Greater London · England
Wedding Paella Catering for Shirley Oaks events
Paella for every guest: meat, seafood, vegetarian and vegan pans side by side. Paella catering for weddings, from canapés to the wedding breakfast and evening food in Shirley Oaks.
- Garden and marquee weddings
- Civil partnerships and vow renewals
- Weddings with lots of dietary needs
Planning an event in Shirley Oaks?
How our wedding paella catering works in Shirley Oaks
Timing is everything with paella: the rice needs about 20 minutes and is best served immediately. We plan it around your speeches and photos. For big weddings with every diet and marquee and garden weddings, we’ll put together a menu of table tapas, a paella wedding breakfast and evening paella and more.
Couples in Shirley Oaks often marry locally and hold the reception at a venue or garden nearby. Live paella works well at both, as long as there’s a ventilated spot to cook. Plan parking and loading early. We cook every pan in full view of your guests, so it arrives hot and becomes part of the event.
- Where
- Shirley Oaks (CR0, SE25, CR9)
- Region
- Greater London
- Dietary options
- Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and halal
- Also available
- Canapés, desserts, sangria and staff
- Quotes
- Contact us for a quote
- Updated
- 23 October 2026
What affects the price in Shirley Oaks
Here’s what makes the biggest difference to the price:
- How long we are needed on site
- Chicken, vegetable or premium seafood
- How many staff you need
- Parking and unloading
Live paella pricing depends on the event. A garden party lunch and a full wedding menu are very different jobs. We itemise everything in your quote.
What to tell us
Good planning starts with a few facts. Try to include:
- The courses you’d like
- Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal and allergy numbers
- Where the event is
- Approximate guest numbers, including children
Every event is quoted individually, so the price fits what you actually want. For a quote, fill in our quote form.
Questions from Shirley Oaks
What’s the nearest station to Shirley Oaks for guests?
Elmers End station, about 1.2 miles north of the centre.
Can you cook in Ashburton Park?
Only with permission from the park’s owner, normally the council. Check with them, and we’ll provide our paperwork.
Can paella feel formal?
It can be as relaxed or as polished as you like, depending on how it’s served.
Do you do vegan paella?
Yes, and meat eaters frequently go back for seconds. Each is cooked separately, with its own stock and utensils.
Is the paella cooked on site?
Yes. Every paella is cooked from scratch on site, in front of your guests.
How much does wedding paella catering cost in Shirley Oaks?
Every event is quoted individually, based on what you actually want. Give us your date, numbers and menu ideas and we will reply with a price.
How far ahead should we book?
As soon as you have a date. Popular dates book up first, so it pays to ask early.
Is halal food available?
Yes, we do. Halal paella is cooked with halal chicken and no pork or alcohol, in its own pan.
The process
When we arrive, we set up our cooking area, light the burners and start the sofrito. Once the rice goes in, it takes about 20 minutes, so the timing is planned around your event. At midsummer, sunset in Shirley Oaks is about 9:20pm, so we can time the evening paella around your photos. Sunset is around 8:50pm in late May and 7:05pm in late September.
- You tell us your date, venue, guest numbers and how you picture the day.
- Together we plan each course and confirm the price.
- Timings are agreed with you and the venue, around speeches and photos.
- On the day, we set up, cook in front of your guests and serve each course.
- Afterwards we clear our area; any staff you’ve booked stay as planned.
Before we arrive
- Name one person we can ask on the day
- Choose a level spot for the cooking area
- Arrange parking near the cooking spot
Get a quote
Send us the date, your venue or CR0 postcode and guest numbers, plus any dietary needs, and we’ll reply with a menu suggestion and a quote. Just use our quote form.
Read more
Can I cook paella for a crowd myself?
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.
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.
Diets, allergies and planning
We take diets and allergies seriously. Help us by following these steps:
- Let us know about meals for your band or photographer
- Pick a serving style
- Tell us when speeches will be
- Confirm the venue’s catering rules early
The pans are frequently set up where guests can see them, which makes a lovely backdrop for photos.
Add sangria, or bar staff to serve your own drinks.
Nearby places to Shirley Oaks
More for events in Shirley Oaks
What’s in the pans
Canapé tapas
One- and two-bite tapas on boards, perfect during the photos.
Desserts
A sweet finish: Spanish desserts or your own cake.
Perfect for your wedding in Shirley Oaks
Couples choose paella because it feels relaxed and generous, and because guests remember it.
Here are some of the events we cook for:
- Barn and farm weddings
- Evening wedding food
- Sharing-style wedding meals
- Weddings in a marquee or garden
Planning photos in Ashburton Park? It’s worth checking the park’s rules first.
Questions to ask before booking
- If the price includes VAT
- Whether crockery, cutlery and napkins are included
- Travel and parking costs
- How long the team stays
For event organisers in Shirley Oaks
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.
Venues often have their own rules about outside caterers: where cooking is allowed, access times and the paperwork they need. Send us your venue’s requirements and we’ll follow them.
Live paella or other catering?
Food trucks serve one order at a time, which can mean long queues at a wedding. Paella pans serve many guests quickly. Compared with a plated meal, live paella is frequently good value, because it needs no kitchen and fewer staff. We’ll send you a quote.
Why book with us
- Catering across Greater London, including Shirley Oaks
- Sangria, plus bar staff for your own drinks
- Food that becomes part of the entertainment
- Starters and desserts to complete the menu
See Our prices page Or The cost guide.
Planning a paella wedding in Shirley Oaks
Shirley Oaks is about 2 miles north-east of Croydon, in Greater London. Whether your wedding is in the middle of Shirley Oaks or on the outskirts, we offer the same service: live cooking, separate pans for every diet and a clear price. Shirley Oaks is one of 764 places in Greater London where we cook. You can also see our page for London, about 8 miles away.
For guests travelling by train, Elmers End station is about 1.2 miles away. Bramley Bank nearby makes a lovely backdrop for photos.
We cook at weddings all over CR0, SE25 and CR9 and the streets around it. Local streets include Poppy Lane, Baring Road and Craven Road; a wedding at home on any of them works well with live paella. You’ll find Shirley Oaks on the A232, which makes it straightforward to bring the equipment. Nearby, we also cater weddings in Shirley (1 mile east), Monks Orchard (1 mile east), Addiscombe (1 mile west), Ashburton (1 mile north-west) and Woodside (1 mile north-west). Within a short drive, we also cover London (8 miles north), City of Westminster (10 miles north-west), Marylebone (10 miles north), Kensington (10 miles north-west), St Pancras (10 miles north) and Shoreditch (10 miles north).
Other landmarks nearby include National Psychosis Unit (1.1 miles east) and St George's Walk (1.9 miles west). The countryside around Shirley Oaks includes Bramley Bank and Duppas Hill.
- Schools near Shirley Oaks include St. John's Church of England Primary School (0.7 miles south)
- Nearby, you will find The Cricketers pub (within half a mile west)
- Other local spots include Addiscombe (1 mile 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