Hampshire · England
Paella Catering for Oakhanger events
Live paella catering, cooked fresh in giant pans at your event in Oakhanger: paella made from scratch in big, shallow pans, in full view of your guests, with tapas, desserts and drinks if you want them.
- Milestone birthday parties
- Garden parties and summer barbecues
- Weddings, from canapés to evening food
Book paella catering in Oakhanger
Paella catering in Oakhanger, cooked live
There is something generous about paella: giant pans, saffron colour and a toasted crust that everyone fights over. It makes the food an event in itself. We cook seafood paella, black rice and vegetable paella, and we are regularly asked to cater birthday celebrations and family celebrations and christenings.
In a hamlet or village like Oakhanger, your own garden or a neighbour’s field can make a wonderful venue. Gates, verges and soft ground are worth mentioning when you enquire. Every pan is cooked in front of your guests, so the food is hot, fresh and part of the occasion.
The menu, dish by dish
Vegetable and vegan paella
Seasonal vegetables on a rich sofrito base make a paella that stands on its own. For vegans, the stock is plant-based.
Seafood paella
Seafood paella starts with a good fish and shellfish stock. The shellfish is added late so it stays tender.
DIY paella versus live catering
If you do cook yourself, test the pan and burner together beforehand, have hot stock ready, and leave the rice alone once it is in. Keep a clear zone around the burner.
You can hire equipment and do it yourself, but you’ll still need to source ingredients, prep and cook for hours. A caterer handles all of that.
The process
We cook over gas burners in wide, shallow pans. We need a level, ventilated spot, which we agree with you beforehand. Planning an evening event in Oakhanger? Sunset is around 8:55pm in late May, 9:20pm at midsummer and 7:05pm in late September; once it’s dark, we need light to cook and serve by.
- Get in touch with the basics: when, where and how many.
- 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.
- We serve, then leave our area tidy.
Preparing for the day
- Let us know the timings for the day
- Arrange parking near the cooking spot
- Leave space around the cooking area
How to get a price
The quickest way to a quote is to use our quote form. Tell us about your event in Oakhanger, and we will put together a menu and price.
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Your questions about paella catering in Oakhanger
We are having a ceremony at St Mary Magdalene's Church: can you cater afterwards?
Yes, at a garden, marquee or venue nearby with a suitable spot to cook. Churches rarely have space for live cooking, so the meal is usually elsewhere. Send us the reception address.
Is Oakhanger close to London?
About 44 miles from central London, and we cover it as standard.
Can you do gluten-free paella?
We can, if you tell us in advance. The rice is gluten-free, but stocks and chorizo can contain gluten, so we cook a gluten-free paella separately.
Do you come to Oakhanger?
Yes. We cover London and the South East, including Oakhanger and the rest of Hampshire. For a quote, use our quote form.
Which areas do you serve?
London and South East England: Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight, including Oakhanger.
Can you supply plates?
If you need them, yes. Crockery, cutlery and napkins, or good-quality disposables are available.
Can you cater for vegetarians and vegans?
Yes. Vegetarian and vegan paellas are cooked in separate pans, alongside the meat and seafood pans.
How does live paella catering work?
We bring everything needed to cook on site, cook while everyone watches, and serve at the time you want.
Why live cooking beats a buffet
Compared with a hog roast or barbecue, live paella is easier for vegetarian, vegan and halal guests, thanks to separate pans. It’s served quickly from the pan, so queues move. Comparing caterers? Look at what each quote includes: staff, crockery, bread and salads, travel and VAT. We itemise ours.
Why Oakhanger hosts choose us
- Everything cooked fresh at your event
- Sangria and bar staff available
- Served hot, straight from the pan
- No hidden extras in your quote
Prices and what affects them
Every event is priced individually, based on a few main things:
- The paellas you choose
- How long we’re needed on site
- Waiting and bar staff
- Distance and access to the venue
Tapas, desserts, sangria, staff and crockery are optional extras, so you can choose exactly what you need.
Details that help
These details help us quote quickly:
- The courses you’d like
- A picture of the cooking space, if it is a garden or field
- The address or venue name
- Roughly how many adults and children
Planning paella catering in Oakhanger? Tell us what you have in mind and we will come back with ideas and a quote. Just send us your details through our quote form.
Working with your venue
Many venues have rules for outside caterers: cooking areas, access times and documents. Tell us what your venue needs and we’ll work to it.
Organising a club, school or community event in Oakhanger? Live paella feeds a crowd quickly and suits most diets. Give us the details and we will suggest a plan.
Planning live paella in Oakhanger
Oakhanger is about 4 miles south-east of Alton, in Hampshire. We bring paella catering to homes, gardens and venues in Oakhanger and nearby villages. We cater in all 683 towns and villages in Hampshire. Our nearest city page is Guildford, about 17 miles away.
If you’re celebrating after a service at a church like St Mary Magdalene's Church, live paella at a garden or venue nearby works well. If you’re organising a summer fair for a school like Mill Chase Academy, a paella stall is a crowd-pleaser. Oakhanger is within about 8 miles of the Surrey Hills National Landscape, and country venues and gardens there suit live paella perfectly. Check your venue’s rules on vehicles and cooking.
Wherever your event is in GU35, we can bring paella catering to you. Close by, we cover events in Hartley Mauditt (2 miles west), East Worldham (2 miles north-west), Wyck (3 miles north), Upper Farringdon (3 miles west) and Neatham (4 miles north-west). Larger places within reach include Basingstoke (13 miles north-west), Farnborough (14 miles north-east), Fleet (11 miles north), Horndean (15 miles south), Aldershot (11 miles north-east) and Alton (4 miles north-west).
A little further out are The Romany Museum (2.1 miles south-west) and Chase Community Hospital (1.9 miles east). Open spaces near Oakhanger include Selborne Hill and Deadwater Valley.
Where we can cook in Oakhanger
Safety and good cooking both depend on the spot we use. We look for:
- Agreement from the venue or landowner to cook on site
- Parking close enough to carry equipment
- Flat, firm ground for the cooking area
If you’re unsure, send a photo of the space and we will say what we think before booking.
What we offer
- Mixed paella
- Seafood paella
- Chicken & chorizo paella
- Paella Valenciana
- Black rice (arroz negro)
- Vegan paella
- Vegetable paella
Towns and villages near Oakhanger
What else we do in Oakhanger
Occasions we cook for in Oakhanger
Few dishes cope with mixed diets like paella, because each version is cooked in its own pan. Everyone gets the same kind of meal.
We’re booked for all kinds of occasions in Oakhanger and nearby. Popular bookings include:
- Big birthdays
- Festivals, fairs and school events
- Retirement and leaving parties
- Engagement and anniversary parties
For guests coming by train, the nearest station is Alton station, about 3.8 miles north-west.
Before you book anyone
- Exactly what’s included in the price
- How bad weather is handled
- Travel and parking costs
- When final numbers are due
- 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