Kent · England
Tapas Catering in Chevening
From the first sizzle in the pan to the last crispy spoonful, Spanish tapas and canapé catering, on its own or alongside a paella makes the food a highlight of your event in Chevening.
- Cocktail parties
- Tapas with a paella main course
- Work receptions
Live tapas catering in Chevening
Tapas catering for your event in Chevening
Tapas suit drinks receptions, evening parties, office events and weddings. On the menu are tortilla española, albóndigas and patatas bravas, and we’re frequently booked for tapas and paella menus and engagement celebrations.
Near Chevening, tapas suit gardens, barns and marquees. Everything is cooked from scratch at your event, never made in advance and reheated, and served the moment it is ready.
FAQs for Chevening
Can you cater a reception after a service at Church of St Botolph?
Yes, at a garden, marquee or venue nearby with a suitable spot to cook. Live cooking generally happens at the reception venue, not the church. Send us the reception address.
What’s the nearest station to Chevening for guests?
Dunton Green station, about 1.7 miles east of the centre.
Are the tapas served hot?
Yes, hot dishes are finished at the venue.
Who clears up?
We take our equipment and leave the cooking area tidy. Table clearing is available with waiting staff.
Do you provide drinks?
We can make sangria, and we can staff a bar with your drinks.
Can you cook halal paella?
Yes, we do. We use halal chicken and leave out pork and alcohol, in a separate pan.
How many different paellas?
Two or three covers most guests. Tell us about your guests’ diets and we will suggest the mix.
Do you come to Chevening?
We do. We cook at events in Chevening and across Kent. Tell us your date and we’ll check availability.
Is live paella right for your event?
For food that gets people mingling, tapas work brilliantly. Access and travel can make a difference to the cost, so tell us about the venue when you ask for a quote. Everything is confirmed in writing.
Why Chevening hosts choose us
- Sangria and bar staff available
- Food that becomes part of the entertainment
- Hot food served quickly from the pan
- Waiting staff and crockery on request
See Our pricing And Our guide to catering costs.
Planners, venues and businesses
Booking for a company? Tell us what your finance team needs, and we will explain how it works. We can work with your facilities team on access and timings.
If you run the same event each year, tell us your dates early, so we can plan ahead.
Prices and what affects them
Live paella pricing is straightforward once we know the basics:
- Parking and unloading
- Plates, cutlery and glassware
- Extra courses such as canapés, tapas and dessert
- Waiting and bar staff
Compared with a plated meal, live paella is frequently good value, as there is no kitchen to hire and fewer staff to pay. We’ll send you a quote.
What we need to know
To check availability and price, we need:
- Your date and when you want to eat
- The courses you’d like
- Diets and allergies you know about
- The venue or postcode
Send us the date, your venue or TN14 postcode and guest numbers, plus any dietary needs, and we will reply with a menu suggestion and a quote. To get started, send us your details through our quote form.
Dietary needs and planning tips
With a little notice, every diet is easy. Our advice:
- Decide whether tapas are a starter, canapés or the whole meal
- Ensure dishes are labelled
- Match tapas with Spanish drinks
- Label seafood clearly
Table tapas are set down to share.
Sangria and bar staff.
Occasions we cook for in Chevening
Tapas are sociable food.
Big or small, live paella works well. Common bookings include:
- Canapés with welcome drinks
- Evening grazing
- Engagement celebrations
- Tapas with a paella main course
If you are looking at a historic venue around Chevening, check its catering rules early, as many limit cooking.
Before booking anyone
- Who provides the crockery
- When final numbers are due
- The venue requirements
- Payment terms and deposit
Can I cook paella for a crowd myself?
Hiring a pan and burner is one option, but there’s shopping, prep and hours of cooking. A caterer handles all of that.
Plenty of people try cooking paella for their own party. Common mistakes are mismatched pans and burners, overfilling and stirring. If you’d rather enjoy the party, let us cook.
Space, weather and the venue
Before the day, we’ll agree where we cook. It needs to meet a few simple requirements:
- Unloading access
- The venue’s agreement to outside caterers
- Room on tables for sharing dishes
If you’re unsure, send a photo of the space and we’ll say what we think before booking.
Menu ideas
- Gambas al ajillo
- Serrano ham
- Manchego & membrillo
- Albóndigas
- Patatas bravas
- Chorizo in red wine
- Croquetas
- Olives & bread
- Padrón peppers
- Tortilla española
Towns and villages near Chevening
Other catering in Chevening
Planning a tapas spread in Chevening
Chevening is about 3 miles north-west of Sevenoaks, in Kent. For an event in Chevening, we cater in back gardens, halls with outdoor space, barns, marquees and offices in and around Chevening. We cover all 922 towns and villages in Kent. Our nearest city page is London, about 17 miles away.
Historic houses near Chevening include Quebec House (3.3 miles south-west) and Knole House (3.9 miles south-east). For a drinks reception at a historic venue, canapé tapas can work where live cooking is not allowed. After a ceremony at a church such as Church of St Botolph, canapé tapas with the drinks keep guests happy during photos. Chevening is within about 4 miles of the Kent Downs National Landscape, ideal for an outdoor reception.
Anywhere in TN14, we can cook for your guests. If your venue is just outside Chevening, we also cover Chipstead (1 mile south-east), Sundridge (2 miles south), Dunton Green (2 miles east), Bessels Green (2 miles south-east) and Riverhead (2 miles south-east). We also cook in nearby towns such as Dartford (11 miles north), Sevenoaks (3 miles south-east), Royal Tunbridge Wells (13 miles south-east), Gravesend (14 miles north-east), Tonbridge (9 miles south-east) and Northfleet (13 miles north-east).
Other landmarks nearby include Sevenoaks Hospital (2.8 miles east) and Kemsing Castle Bank (4.2 miles east). Not far away are Dryhill Nature Reserve and Betsom's Hill.
- Schools near Chevening include Trinity School (1.7 miles south-east)
How the day works
On the day, we set up our cooking area, light the burners and start the sofrito. The rice goes in about 20 minutes before serving, so the timing is planned around your event. At midsummer, it’s light in Chevening until about 9:20pm, perfect for canapés outdoors. By late September it is dark around 7:05pm, and in December by about 3:55pm.
- First, we check availability.
- You pick the style.
- We set up on arrival.
- Hot and cold tapas are served.
- We clear away at the end.
Before we arrive
- Have a gazebo or cover ready if rain is likely
- Check the venue allows live cooking
- Give us a contact for the day
Get a quote
Every event is quoted individually, so you only pay for what you need. To ask for one, use our quote form.
Read more
- 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