Kent · England
Live paella catering in Bonnington, Kent
Looking for paella catering in Bonnington? We arrive with the pans, burners and fresh ingredients and cook in front of your guests.
- Staff parties and work lunches
- Community events and fairs
- Garden parties and summer barbecues
Paella catering in Bonnington
Catering for every guest
Dietary needs are easy to plan for with a little notice. Our advice:
- Put allergy details in writing
- Count adults and children separately
- Plan seating for most guests: paella is easiest eaten sitting down
- Let us know if anyone has coeliac disease
Paella is at its best straight from the pan, so we plan service for when guests are ready to eat.
Bread, salad and lemon wedges make the meal go further and suit guests who are not big rice eaters.
Paella catering in Bonnington, cooked live
Everything is cooked from scratch on site, beginning with a sofrito of onion, garlic, peppers and tomato, then the stock, saffron and rice. We’re often asked to cater weddings, from canapés to evening food and naming days and family parties, with seafood paella, paella Valenciana and vegan paella.
For a rural spot like Bonnington, 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. We cater for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal guests, each in a separate pan.
Can I cook paella for a crowd myself?
You can cook paella for a crowd yourself, but it takes practice. Large pans need the right burners, and getting the rice right for dozens of people takes experience. Read how to cook paella for a crowd.
Plenty of people try cooking paella for their own party. Common mistakes are mismatched pans and burners, overfilling and stirring. If you’d rather enjoy the party, let us cook.
What’s in the pans
Paella Valenciana
Valencians take their paella seriously. The classic version is chicken, green beans and butter beans with saffron.
Black rice
Black rice looks dramatic and tastes of the sea, and is popular with adventurous guests.
The process
Service is quick: we serve straight from the pan, so even a long queue moves. When service is finished, we pack down. Evenings in Bonnington stay light until about 9:15pm in June, but by late September sunset is around 7:00pm; once it is dark, we need light to cook and serve by.
- You tell us the date, venue, guest numbers and any dietary needs.
- We suggest a menu and confirm a quote, including what’s included.
- On the day we arrive in good time, set up and start the stock.
- Your guests watch the paella cook, with any tapas served first.
- We serve from the pan, then clear our cooking area away.
Preparing for the day
- Leave space around the cooking area
- Confirm numbers and diets before the day
- Give us a contact for the day
How to get a price
To get a price, send us your details through our quote form. Give us the details of your event, and we will put together a menu and price.
Read more
Prices and what affects them
The price comes down to a few factors:
- Guest numbers
- Your choice of paellas
- Crockery and cutlery, or disposables
- How many courses
If you have a budget in mind, tell us, and we’ll suggest a menu to match. Even a simple menu can be a feast.
What we need to know
For a quote, it helps to have:
- Whether the venue has crockery or staff
- The date and time of the event
- The address or venue name
- A picture of the space, if you can
Tell us your date, venue or postcode and roughly how many guests, along with any dietary needs, and you will get a menu idea and a price. Just fill in our quote form.
Bonnington: venues, travel and local tips
Bonnington is about 5 miles south-east of Ashford, in Kent. We cater events at gardens, halls and venues around Bonnington and the surrounding area. We cook in 922 places across Kent. Our events stretch from Bonnington to Canterbury (15 miles away).
For guests coming by train, Ham Street station is about 3.6 miles away. If you’re celebrating after a service at a church like Church of St Rumwold, live paella at a garden or venue nearby works well. The Kent Downs National Landscape is within about 7 miles of Bonnington. Some venues in protected landscapes have rules about vehicles and cooking, so check with yours.
Anywhere in TN25, we can cook for your guests. Streets in the area include Cherry Orchard Lane and Bourne Road, and we can cook for an event on any of them. If your venue is just outside Bonnington, we also cover Aldington (1 mile north-east), Clap Hill (1 mile north-east), Aldington Frith (1 mile north-west), Stonestreet Green (1 mile north-east) and Postling Green (1 mile east). We also cook in nearby towns such as Ashford (5 miles north-west), Canterbury (15 miles north-east), Folkestone (10 miles east), Hythe (7 miles east), Hawkinge (10 miles east) and Wincheap (14 miles north-east).
A little further out are William Harvey Hospital (3.8 miles north) and Lympne Castle (4.2 miles east). The countryside around Bonnington includes Hatch Park.
- Local pubs include Walnut Tree Inn (0.7 miles north-east)
Who books paella catering in Bonnington?
Live paella feeds a crowd quickly and suits most diets, so it suits all kinds of occasions. It gives people something to gather round, too.
In Bonnington and nearby, we cater all sorts of events. Some of the most common are:
- Garden get-togethers
- Wedding breakfasts and evening food
- Staff parties and work lunches
- Community events and fairs
Nearby historic houses include Westenhanger Castle (4.4 miles east). Historic venues frequently limit cooking, so ask early if you are booking one.
Questions to ask before you book
- How dietary needs and allergies are handled
- What the caterer needs from your venue
- How many staff are coming, and for how long
- Whether VAT is included
Questions from Bonnington
How far is Bonnington from London?
Roughly 53 miles from the centre of London.
Do you come out to small places like Bonnington?
Not at all. We cater in villages and hamlets as well as towns. Let us know about access and parking.
Do you provide drinks?
Yes, sangria. For other drinks, we can provide bar staff to serve what you buy.
Can you cook in the rain?
A covered, ventilated spot keeps us cooking in the rain. We will make a plan B with you.
How do you work out quantities?
Quantities depend on numbers, timing and courses, with a sensible margin. Accurate numbers help.
How far ahead should we book?
As early as you can, especially for summer weekends. Ask about your date even if it is soon.
Can you serve tapas as well?
Yes, and it’s a popular combination. Tapas go out first, then the paella.
Which areas do you serve?
We cater across London and the South East, including Kent. See all areas.
Paella compared with other options
With a barbecue, food comes in waves. Paella is ready all at once, so everyone eats together. Comparing caterers? Look at what each quote includes: staff, crockery, bread and salads, travel and VAT. Our quotes spell it all out.
Why us?
- Live cooking, not reheated food
- Drinks service on request
- Waiting staff and crockery on request
- Cooking your guests will gather round to watch
Take a look at Our pricing Or Our guide to catering costs.
Places near Bonnington
What else we do in Bonnington
For event organisers in Bonnington
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 are organising for someone else, whether you are a planner, an office manager or an event organiser, we’re happy to deal with you and the venue directly. It keeps things simple.
- 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