Medway · England
Wedding Paella Catering in Rochester
Hot, generous and cooked in front of everyone: paella catering for weddings, from canapés to the wedding breakfast and evening food for events in Rochester and across Medway.
- Spanish-themed and destination-style weddings
- Rustic barn weddings
- Relaxed sharing-style wedding breakfasts
Wedding paella catering for Rochester events
Wedding paella catering in Rochester, cooked live
Paella as evening food is popular: hot, filling and served quickly from the pan, so the party keeps going. Popular choices include Spanish desserts, table tapas and canapé tapas, and we are frequently booked for civil partnerships and vow renewals and garden and marquee weddings.
In a town like Rochester, a church ceremony and a garden or marquee reception is a classic combination. That suits live paella perfectly: we can cook during the photos. Every pan is cooked in front of your guests, so it arrives hot and becomes part of the event.
Why choose live paella in Rochester?
Plated wedding meals need a kitchen and more staff. Paella needs a level, ventilated spot and permission, and suits a relaxed style. If you have a budget in mind, tell us, and we will put together a menu that fits. A simple menu can still feel generous.
Why us?
- Add tapas, canapés and Spanish desserts
- Real theatre, not just catering
- Sangria, plus bar staff for your own drinks
- Options for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal guests, each in its own pan
See How we price And Our guide to catering costs.
Should I cook it myself?
A DIY paella party works for small groups. For larger numbers, mixed diets or a wedding, a caterer takes the pressure off, and handles separate pans for each diet.
Cooking paella for a crowd yourself is possible, but it is harder than it looks. Large pans need the right burners, and getting the rice right at scale is tricky. Read how to cook paella for a crowd.
How the day works
Watching it cook is half the fun. We start with the sofrito, add the stock and saffron, then spread the rice across the pan and leave it alone to cook. In Rochester, midsummer sunset is about 9:20pm, and by late September it’s nearer 7:00pm, which means evening paella is generally served in daylight in June and July. Later in the year, plan lighting: in December it’s dark by about 3:50pm.
- Share your date, venue, numbers and plans for the day.
- Together we plan each course and confirm the price.
- We agree timings with you and your venue, including speeches and photos.
- We cook live on the day and serve every course on cue.
- We pack down our cooking area, with staff staying as long as agreed.
Before we arrive
- Arrange parking near the cooking spot
- Let us know who to talk to on the day
- Give us your final numbers and diets
Get a quote
We quote for each event separately, so the price fits what you actually want. To ask for one, fill in our quote form.
Read more
Working with your venue
Booking for a company? Tell us what your finance team needs, and we’ll talk you through the process. We’re happy to liaise with facilities on access and timings.
If you run the same event each year, tell us your dates early, so we can hold the date.
Places near Rochester
What else we do in Rochester
FAQs for Rochester
We are having a ceremony at Church of St Nicholas: can you cater afterwards?
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. Send us the reception address.
What’s the nearest station to Rochester for guests?
Rochester has its own station: Rochester station.
Where do you cater?
We cover London and the South East, including Medway. Find your area.
Is the paella gluten-free?
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.
Is paella too casual for a wedding?
It can be as relaxed or as polished as you like, depending on presentation and service.
How much does wedding paella catering cost in Rochester?
The price depends on numbers, menu, courses, staff and travel. Send us the details for a quote.
Can we have a tasting?
Tell us you’d like a tasting when you enquire, and we will talk you through it.
Can you cater for children?
Children are welcome. Let us know numbers and ages, and we will plan for them.
What’s in the pans
Paella wedding breakfast
Two or three paellas, served from the pans or brought to the tables.
Desserts
Churros with chocolate, crema catalana or tarta de Santiago, or your cake as dessert.
Why choose wedding paella catering in Rochester?
Paella can work for the wedding breakfast, the evening, or both, so it fits any plan.
Live paella works for big and small events alike. Typical bookings include:
- Sharing-style wedding meals
- Food for evening guests
- Marquee and garden weddings
- Rustic barn weddings
For outdoor photos, Rede Common is close by, and the countryside around Rochester suits an outdoor reception.
Before booking anyone
- Whether VAT is included
- Payment terms and deposit
- Any travel, parking or access charges
- What the caterer needs from your venue
Dietary needs and planning tips
We cater for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal guests. To make it work smoothly:
- Pick a serving style
- Ask about diets and allergies with your RSVPs
- Tell us about suppliers who need feeding
- Give us separate day and evening numbers
We clear our cooking area away afterwards; any staff stay as long as agreed.
We can provide crockery and waiting staff.
What we need at the venue
Most outdoor spaces and many venues work for live paella, but there are a few things to check:
- Flat, firm ground for the cooking area
- Open air or a well-ventilated covered spot
- Clearance from fences, hedges, branches and anything flammable
Not sure about your space? Send us a photo and we’ll tell you honestly.
Popular choices
- Sangria & bar staff
- Table tapas
- Evening paella
- Canapé tapas
- Dessert
- Paella wedding breakfast
Weddings in Rochester: venues, ceremonies and travel
Rochester is about 27 miles east of London, in Medway. Anywhere in ME2, we can cook for your guests. Rochester is one of 68 towns and villages in Medway we cover. Our nearest city page is Canterbury, about 26 miles away.
Put the station on your invitation: Rochester station is in Rochester itself. If you’re marrying at a church near Rochester, such as Church of St Nicholas, a reception in a garden, marquee or hired venue nearby keeps the day flowing: the paella can be cooking while you have photos taken, so the meal is ready when you arrive.
This part of Medway takes in ME2, ME1, ME3 and ME4. That could mean a wedding in a garden on High Street, Gundolph Square and Station Road or the roads around them. Rochester sits on or near the A2 and A226, so getting the burners and pans to your wedding is simple. For weddings just outside Rochester, we cover Strood (1 mile west), Borstal (1 mile south-west), Cuxton (2 miles south-west), Lower Bush (3 miles west) and North Halling (3 miles south-west). We also cook in nearby towns such as Gillingham (4 miles east), Chatham (3 miles south-east), Rainham (5 miles south-east), Park Wood (5 miles south-east), Lordswood (4 miles south-east) and Twydall (4 miles east). Rochester is among the bigger towns we cover in Medway, with plenty of venues for weddings.
Other landmarks nearby include Huguenot Museum (within half a mile east) and French Hospital (less than half a mile south-east). The countryside around Rochester includes Gad's Hill and Rede Common.
- Nearby schools include Fort Pitt Grammar School (1 mile south-east) and Temple School (1.2 miles north)
- Local pubs include Royal Crown Hotel (within half a mile east)
- Other local spots include City of Rochester-upon-Medway (under half a mile north) and Former Ordnance Store At Chatham Gun Wharf (1.2 miles east)
- 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