Kent · England
Live paella catering in St Mary's Bay, Kent
Cooked live, served hot and made to share: live paella catering, cooked fresh in giant pans at your event in St Mary's Bay and the surrounding area.
- Anniversaries and engagement parties
- Christenings and family gatherings
- Wedding breakfasts and evening food
Planning an event in St Mary's Bay?
Paella catering for your event in St Mary's Bay
Watching it cook is part of the experience. Guests gather round as the sofrito sizzles and the saffron colours the rice, and the aroma does the rest. Typical bookings include birthday celebrations and office lunches and staff parties, serving vegetable paella, chicken and chorizo paella and paella Valenciana.
For a place the size of St Mary's Bay, your own garden is often the best venue: no hire fees, and live paella feeds everyone without anyone stuck in the kitchen. Let us know about access to the house. Everything is cooked from scratch at your event, not reheated, and served as soon as it is ready.
DIY paella versus live catering
For a small group, cooking yourself can work well. For big numbers or lots of diets, a caterer makes life easier, and keeps vegetarian and allergy-safe pans separate.
Cooking it yourself? Test your pan and burner first, keep the stock hot, and leave the rice alone once it is in. Keep a clear zone around the burner.
Step by step
A typical event goes like this: we set up the pans and start the sofrito, the rice cooks in front of your guests, and it is served hot from the pan when you are ready to eat. In St Mary's Bay, the sun sets at about 9:15pm in late June and about 7:00pm in late September, so summer evening service is normally in daylight. In December it is dark by about 3:50pm, so winter events need lighting where we cook.
- 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.
- Guests are served from the pan, and our area is cleared afterwards.
Preparing for the day
- Name one person we can ask on the day
- Leave space around the cooking area
- Get the venue’s permission for cooking
Getting a price
The quickest way to a quote is to fill in our quote form. Give us the details of your event, and we’ll put together a menu and price.
Planning help
Where we can cook in St Mary's Bay
Every venue is different, so we ask about the space before we confirm. Generally, we look for:
- Access for unloading near the cooking spot
- Flat, firm ground for the cooking area
- Confirmation that open cooking is allowed
Not sure about your space? Send us a picture and we will tell you honestly.
On the menu in St Mary's Bay
- Paella Valenciana
- Mixed paella
- Black rice (arroz negro)
- Vegetable paella
- Vegan paella
- Seafood paella
- Chicken & chorizo paella
A closer look at the menu
Paella Valenciana
The original paella from Valencia is a countryside dish of chicken and vegetables, rather than seafood. It’s often the most popular pan at an event.
Mixed paella
A mix of chicken and seafood, and a popular all-rounder.
Dietary needs and planning tips
Good planning keeps every guest safe and happy. Try these:
- Add a dietary question to your invitations
- Request clear labels at the serving table
- Choose two or three paellas so every guest has a choice
- Mention any other courses or food
Paella is at its best straight from the pan, so we plan service for when guests are ready to eat.
Crockery, cutlery and waiting staff are available if your venue doesn’t provide them.
St Mary's Bay questions
Can you cater a reception after a service at All Saints?
Yes, at a garden, marquee or venue nearby with a suitable spot to cook. Live cooking normally happens at the reception venue, not the church. Tell us where the reception will be.
Can you cook in Romney Warren Country Park?
Only with permission from the park’s owner, normally the council. Ask them first, and we’ll send any information they need.
What do you need at the venue?
Level ground for the burners, pans and a table, outdoors or in a marquee or well-ventilated area, and the venue’s permission for live cooking.
Is paella enough as a main?
Yes. Paella with bread and salad makes a full main course.
Do you cook inside?
Indoors only where ventilation and the venue allow it. Most events have us cooking outside or in a doorway or courtyard.
Do you provide drinks?
We can make sangria, and we can staff a bar with your drinks.
When do you arrive?
That depends on your menu and numbers. We’ll agree arrival, cooking and serving times with you.
How do you work out quantities?
We plan quantities from your guest numbers, timings and other courses, with a sensible margin. Accurate numbers help.
Places near St Mary's Bay
What else we do in St Mary's Bay
What affects the price in St Mary's Bay
Each event is quoted on its own, based on a few main things:
- Waiting and bar staff
- Plates, cutlery and glassware
- Chicken, vegetable or premium seafood
- How long we’re needed on site
Seafood and premium ingredients cost more than chicken or vegetable paellas, so the menu you choose affects the price. Tell us your budget and we will suggest a menu.
Details that help
To speed things up, tell us:
- Expected numbers
- Diets and allergies you know about
- Whether you want canapés, tapas or desserts
- The date and rough timings
We quote for each event separately, so the price fits what you actually want. For a quote, use our quote form.
St Mary's Bay: venues, travel and local tips
St Mary's Bay is about 6 miles south-west of Hythe, in Kent. We cater events at gardens, halls and venues around St Mary's Bay and nearby villages. St Mary's Bay is one of 922 towns and villages in Kent where we cook. You can also see our page for Canterbury, about 19 miles away.
Parks such as Romney Warren Country Park generally need the owner’s permission for cooking, so ask before you plan a party there. For a christening or wedding at a church such as All Saints, a paella lunch or reception nearby is an easy way to feed everyone.
Wherever your event is in TN29, we can bring paella catering to you, from busy streets to quiet lanes. Your event could be at a home on Maple Drive, Oak Drive and Beechwood Close or the roads around them. If your venue is just outside St Mary's Bay, we also cover St Mary in the Marsh (1 mile west), Burmarsh (3 miles north), Newchurch (3 miles north-west), Postling Green (5 miles north) and Bonnington (6 miles north). We also cook in nearby towns such as Ashford (10 miles north-west), Folkestone (10 miles north-east), Hythe (6 miles north-east), Hawkinge (11 miles north-east), Tenterden (13 miles west) and Cheriton (9 miles north-east).
Other landmarks nearby include Romney 'castle' (3.6 miles west).
Working with your venue
If you are planning an event on someone’s behalf, such as a wedding planner, an office manager or a festival organiser, we are happy to deal with you and the venue directly. It keeps things simple.
Throwing a party at home? Send a picture of the space and tell us about parking, and we’ll let you know if live paella is a good fit.
Is live paella right for your event?
Compared with a hog roast or barbecue, live paella is easier for vegetarian, vegan and halal guests, because each paella has its own pan. It is served quickly from the pan, so queues move. Extras such as tapas, desserts, sangria, staff and crockery are priced separately, so you only pay for what you want.
What you get with us
- Sangria, plus bar staff for your own drinks
- A clear, itemised quote
- Food that becomes part of the entertainment
- Everything cooked fresh at your event
See Our pricing And The cost guide.
- 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