Reading · England
Wedding Paella Catering in Play Hatch
Bring the theatre of live paella to your wedding in Play Hatch. Everything is cooked fresh on the day, then served hot from the pan.
- Weddings with a Spanish theme
- Weddings with mixed diets
- Weddings in a marquee or garden
Book wedding paella catering in Play Hatch
Paella compared with other options
Compared with formal catering, live paella is relaxed and sociable, but with canapés, table tapas and good crockery, it still feels special. Got a budget? Let us know, and we will suggest a menu to match. A simple menu can still feel generous.
Why us?
- Hot food served quickly from the pan
- Events in Play Hatch and across Reading
- Separate pans for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal guests
- Food that becomes part of the entertainment
Wedding paella catering in Play Hatch, made fresh on the day
Your wedding menu is planned with you, course by course, around your guests, your venue and your budget. Popular choices include Spanish desserts, table tapas and evening paella, and we’re regularly asked to cater food for evening guests and barn and farm weddings.
Rural weddings around Play Hatch have a magic of their own, and paella cooking in the open air adds to it. Plan for access and a wet-weather cover. Timings are planned around your event, whether that’s speeches, a lunch break or a festival schedule.
Nearby places to Play Hatch
What else we do in Play Hatch
Planning for every diet
Paella is one of the easiest dishes for mixed diets, because each paella is cooked in its own pan. A few tips:
- Tell us when speeches will be
- Connect us with your coordinator
- Give us separate day and evening numbers
- Choose pan-side or table service
If things run late, and we will adapt the timing so it’s still served fresh.
Sangria and bar staff can be added.
Questions from Play Hatch
We are having a ceremony at St Andrew's 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.
How far is Play Hatch from London?
About 36 miles from central London, and we cover it as standard.
Is paella smart enough for a wedding?
With the right presentation, it feels special: canapés, table tapas, good crockery and staff serving the tables.
Do you cater for suppliers?
Just add them to your numbers. Let us know when they need feeding.
Do you provide drinks?
We can make sangria, and provide bar staff to serve drinks you supply.
Do you do vegan paella?
Yes, and they’re popular with everyone. They have their own pans, stock and spoons.
How much paella per person?
Quantities depend on numbers, timing and courses, with a sensible margin. Accurate numbers help.
How many different paellas?
Most events have two or three: a meat or mixed paella, a seafood paella and a vegetable or vegan one. We will help you decide the split.
Space, weather and the venue
Every venue is different, so we’ll ask about yours when you get in touch. In general, we need:
- A separate open-sided gazebo if the meal is in a marquee
- Outdoor space or a ventilated gazebo
- Clearance from fences, hedges, branches and anything flammable
If you are unsure, send a picture of the space and we’ll say what we think before you book.
Popular choices
- Sangria & bar staff
- Canapé tapas
- Table tapas
- Evening paella
- Paella wedding breakfast
- Dessert
Step by step
The paella is cooked in giant, shallow pans over gas burners. It needs a level spot with some shelter and good ventilation, which we agree with you beforehand. Golden-hour photos in Play Hatch at midsummer come around 9:25pm, so we can time the evening paella around your photos. In late May, sunset is about 8:55pm, and in late September about 7:05pm.
- Tell us your date, venue and numbers.
- Together we plan each course.
- We agree timings with you and your venue.
- On the day, we cook and serve each course.
- We clear our area; staff stay as booked.
Preparing for the day
- Plan cover in case of rain
- Pick a flat, firm spot for us to cook
- Give us a contact for the day
How to get a price
Each quote is tailored to your event. Tell us your date and guest numbers, and we will confirm whether we are available that day.
Planning help
About the dishes
Desserts
Churros with chocolate, crema catalana or tarta de Santiago, or your cake as dessert.
Evening paella
Fresh pans for evening guests, quick to serve and filling.
Events we cater in Play Hatch
It is a natural fit for barns, marquees and gardens, where a plated meal can be hard to pull off.
Almost any gathering can work with live paella. People in Play Hatch book us for occasions like:
- Evening food for extra guests
- Weddings in a marquee or garden
- Barn and farm weddings
- Wedding receptions after a small ceremony
If you are hoping for photos in Ali's Pond Local Nature Reserve, check whether the park needs permission for photography or gatherings.
What to look for in a quote
- Who provides the crockery
- Any travel, parking or access charges
- How dietary needs and allergies are handled
- Whether VAT is included
Planners, venues and businesses
Venues often have their own rules about outside caterers: cooking areas, access times and documents. Tell us what your venue needs and we will work to it.
If you’re booking for a business, tell us how you’d like to handle the booking and payment, and we will talk you through the process. We can work with your facilities team on access and timings.
Cook it yourself or book a caterer?
You can hire equipment and do it yourself, but you’ll still need to source ingredients, prep and cook for hours. A caterer handles all of that.
Doing it yourself saves money, but the host ends up stuck at the stove. Booking us means you get the show without the stress.
Planning a paella wedding in Play Hatch
Play Hatch is about 1 mile east of Caversham, in Reading. Weddings in Play Hatch are planned around your venue and timings: a clear quote, agreed timings and paella cooked live on the day. We cater in 34 places across Reading.
Put the station on your invitation: the nearest station is Reading station, about 2.2 miles south-west. Historic houses near Play Hatch include Mapledurham House (4.4 miles west) and Greys Court (4.6 miles north). If your reception is at a historic house or estate, ask early about its rules on caterers and live cooking.
We cover weddings in every part of the RG4 postcode area. Local streets include Dene Close, Henley Road and Foxhill Lane; a wedding at home on any of them works well with live paella. For weddings just outside Play Hatch, we cover Dunsden Green (1 mile north), Caversham Park Village (1 mile west), Littlestead Green (1 mile north-west), Emmer Green (1 mile west) and Sonning (1 mile south-east). Further out, we also cater in Norcot (4 miles west), West Reading (3 miles south-west), Tilehurst Within (5 miles west), Shinfield (5 miles south), Arborfield Garrison (7 miles south) and Horncastle (5 miles south-west).
Nearby you’ll also find The Oracle (2.4 miles south-west) and Royal Berkshire Hospital (2.3 miles south-west). Not far away are Alder Moors and South Lake.
- Schools near Play Hatch include Reading Blue Coat School (1 mile south-east) and Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre (1.8 miles west)
- Nearby, you’ll find The Shoulder of Mutton pub (less than half a mile south-west)
- 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