Kent · England
Paella Catering in Shipbourne
Something for every guest: meat, seafood, vegetarian and vegan pans side by side. Live paella catering, cooked fresh in giant pans at your event in Shipbourne.
- Staff parties and work lunches
- Christenings and family gatherings
- Milestone birthday parties
Book paella catering in Shipbourne
Space, weather and the venue
No two venues are the same, so we’ll ask about yours before we confirm. In general, we need:
- Clearance from fences, hedges, branches and anything flammable
- Outdoor space or a ventilated gazebo
- Access for unloading near the cooking spot
If you’re unsure, send a picture of the space and we will say what we think.
Popular choices
- Seafood paella
- Mixed paella
- Black rice (arroz negro)
- Paella Valenciana
- Vegan paella
- Vegetable paella
- Chicken & chorizo paella
Paella catering in Shipbourne, made fresh on the day
Live paella catering means we bring the pans, burners and fresh ingredients to your event and cook in front of your guests. Once it is ready, we serve it hot from the pan. Popular choices include black rice, paella Valenciana and seafood paella, and we’re regularly asked to cater weddings and evening receptions and retirement celebrations.
Somewhere as small as Shipbourne, a garden or field is often the venue. Country lanes and long drives are no problem if we know about them, and a firm spot near where we park makes set-up easier. We bring everything we need to cook, and pack down our cooking area when service is finished.
Perfect for your event in Shipbourne
It’s ideal for relaxed, sociable occasions, where guests can mingle while it cooks before sitting down to eat.
Almost any gathering can work with live paella. In Shipbourne, people book us for events such as:
- Retirement and leaving parties
- Staff parties and work lunches
- Engagement and anniversary parties
- Garden get-togethers
Historic houses near Shipbourne include Ightham Mote (1.1 miles north-west) and Old Soar Manor (1.9 miles north-east). If your event is at a historic house or estate, check its rules on caterers and cooking early.
What to look for in a quote
- Exactly what’s included in the price
- How long the team stays
- The deposit and payment dates
- How each diet is kept separate
Diets, allergies and planning
Most events have a mix of diets. To plan for them:
- Send allergies to us in writing
- Request clear labels at the serving table
- Flag any coeliac guests, not just gluten-free preferences
- Give us separate numbers for children
Once everyone is fed, we clear our cooking area.
Tapas or canapés make a good start while the paella cooks.
What affects the price in Shipbourne
We will give you a clear, itemised quote. What affects it most:
- Distance and access to the venue
- Your choice of paellas
- How many guests are eating
- How long we are needed on site
Larger events generally cost less per head, since the set-up is much the same either way. Give us your numbers and we’ll quote.
Getting an accurate quote
When you get in touch, it helps to tell us:
- The courses you’d like
- Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal and allergy numbers
- The venue or postcode
- Your date and when you want to eat
We need only a few details to quote: the date, where the event is, how many guests and any dietary needs. To send them, fill in our quote form.
About the dishes
Black rice
Arroz negro is coloured and flavoured with squid ink, and is normally served with alioli. It is a striking addition to a seafood menu.
Seafood paella
A rich seafood stock with prawns, mussels and squid, finished with lemon wedges. It’s the pan people photograph.
Towns and villages near Shipbourne
Also in Shipbourne
What happens on the day
Watching it cook is half the fun. Onion, garlic, peppers and tomato go in first, then the stock and saffron, then the rice, which cooks without stirring. In Shipbourne, the sun sets at about 9:20pm in late June and about 7:00pm in late September, so summer evening service is normally in daylight. For winter events, when it is dark by about 3:55pm, we need lighting at the cooking spot.
- Send us your date, numbers and venue.
- We plan the menu with you, including every diet.
- We arrive early to set up the burners and pans.
- The sofrito, stock and rice go in, and guests gather to watch.
- Service is straight from the pan, then we pack down.
Before we arrive
- Ensure the spot is clear of anything flammable
- Send us final numbers and dietary needs in good time
- Arrange parking near the cooking spot
How to get a price
Thinking about paella catering for your event in Shipbourne? Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll come back with ideas and a quote. Just use our quote form.
Planning help
Why live cooking beats a buffet
If you want something different from the usual buffet or roast, live paella adds colour, smell and theatre. Seafood and premium ingredients cost more than chicken or vegetable paellas, so your choice of paellas affects the total. Tell us your budget and we will suggest a menu.
What you get with us
- Add tapas, canapés and Spanish desserts
- We cover Shipbourne and the whole of Kent
- Crockery and waiting staff if you need them
- A quote that spells everything out
Take a look at How we price Or What paella catering costs.
Should I cook it myself?
DIY catering keeps costs down, but the host spends the party cooking. With live paella catering, you get the theatre without the work.
Plenty of people try cooking paella for their own party. Common mistakes are mismatched pans and burners, overfilling and stirring. If you’d rather be with your guests, we’ll do the cooking.
Catering an event in Shipbourne
Shipbourne is about 3 miles north of Tonbridge, in Kent. For an event in Shipbourne, we cater in back gardens, halls with outdoor space, barns, marquees and offices. Shipbourne is one of 922 towns and villages in Kent we cover. We cook right across the region, from Shipbourne to London (about 24 miles away).
School fairs and fundraisers, for a school such as Shipbourne School, can book us as a food stall. For guests coming by train, Borough Green & Wrotham station is about 3.3 miles away. The Kent Downs National Landscape is within about 8 miles of Shipbourne, and country venues and gardens there suit live paella perfectly. Some venues in protected landscapes have rules about vehicles and cooking, so check with yours.
For paella catering in TN11, we plan around your venue and timings. We can cater an event on streets such as Upper Green Road, Upper Green Lane and Back Lane. For events just outside Shipbourne, we cover Budds (1 mile west), Yopps Green (1 mile north), Sheet Hill (2 miles north), Ivy Hatch (2 miles north) and Coldharbour (2 miles south-west). Further out, we also cater in Maidstone (11 miles east), Dartford (14 miles north), Sevenoaks (5 miles north-west), Royal Tunbridge Wells (8 miles south), Gravesend (13 miles north) and Tonbridge (3 miles south).
A little further out are Ightham Court (3.3 miles north) and Hadlow Tower museum (2.8 miles south-east). The countryside around Shipbourne includes Barden Lake.
- Nearby schools include Hugh Christie Technology College (2.3 miles south)
- Pubs nearby include The Chaser Public House (less than half a mile west)
Shipbourne questions
Is Shipbourne 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.
Is Shipbourne close to London?
About 24 miles from central London, and well within our area.
What areas do you cover?
London and the South East: Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Berkshire, Bucks, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight, including Shipbourne.
Can you cook halal paella?
We can. Tell us how many guests need halal food, and we will cook a separate pan.
Do you bring everything you need?
Pans, burners and ingredients all come with us. You just need a suitable spot and access.
Can you serve drinks?
Sangria, yes. We can also supply bar staff for your own drinks.
Do you do starters?
Yes, and it’s a popular combination. Tapas go out first, then the paella.
Do you cover Shipbourne?
Yes. We cover London and the South East, and Shipbourne is within our area and the rest of Kent. To check your date, fill in our quote form.
- 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