Kent · England
Live paella catering in Barnsole, Kent
We cook live paella catering, cooked fresh in giant pans at your event in Barnsole and nearby, with vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal options.
- Family celebrations and christenings
- Garden get-togethers
- Office lunches and staff parties
Paella catering in Barnsole
What affects the price in Barnsole
We’ll give you a clear, itemised quote. The main things that affect it are:
- How many guests are eating
- Waiting and bar staff
- The length of service
- Travel, parking and access
Comparing caterers? Look at what each quote includes: staff, crockery, bread and salads, travel and VAT. Our quotes spell it all out.
What to tell us
You don’t need everything decided to ask for a quote, but these help:
- Where the event is
- The date and time of the event
- A picture of the space, if you can
- Which courses you have in mind
The more you tell us, the more accurate the quote: venue, timings, courses and extras. When you’re ready, fill in our quote form.
Paella catering for your event in Barnsole
You can keep it simple or build a full menu: paella on its own, or with canapés, table tapas, desserts and sangria. We’ll suggest what suits your event. We cook vegetable paella, seafood paella and chicken and chorizo paella, and we’re regularly asked to cater garden get-togethers and office lunches and staff parties.
In a small place like Barnsole, events are usually in a garden, a field or a nearby hall. Tell us about narrow lanes or long drives and we’ll plan for them, and a firm spot near where we park makes set-up easier. You can add tapas, desserts, sangria, bar staff and waiting staff, so the whole menu comes from one caterer.
Space, weather and the venue
Live paella is cooked over gas burners in large pans, so the cooking area needs a little planning. These are the things we check:
- Level ground for the pans and burners
- Good ventilation: outdoors, or an open-sided cover
- Somewhere close to park and unload
If in doubt, send us a picture of the spot and we will advise before you book.
On the menu in Barnsole
- Mixed paella
- Chicken & chorizo paella
- Paella Valenciana
- Vegetable paella
- Seafood paella
- Black rice (arroz negro)
- Vegan paella
Can I cook paella for a crowd myself?
For a small group, cooking yourself can work well. For larger numbers, mixed diets or a wedding, a caterer takes the pressure off, and handles separate pans for each diet.
Some hosts like to cook themselves. Common mistakes are mismatched pans and burners, overfilling and stirring. If you’d rather enjoy the party, let us cook.
How it works
Your timings come first. If speeches run late or the photos take longer, we hold the paella at the right stage so it’s still served fresh. In Barnsole, the sun sets at about 9:15pm in late June and about 7:00pm in late September, so summer evening events are typically served in daylight. In December it is dark by about 3:50pm, so winter events need lighting where we cook.
- First, you send us your date, venue, numbers and diets.
- We put together a menu and a clear quote.
- On the day, we set up the burners and pans and get the stock going.
- Your guests watch the paella cook, with any tapas served first.
- It is served straight from the pan, and we pack down afterwards.
How to prepare
- Plan cover in case of rain
- Leave space around the cooking area
- Give us a contact for the day
Get a quote
Tell us your date, venue or postcode and roughly how many guests, plus any dietary needs, and you will get a menu idea and a price. To get started, fill in our quote form.
Read more
Diets, allergies and planning
We cater for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal guests. To make it work smoothly:
- Plan a meat, a seafood and a vegetable or vegan pan
- Ask for labels on each pan
- Confirm allergies by email
- Ask about diets and allergies on your invitation or RSVP
After service, we pack down our cooking area.
Add canapé tapas with the drinks or table tapas as a starter as the rice cooks.
The menu, dish by dish
Seafood paella
A rich seafood stock with prawns, mussels and squid, finished with lemon wedges. It’s usually the most photographed pan.
Black rice
Black rice gets its colour from squid ink, traditionally with alioli. It is a striking addition to a seafood menu.
Barnsole: your questions answered
We are having a ceremony at Church of St James: can you cater afterwards?
Yes, at a nearby garden, marquee or hall where we can cook. Churches rarely have space for live cooking, so the meal is typically elsewhere. Tell us where the reception will be.
Is Barnsole too small for live paella?
Not at all. We cater in villages and hamlets as well as towns. Tell us about lanes, gates and parking.
What about pudding?
Yes, Spanish desserts can be added. Let us know if you’d like one when you ask for a quote.
Do you have a kids’ option?
Children are welcome. Let us know numbers and ages, and we’ll plan a pan with them in mind.
Do you cater in Barnsole?
Yes, we do. We cook at events in Barnsole and across Kent. Tell us your date and we will check availability.
Can you cook in the rain?
We need a covered spot, like a gazebo or open-sided marquee. We will agree a wet-weather plan with you.
Can you do gluten-free paella?
We can cook a gluten-free paella in its own pan. Let us know about coeliac guests in advance so we can plan it carefully.
Where do you cater?
We cover London and the South East, Kent included. Find your area.
Events we cater in Barnsole
It needs no kitchen, so it works in gardens, fields and marquees where plated meals are hard.
We can help if you’re planning any of the following:
- Birthday celebrations
- Fairs, fêtes and festivals
- Naming days and family parties
- Garden parties and summer barbecues
For a christening or wedding at a church such as Church of St James, a paella lunch or reception nearby is an easy way to feed everyone.
Comparing caterers
- Any travel, parking or access charges
- When payment is due
- When final numbers are due
- How many staff are coming, and for how long
Also in Barnsole
Paella compared with other options
A plated meal needs a kitchen, more staff and usually costs more per head. Live paella needs only a level, ventilated spot and permission to cook, and gives guests something to watch. Seafood and premium ingredients cost more than chicken or vegetable paellas, so your choice of paellas affects the total. We will suggest options to suit your budget.
Why us?
- Sangria and bar staff available
- Separate pans for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal guests
- No hidden extras in your quote
- Plates, cutlery and waiting staff available
Live paella in Barnsole: local details
Barnsole is about 6 miles north-west of Deal, in Kent. Tell us where your event in Barnsole will be, and we will plan access and set-up. Barnsole is one of 922 places in Kent where we cook. You can also see our page for Canterbury, about 8 miles away.
Historic houses near Barnsole include Goodnestone Park (2 miles south-west). If your event is at a historic house or estate, check its rules on caterers and cooking early. For guests coming by train, the nearest station is Adisham station, about 3.1 miles south-west.
Here we cover the CT3 postcode area. We can cater an event on streets such as Mill Lane, Meadow Gardens and Mill Road. For events just outside Barnsole, we cover Staple (1 mile north-west), Flemings (1 mile east), Durlock (1 mile north), Hammill Park (1 mile south-east) and Twitham (1 mile west). Within a short drive, we also cover Canterbury (8 miles west), Margate (10 miles north-east), Dover (9 miles south), Folkestone (13 miles south), Ramsgate (8 miles north-east) and Broadstairs (10 miles north-east).
Well-known places in the area include White Mill (3.1 miles north-east). The countryside around Barnsole includes Monk's Wall nature reserve.
- Nearby, you will find The Black Pig Inn (under half a mile 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