Hampshire · England
Paella Catering in Warsash
Bring the theatre of live paella to your event in Warsash. Everything is cooked fresh on the day, and serve it straight from the pan.
- Family celebrations and christenings
- Engagement and anniversary parties
- Garden parties and summer barbecues
Planning an event in Warsash?
About our paella catering in Warsash
Almost any venue with a level, ventilated spot will do: gardens, marquees, barns, courtyards and festival fields in and around Warsash. Popular choices include chicken and chorizo paella, mixed paella and paella Valenciana, and we’re regularly asked to cater milestone birthday parties and christenings and family gatherings.
For a place the size of Warsash, 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, never made in advance and reheated, and served the moment it is ready.
Organising for someone else?
Hosting a party at home? Send us a picture of the garden and tell us about access, and we’ll let you know if live paella is a good fit.
If you’re planning an event on someone’s behalf, whether you’re a planner, an office manager or an event organiser, we’re happy to deal with you and the venue directly. It saves passing messages back and forth.
What’s in the pans
Paella Valenciana
Paella Valenciana is the original: chicken, beans and saffron, not seafood. It is a favourite with guests who do not eat fish.
Seafood paella
The secret is a well-made seafood stock. Shellfish goes in towards the end so it stays tender.
Cook it yourself or book a caterer?
You can hire equipment and do it yourself, but you will still need to source ingredients, prep and cook for hours. A caterer handles all of that.
Not sure whether to cook yourself or book a caterer? Consider your numbers, your guests’ diets and your own time. We are happy to give you a quote to compare.
How it works
It’s a relaxed, well-organised set-up. Arrival and serving times are agreed beforehand, set up the pans and burners, and get on with cooking and serving. Evenings in Warsash stay light until about 9:20pm in June, but by late September sunset is around 7:10pm; after dark, the cooking and serving areas need good lighting.
- Contact us 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.
- On the day we cook live, timed around your event.
- We serve, then leave our area tidy.
Getting ready for the day
- Choose a level spot for the cooking area
- Give us your final numbers and diets
- Tell us when you want to eat
Getting a price
A detailed enquiry gets a more accurate quote: the venue, the timings, the courses you’d like and any extras. To send your details, fill in our quote form.
Related guides
Live paella in Warsash: local details
Warsash is about 4 miles west of Fareham, in Hampshire. From the centre of Warsash to the outskirts, we offer the same service: paella cooked live, every diet catered for and a clear quote. Warsash is one of 683 towns and villages in Hampshire where we cook. We cook right across the region, from Warsash to Southampton (about 6 miles away).
Parks such as Hamble Common usually need the owner’s permission for cooking, so ask before you plan a party there. For guests coming by train, Swanwick station is about 1.6 miles away. The New Forest National Park is within about 8 miles of Warsash, a lovely setting for an outdoor event. Some venues in protected landscapes have rules about vehicles and cooking, so check with yours. Warsash is within about a mile of the sea, so a seafood pan is a popular choice. Coastal wind means we plan a sheltered spot.
Anywhere in SO31, we can cook for your guests, from busy streets to quiet lanes. Whether your event is on Church Road, Wild Rose Crescent and Willow Herb Close or a nearby road, we can cook there. For events just outside Warsash, we cover Sarisbury Green (1 mile north), Locks Heath (1 mile north-east), Hook (1 mile south-east), Hook Park Estate (1 mile south) and Abshot (1 mile south-east). Larger places within reach include Winchester (14 miles north), Gosport (7 miles south-east), Havant (13 miles east), Eastleigh (8 miles north), Fareham (4 miles east) and Horndean (13 miles east).
A little further out are Coldeast (0.9 miles north) and Bursledon Brickworks Industrial Museum (2.1 miles north). Not far away are Holly Hill Woodland Park.
- Local schools include Brookfield Community School and Language College (0.7 miles north-east)
- Local pubs include Jolly Farmer Public House (0.5 miles south-east)
Live paella or other catering?
If you want something different from the usual buffet or roast, live paella brings colour, aroma and a touch of Spain. Larger events usually cost less per head, because the cooking set-up is similar for different sizes of event. Give us your numbers and we’ll quote.
What you get with us
- No hidden extras in your quote
- Hot food served quickly from the pan
- Crockery and waiting staff if you need them
- Sangria, plus bar staff for your own drinks
Prices and what affects them
We’ll give you a clear, itemised quote. The main things that affect it are:
- Guest numbers
- Extra courses such as canapés, tapas and dessert
- Parking and unloading
- The length of service
Compared with a plated meal, live paella is often good value, as there’s no kitchen to hire and fewer staff to pay. Ask us for a quote.
Details that help
For a quote, it helps to have:
- The venue or postcode
- Roughly how many adults and children
- The date and time of the event
- Any dietary needs and allergies
Planning paella catering in Warsash? Tell us what you have in mind and we will come back with ideas and a quote. To contact us, fill in our quote form.
Places near Warsash
Other catering in Warsash
Diets, allergies and planning
Dietary needs are easy to plan for with a little notice. Our advice:
- Tell us how many children are coming
- Let us know if anyone has coeliac disease
- Ask for labels on each pan
- Pick a mix of paellas to cover every diet
Once the rice is in, it needs about 20 minutes, so we time it carefully. If timings shift, we adapt.
Bread, salad and lemon wedges make the meal go further and suit guests who are not big rice eaters.
Events we cater in Warsash
It suits relaxed, sociable events, where guests can mingle while it cooks before sitting down to eat.
If you are planning any of these, we can help:
- Leaving dos and retirements
- Family celebrations and christenings
- Engagement and anniversary parties
- Garden get-togethers
If you are organising a summer fair for a school like Hook-With-Warsash Church of England Academy, a paella stall is a crowd-pleaser.
Questions to ask before you book
- How each diet is kept separate
- The wet-weather plan
- VAT, if it applies
- Any travel, parking or access charges
Questions from Warsash
Which station should guests use for Warsash?
The closest is Swanwick station, roughly 1.6 miles away.
Could we have live paella in Hamble Common?
Only if the landowner, typically the council, allows it. Ask them first, and we’ll send any information they need.
Do you cook inside?
Only in a suitable, well-ventilated area with the venue’s permission. Courtyards, doorways and terraces frequently work.
What is live paella catering?
We cook from scratch at your venue in big pans, in front of your guests, and serve straight from the pan.
Do you cater for coeliacs?
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.
Which paellas suit our guests?
It depends on your guests. A chicken or mixed paella is usually the most popular, alongside seafood and vegetable or vegan pans.
How long do you need on site?
We arrive well before serving to set up and start the stock. Once the rice goes in, it takes about 20 minutes, timed around your event.
Do you clear up afterwards?
We take our equipment and leave the cooking area tidy. Table clearing is available with waiting staff.
- 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