How Much Does Paella Catering Cost in 2027? A Guide to Prices for 50–150 Guests
If you’re organising a wedding, birthday party, anniversary or corporate event in 2027, one of the first questions you’ll probably ask is: How much does paella catering cost?
The answer depends on several factors, including the number of guests, the location of your event and whether you’d like additional food such as Spanish tapas, canapés or salads.
At Your Paella, our paella catering prices start from £15 per person, with a minimum booking value of £1,000.
However, most of our paella-only bookings work out at approximately £17–£18 per person.
And that doesn’t just buy you a plate of paella!
It includes a professional live cooking experience, with freshly prepared Spanish paella cooked at your venue using our impressive traditional Paella Cart.
Having catered for weddings, private celebrations and corporate events throughout the UK since 2011, we know that understanding what you’re paying for is just as important as the price itself.
So let’s break it all down.
How Much Does Paella Catering Cost Per Person?
Our prices start at £15 per person, but every event is different.
For a typical paella-only booking, you can expect to pay approximately £17–£18 per guest, depending on the event requirements.
Here’s a useful guide to what that might look like for different guest numbers.
| Number of Guests | Example Price at £17 Per Person |
|---|---|
| 40 guests | £1,000 minimum booking |
| 50 guests | £1,000 minimum booking |
| 60 guests | £1,020 |
| 75 guests | £1,275 |
| 100 guests | £1,700 |
| 120 guests | £2,040 |
| 150 guests | £2,550 |
These are illustrative prices rather than fixed quotations. Our minimum booking charge is £1,000, and your final price will depend on your event location, date, menu and requirements.
For example, a recent quotation for 60 guests came to £1,080, equivalent to £18 per person.
That included the paella, chef, travel, cooking equipment, serving equipment and everything needed to deliver the live catering service.
For a personalised quotation, visit our Paella Catering Prices page or contact us with your event details.
What Is Included in the Price of Your Paella Catering?
This is where professional live paella catering differs from simply ordering food for delivery.
When you book Your Paella, we bring the cooking experience directly to you.
Our standard paella catering quotation includes:
- Freshly prepared Spanish paella cooked at your venue.
- A professional, uniformed paella chef.
- Our traditional Paella Cart, where suitable for the venue.
- All specialist cooking equipment.
- Travel to your event, included in your agreed quotation.
- Business insurance.
- Disposable serving bowls, wooden forks and paper napkins.
- Fresh lemons to squeeze over your paella.
- A white pop-up canopy when cooking outdoors.
- Setup, cooking, serving and clearing away our equipment afterwards.
We take care of the cooking so you can concentrate on enjoying your event.
Whether you’re organising a relaxed garden party or a large wedding reception, there’s something rather special about watching enormous pans of paella being prepared right in front of your guests.
And, of course, there’s that wonderful aroma as everything starts cooking!
Why Does Professional Paella Catering Cost More Than Just the Ingredients?
It’s a fair question.
When you see a price of £17 or £18 per person, it’s easy to think you’re simply paying for the ingredients and somebody to cook them.
But there’s considerably more involved.
Before we arrive at your event, we’ve already spent time planning the catering, sourcing ingredients, preparing equipment and organising transport.
Then there’s the journey to your venue, unloading, setting everything up, cooking, serving and packing everything away again.
Our Traditional Paella Cart Makes a Huge Difference
One of the things that makes Your Paella different is our traditional Paella Cart.
It’s a substantial piece of specialist catering equipment, designed to hold our enormous paella pans and create a professional cooking display.
And believe me, it gets noticed!
Guests often gather around the cart to watch the cooking, ask questions and enjoy the atmosphere.
It’s not simply a way of preparing food. It becomes part of the event itself.
Of course, transporting such a large setup has its costs.
We need a larger van to carry the Paella Cart, cooking equipment, pans, canopy and everything else required for the event.
A larger vehicle costs more to operate than a small van, and those transport and equipment costs form part of our overall pricing.
But we believe the result is worth it.
Our customers aren’t just hiring somebody to deliver food. They’re bringing a complete live cooking experience to their celebration.
What If the Paella Cart Won’t Fit at My Venue?
Not every venue has enough space or suitable access for our full Paella Cart.
That’s not normally a problem.
Where necessary, we can use professional tripod cooking stands instead, allowing us to prepare the same delicious paella using our large pans.
There is no additional charge or automatic reduction in the agreed catering price for using tripod stands instead of the cart.
We’ve successfully catered for events in gardens, marquees, fields and other unusual locations where a flexible setup makes all the difference.
Why Is There a Minimum Booking Charge of £1,000?
Our minimum booking value is £1,000, regardless of the number of guests.
This is because many of the costs involved in providing professional live catering remain the same whether we’re cooking for 40 guests or 100.
We still need to prepare the equipment, travel to the venue, set up the cooking area, cook and serve the food, and pack everything away afterwards.
Each booking also requires us to reserve a date specifically for that event.
This is particularly important during the busy wedding and summer party season, when popular Saturdays can be booked well in advance.
Our minimum booking value allows us to provide the same professional service and attention to detail for smaller celebrations as we do for larger events.
So if you’re planning a party for 40 or 50 guests, we’d still be delighted to hear from you.
Can I Add Salads, Spanish Canapés or Tapas?
Absolutely!
Although many customers book us for paella alone, we can also provide additional dishes to create a more complete Spanish-inspired menu.
Here are some of our optional extras and their current guide prices.
| Optional Extra | Guide Price |
|---|---|
| Mixed green salad with tomato, cucumber, olives, bread and butter roll | £8.50 per person |
| Spanish-style canapés | £9.50 per person |
| Spanish tapas starters | From £9.00 per person |
| Individual black metal paella serving pans | £1.50 per pan |
| Evening gourmet steak burgers | £10.99 per person |
Our Spanish-style canapés can include selections of Spanish hams and cheeses, tortilla and freshly prepared bread topped with tomato, onion and olive oil.
For those looking for something a little more substantial before the main meal, our tapas options provide a lovely Spanish-style starter.
An Example: Paella and Canapés for 100 Guests
Let’s imagine you’re organising a wedding reception for 100 guests.
Using a typical paella-only price of £17 per person:
- Paella catering: £1,700
- Spanish-style canapés at £9.50 per person: £950
- Illustrative combined total: £2,650
That’s approximately £26.50 per guest for the paella and canapés.
You could also add salads or tapas, depending on the style of your celebration.
These figures are examples to help with budgeting. We’ll always prepare an individual quotation for your actual event.
What About Evening Wedding Catering?
Some couples book Your Paella to provide the main wedding meal but also want something different for guests later in the evening.
That’s where our gourmet steak burgers can come in.
For qualifying bookings where we’re already providing the main paella catering, we can change over from our large paella pans to a heavy round cooking griddle.
We then cook gourmet steak burgers in front of your guests, with vegetarian burger options also available.
It’s a great way to offer something hot and freshly prepared later in the celebration.
Our evening burger option is currently priced at £10.99 per person, with a minimum of 60 burgers, and is available as an addition to our main paella catering service rather than as a standalone booking.
Is Paella Catering Good Value for a Wedding?
We certainly think so, and our customers regularly tell us how much they enjoy the experience.
Traditional wedding catering can involve several different stages of food preparation, service and presentation.
Live paella catering offers a more relaxed alternative.
Instead of simply waiting for a meal to arrive, your guests can watch their food being prepared in enormous pans, enjoy the aromas and gather around the cooking area.
It creates a talking point and brings people together.
And because we can cook substantial quantities of paella at the venue, it’s particularly well suited to larger weddings.
For example, at a wedding in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, we catered for 120 guests with three different paellas: Mixed, Chicken and Chorizo, and Vegetarian.
The wedding took place at a private home with a marquee, and we adapted our cooking location to suit the available space.
You can read the full story in our Paella Wedding Catering for 120 Guests in Welwyn article.
What Do Our Customers Say?
One of the best ways to judge whether a catering service offers good value is to hear from people who have already booked it.
We’ve been providing live paella catering since 2011, and we’re proud of the feedback we’ve received from wedding couples, private-party hosts and corporate customers.
Here are two examples from our customer reviews.
A Wedding Customer’s Experience
“We booked Your Paella for our wedding and it was fantastic!”
— Alice Dalrymple, wedding customer
Alice also praised the generous portions, friendly staff and atmosphere created by the outdoor cooking.
A Garden Party Customer’s Experience
“Fabulous tasting food, and the Paella tent and Paella cart looked fantastic on the patio.”
— BOLT 88, private-party customer
That second review is particularly special to us because it highlights exactly what we aim to provide: great food and an impressive cooking setup that adds something extra to the occasion.
You can read more genuine feedback on our Paella Catering Reviews page, or find our independent customer reviews on Google and Yell.
How Can I Get an Accurate Paella Catering Quote?
Getting a quotation is straightforward.
Simply tell us:
- The date of your event.
- The venue or location.
- The approximate number of guests.
- The type of paella you’d like.
- Whether you’re interested in salads, canapés, tapas or other extras.
We’ll then put together a personalised quotation explaining the catering service and what is included.
We aim to keep our prices competitive, and if you’ve received a lower genuine like-for-like quotation from another caterer, you’re welcome to let us know. We’ll do our best to match or even beat it where possible.
Frequently Asked Questions About Paella Catering Costs
How much does paella catering cost for 50 people?
Our minimum booking value is £1,000. For 50 guests, this works out at £20 per person for the minimum booking, although the final quotation depends on your event requirements.
How much does paella catering cost for 100 guests?
At a typical price of £17–£18 per person, paella catering for 100 guests could cost approximately £1,700–£1,800. Your actual quotation will depend on your date, location and requirements.
Is travel included in the catering price?
Yes. Travel is included in the personalised quotation we provide, so you’ll know the agreed cost before booking.
Do you provide vegetarian and vegan paella?
Yes. We offer vegetarian and vegan paella options, and our paellas are gluten-free. Please let us know about any allergies or special dietary requirements when enquiring.
Do you cater for outdoor events?
Absolutely. We regularly cater for outdoor weddings, garden parties, marquees and other outdoor celebrations. We can provide a white pop-up canopy as part of our catering setup.
How far in advance should I book for 2027?
We recommend enquiring as early as possible, particularly for Saturdays during June, July and August. These are popular dates for weddings and summer celebrations, and availability can become limited.
Planning an Event in 2027? Get Your Free Paella Catering Quote
Whether you’re organising a wedding for 150 guests, a birthday celebration for 60 or a corporate summer party, we’d love to help.
At Your Paella, we believe catering should be more than simply providing a meal.
It should be part of the occasion.
With our traditional Paella Cart, enormous cooking pans, freshly prepared Spanish food and friendly professional service, we aim to give your guests something they’ll remember long after the event.
When comparing paella catering cost for your 2027 event, remember to consider the quality of the ingredients, professional cooking equipment, service and everything included in your quotation.
Paella catering from £15 per person, with a £1,000 minimum booking value.
Get in touch today and tell us about your event.
Get Your Free, No-Obligation Quote
Your Paella – Authentic live paella catering across the UK since 2011.
