West Sussex · England
Wedding paella catering in Southgate, West Sussex
Paella for every guest: separate pans for meat, seafood and vegetarian or vegan guests. Paella catering for weddings, from canapés to the wedding breakfast and evening food for events in Southgate.
- Destination-style celebrations at home
- Vow renewals and civil ceremonies
- Food for evening guests
Wedding paella catering in Southgate
Can I cook paella for a crowd myself?
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.
You can hire equipment and do it yourself, but there is shopping, prep and hours of cooking. We take care of all of it.
Wedding paella catering in Southgate, cooked live
A paella wedding makes mixed diets simple: each paella has its own pan, so vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal guests eat the same kind of meal as everyone else. We cook a paella wedding breakfast, table tapas and canapé tapas, and typical bookings are for marquee and garden weddings and weddings with lots of dietary needs.
A farm or garden wedding near Southgate suits live paella. We’ll need a level spot and a way to reach it. All the cooking equipment comes with us, and we clear our cooking area away afterwards.
- Where
- Southgate (RH10, RH11)
- Area hub
- West Sussex
- Dietary options
- Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and halal
- Also available
- Canapés, desserts, sangria and staff
- Quotes
- Contact us for a quote
- Last updated
- 23 October 2026
Who books wedding paella catering in Southgate?
It fills the gap between ceremony and meal: gather round the cooking.
Big or small, live paella works well. Common bookings include:
- Spanish-themed and destination-style weddings
- Wedding receptions after a small ceremony
- Weddings with mixed diets
- Rustic barn weddings
Tilgate Lake nearby makes a lovely backdrop for photos, and the countryside around Southgate suits an outdoor reception.
Before you book anyone
- The venue requirements
- The wet-weather plan
- How each diet is kept separate
- Whether VAT is included
Planners, venues and businesses
Planners and coordinators can contact us directly, and we’ll keep everyone informed on the day.
Venues frequently 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.
Also near Southgate
What else we do in Southgate
Weddings in Southgate: venues, ceremonies and travel
Southgate is about 1 mile south-west of Crawley, in West Sussex. We cater weddings at gardens, halls and venues around Southgate and the surrounding area. Southgate is one of 371 towns and villages in West Sussex we cover. We cook right across the region, from Southgate to Brighton (about 19 miles away).
Couples marrying at local churches such as St Mary's often hold the reception nearby: we can be cooking during the photos, so the meal is ready when you arrive. Planning photos in Tilgate Park? It’s worth checking the park’s rules first.
Wherever your wedding is in RH10 and RH11, we can cook for your guests. Streets in the area include Oak Road, Cook Road and Colet Road, and we can cook for a wedding on any of them. Southgate sits on or near the A2004 and A2219, so getting the burners and pans to your wedding is simple. For weddings just outside Southgate, we cover Crawley (1 mile north-east), Tilgate (1 mile east), West Green (1 mile north), Three Bridges (1 mile north-east) and Langley Green (2 miles north). Larger places within reach include Horsham (6 miles south-west), Haywards Heath (9 miles south-east), Burgess Hill (11 miles south), East Grinstead (8 miles east), Billingshurst (13 miles south-west) and Roffey (5 miles south-west).
Well-known places in the area include Crawley Museum (0.7 miles north) and County Mall (0.5 miles north-east). Open spaces near Southgate include Tilgate Lake.
- Schools near Southgate include Three Bridges Junior School (under half a mile north-east) and St Wilfrid's Catholic School (0.5 miles west)
- Pubs nearby include The Downsman pub (under half a mile south-east)
Common questions in Southgate
Which station should guests use for Southgate?
Crawley station, in Southgate itself.
We’re having a ceremony at St Mary's: can you cater afterwards?
Yes, at a nearby garden, marquee or hall where we can cook. Live cooking normally happens at the reception venue, not the church. Tell us where the reception will be.
Can you cater the whole day?
We can cater as much or as little of the day as you like, from canapés to evening food.
Do you take everything away?
We pack down our cooking area after service. Clearing guests’ plates and tables can be added with waiting staff.
How many paellas should we have?
Generally two or three, so every guest has a choice. Tell us about your guests’ diets and we will suggest the mix.
Can we have a tasting?
Tell us you’d like a tasting when you enquire, and we’ll talk you through it.
When should we book?
Early, particularly for summer Saturdays. Even if it’s short notice, it’s worth asking.
Can you cater for vegetarians and vegans?
Yes. Vegetarian and vegan paellas are cooked in separate pans, alongside the meat and seafood pans.
About the dishes
Table tapas
Sharing tapas breaks the ice before the paella arrives.
Desserts
A sweet finish: churros, crema catalana or your wedding cake.
How it works
Service is quick: the paella goes straight from the pan to the plate, so even a long queue moves. When service is finished, we pack down. In Southgate, midsummer sunset is about 9:20pm, and by late September it is nearer 7:05pm, so an evening paella for evening guests is usually served in daylight in high summer. For autumn and winter weddings, when it is dark by about 3:55pm in December, plan lighting for the cooking area.
- First, we check your date.
- You pick the courses and dishes.
- We confirm everything with your venue.
- The pans cook while guests enjoy the drinks.
- We serve and clear our cooking area.
How to prepare
- Pick a flat, firm spot for us to cook
- Leave space around the cooking area
- Let us know who to talk to on the day
Ask for a quote
The quickest way to a quote is to use our quote form. Give us the details of your wedding, and we will put together a menu and price.
Read more
Why choose live paella in Southgate?
Food vans can create long queues. Paella pans serve many guests quickly. Larger events generally cost less per head, since the set-up is much the same either way. Tell us your numbers for an accurate price.
Why us?
- Crockery and waiting staff if you need them
- Sangria, plus bar staff for your own drinks
- Everything cooked fresh at your event
- Fast service from the pan
Read Our pricing Or Our guide to catering costs.
What affects the price in Southgate
Your quote will be clear and itemised. What affects it most:
- Your choice of paellas
- Travel, parking and access
- Staff: cooks, waiting staff and bar staff
- How long we are needed on site
Got a budget? Let us know, and we will suggest a menu to match. A simple menu can still feel generous.
Getting an accurate quote
Good planning starts with a few facts. Try to include:
- Which courses you have in mind
- Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal and allergy numbers
- A picture of where we’d cook
- Anything your venue supplies
Still deciding on the menu? No problem: tell us about the occasion and the guests, and we’ll make suggestions. To start, fill in our quote form.
Diets, allergies and planning
We cater for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal guests. To make it work smoothly:
- Give us separate day and evening numbers
- Check the venue’s rules for outside caterers
- Add a dietary question to your RSVP cards
- Let us know about meals for your band or photographer
Guests can queue at the pans, or staff can serve the tables.
Sangria and bar staff can be added.
- 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