book us for occasions like:
- Naming days and family parties
- Milestone birthday parties
- Festivals, fairs and school events
- Anniversary celebrations
School fairs and fundraisers, for a school such as All Saints Church of England Primary School, can book us as a food stall.
Questions to ask before you book
- The deadline for final numbers
- Any travel, parking or access charges
- Plates, cutlery and napkins, or disposables
- What the price includes, item by item
Should I cook it myself?
Doing it yourself saves money, but the host ends up stuck at the stove. With live paella catering, you get the theatre without the work.
Not sure whether to cook yourself or book a caterer? Consider your numbers, your guests’ diets and your own time. We’re happy to give you a quote to compare.
Live paella or other catering?
With a barbecue, food comes in waves. Paella is cooked as one big dish and served together. Travel, parking and access can affect the price, so it helps to tell us about your venue. The full price is confirmed before you book.
Why Afton hosts choose us
- Cooking your guests will gather round to watch
- Hot food served quickly from the pan
- Sangria and bar staff available
- Everything cooked fresh at your event
Take a look at How we price And The cost guide.
Diets, allergies and planning
We cater for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal guests. To make it work smoothly:
- Pick a mix of paellas to cover every diet
- Send allergies to us in writing
- Ask about diets and allergies on your invitation or RSVP
- Let us know if anyone has coeliac disease
Paella is best eaten as soon as it is ready, so we plan service for when guests are ready to eat.
Sangria and bar staff can be added to serve drinks you provide.
What paella catering costs
The price comes down to a few factors:
- Your choice of paellas
- Guest numbers
- How many courses
- The length of service
The cost per head generally falls as numbers rise, because the cooking set-up is similar for different sizes of event. Give us your numbers and we will quote.
Details that help
To check availability and price, we need:
- What the venue already provides
- The date and time of the event
- The address or venue name
- Roughly how many adults and children
Most quotes start with a few simple details: date, location, guest numbers and diets. To send them, send us your details through our quote form.
Afton: venues, travel and local tips
Afton is about 6 miles south of Lymington, in the Isle of Wight. Wherever your event is in the PO40 area, we can cook for your guests. Afton is one of 125 places in the Isle of Wight where we cook. You can also see our page for Southampton, about 18 miles away.
If you are celebrating after a service at a church like St. Agnes' Church, live paella at a garden or venue nearby works well. Nearby historic houses include Mottistone Manor (3.9 miles south-east). Historic venues frequently limit cooking, so ask early if you’re booking one. Afton is within about 2 miles of the sea, so a seafood pan is a popular choice. Sea breezes can be strong, so we plan a sheltered cooking spot.
Paella catering in PO40 is planned around your venue and timings. Your event could be at a home on Bay Road, Afton Road and Manor Road. Other places close to Afton for paella catering include Afton Park (1 mile east), Easton (1 mile west), Freshwater (1 mile north-west), Norton Green (1 mile north) and Colwell (1 mile north-west). Within a short drive, we also cover Newport (9 miles east), Ryde (15 miles east), Cowes (10 miles north-east), Sandown (15 miles east), Shanklin (15 miles east) and Ventnor (14 miles south-east). Remote venues take a little more planning, so ask early about your event.
Other landmarks nearby include Medina (1.5 miles west) and Yarmouth Castle (2.2 miles north). Open spaces near Afton include Afton Down and Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes Nature Reserve.
- Local pubs include The Red Lion pub (0.7 miles north)
How the day works
It is a relaxed, well-organised set-up. Arrival and serving times are agreed beforehand, set up the pans and burners, and get on with cooking and serving. In Afton, the sun sets at about 9:20pm in late June and about 7:10pm in late September, so summer evening events are generally served in daylight. For winter events, when it is dark by about 4:05pm, we need lighting at the cooking spot.
- Start with the date, the place and the numbers.
- Expect a menu idea and a clear, itemised price.
- A week or so before, we confirm the plan.
- We set up, cook from scratch and keep an eye on your timings.
- Guests are served from the pan, and our area is cleared afterwards.
How to prepare
- Give us a contact for the day
- Have a gazebo or cover ready if rain is likely
- Have a level space ready for the pans
Ask for a quote
Every quote is put together for your event. Give us your date and numbers, and we’ll check availability at the same time.
Planning help
Planning the cooking area
Before the day, we will agree where we cook. A good spot ticks these boxes:
- A safe distance from anything that could catch
- Agreement from the venue or landowner to cook on site
- Good ventilation: outdoors, or an open-sided cover
Afton is a more remote spot, so tell us early and we will plan the journey.
If you’re unsure, send a picture of the space and we will say what we think before you book.
What we offer
- Paella Valenciana
- Chicken & chorizo paella
- Seafood paella
- Vegan paella
- Mixed paella
- Vegetable paella
- Black rice (arroz negro)
- 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