Kent · England
Live paella catering in Thurnham, Kent
Treat your guests to live paella at your event in Thurnham. We cook from scratch on site, then served hot from the pan.
- Retirement and leaving parties
- Festivals, fairs and school events
- Wedding breakfasts and evening food
Paella catering for Thurnham events
About the dishes
Vegetable and vegan paella
The vegetable pan is a dish in its own right: artichokes, beans, peppers and saffron, cooked in its own pan.
Seafood paella
A rich seafood stock with prawns, mussels and squid, finished with lemon wedges. It’s normally the most photographed pan.
Paella catering in Thurnham, made fresh on the day
You can keep it simple or build a full menu: just paella, or paella with tapas, desserts and drinks. We’ll suggest what suits your event. On the menu are seafood paella, chicken and chorizo paella and vegan paella, and typical bookings are for community events and fairs and milestone birthday parties.
Somewhere like Thurnham, a field or garden is frequently the perfect setting. Mention gates and soft ground when you contact us. You can add tapas, desserts, sangria, bar staff and waiting staff, so one booking can cover the whole menu.
DIY paella versus live catering
You can hire equipment and do it yourself, but there’s shopping, prep and hours of cooking. We take care of all of it.
Doing it yourself saves money, but the host ends up stuck at the stove. With live paella catering, you get the theatre without the work.
Towns and villages near Thurnham
Other catering in Thurnham
Organising for someone else?
If you’re booking for a business, tell us how you’d like to handle the booking and payment, and we’ll talk you through the process. We’re happy to liaise with facilities on access and timings.
Events in public spaces, like parks, generally need permission. We’ll provide any information the landowner or council asks for.
What happens on the day
We work to your timings. If speeches run late or the photos take longer, we adjust the cooking so it’s still served fresh. In Thurnham, the sun sets at about 9:15pm in late June and about 7:00pm in late September, so summer evening events are normally served in daylight. For winter events, when it’s dark by about 3:50pm, we need lighting at the cooking spot.
- Start with the date, the place and the numbers.
- Expect a menu idea and a clear, itemised price.
- Closer to the day, we confirm timings and the cooking spot.
- On the day we cook live, timed around your event.
- Guests are served from the pan, and our area is cleared afterwards.
Getting ready for the day
- Send us final numbers and dietary needs in good time
- Name one person we can ask on the day
- Share the running order, including any speeches
Get a quote
It is easy to get a price: tell us the date, place, numbers and any dietary needs. We’ll come back with a clear quote.
Planning help
Live paella or other catering?
With a barbecue, food comes in waves. Paella is ready all at once, so everyone eats together. There’s no one-size-fits-all price for live paella. A garden party lunch and a full wedding menu are very different jobs. We itemise everything in your quote.
Why choose Love Paella in Thurnham
- Served hot, straight from the pan
- Food that becomes part of the entertainment
- No hidden extras in your quote
- Everything cooked fresh at your event
Read How we price And Our guide to catering costs.
How we price paella catering
There is nothing hidden: the price is based on:
- How many guests are eating
- How many staff you need
- Timings and hours
- Travel, parking and access
Compared with a plated meal, live paella is frequently good value, because it needs no kitchen and fewer staff. Ask us for a quote.
Getting an accurate quote
These details help us quote quickly:
- Your date and when you want to eat
- A picture of where we’d cook
- The courses you’d like
- The address or venue name
Every quote is put together for your event. Give us your date and numbers, and we will confirm whether we’re available that day.
Where we can cook in Thurnham
Every venue is different, so we will ask about yours when you get in touch. In general, we need:
- Good ventilation: outdoors, or an open-sided cover
- The venue’s permission for live cooking
- Somewhere close to park and unload
If you are unsure, send a photo of the space and we’ll say what we think.
On the menu in Thurnham
- Vegan paella
- Vegetable paella
- Chicken & chorizo paella
- Paella Valenciana
- Seafood paella
- Black rice (arroz negro)
- Mixed paella
Thurnham: venues, travel and local tips
Thurnham is about 3 miles north-east of Maidstone, in Kent. For an event in Thurnham, we cater in back gardens, halls with outdoor space, barns, marquees and offices in and around Thurnham. Thurnham is one of 922 places in Kent where we cook. We cook right across the region, from Thurnham to Canterbury (about 21 miles away).
For guests coming by train, the nearest station is Bearsted station, about 1.1 miles south-west. If you’re celebrating after a service at a church like St Mary the Virgin Church, live paella at a garden or venue nearby works well. The Kent Downs National Landscape is within about 3 miles of Thurnham, 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.
Paella catering in ME14 is planned around your venue and timings. Your event could be at a home on Thurnham Lane, Aldington Lane and Pilgrims Way. Nearby, we also cater events in Detling (1 mile north-west), Bearsted (1 mile south-west), Weavering (2 miles south-west), Grove Green (2 miles west) and Harbourland (2 miles west). We also cook in nearby towns such as Maidstone (3 miles south-west), Sittingbourne (7 miles north-east), Gravesend (13 miles north-west), Tonbridge (15 miles south-west), Faversham (13 miles east) and Northfleet (14 miles north-west).
Nearby you will also find Allington Castle (3.3 miles west) and KIMS hospital (1.4 miles west). Green spaces nearby include Detling Hill.
- Nearby, you will find Black Horse Public House (less than half a mile north-east)
Occasions we cook for in Thurnham
There’s no kitchen needed, so it works in gardens, fields and marquees where other catering struggles.
These are some of the occasions we cater in Thurnham and Kent:
- Retirement celebrations
- Anniversaries and engagement parties
- Christenings and family gatherings
- Office lunches and staff parties
School fairs and fundraisers, for a school such as Valley Park School, can book us as a food stall.
Questions to ask before you book
- The deposit and payment dates
- Whether VAT is included
- Allergen information for each dish
- How long the team stays
FAQs for Thurnham
Can you cook in White Horse Wood?
Only with permission from the park’s owner, generally the council. Check with them, and we’ll provide our paperwork.
We are having a ceremony at St Mary the Virgin Church: can you cater afterwards?
Yes, at a nearby garden, marquee or hall where we can cook. Live cooking generally happens at the reception venue, not the church. Tell us where the reception will be.
Do you bring everything you need?
We bring the pans, burners and ingredients. You provide a suitable spot and access.
Where do you cater?
London and the South East: Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Berkshire, Bucks, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight, including Thurnham.
How far ahead should we book?
Early, particularly for summer Saturdays. Even if it is short notice, it is worth asking.
Is halal food available?
Yes. Halal paella is cooked with halal chicken and no pork or alcohol, in its own pan.
Do you take everything away?
We clear our cooking area away when service is finished. Waiting staff can clear tables if you book them.
What happens with live paella?
We bring everything needed to cook on site, cook in front of your guests, and serve when you are ready to eat.
- 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