Paella Catering in Warminster – Double Birthday at The Dove
Paella catering in Warminster was on the menu for our latest event, when Your Paella headed to The Dove in Corton, Wiltshire, to cater for 80 guests celebrating a double birthday.
The Dove is a lovely country venue at Coombe View, Corton, just outside Warminster. For this particular celebration, the pub was closed to the public after 5pm, allowing the birthday party to take over the venue for the evening.
I was there to prepare two freshly cooked paellas for the 80 guests: 60 portions of Chicken & Spanish Chorizo Paella and 20 portions of our Vegetarian/Vegan Paella.
Both paellas were gluten-free and prepared without nuts or dairy, giving the guests a choice while accommodating a number of dietary requirements.
You can see the different paellas and other options available on our Paella Catering Menu
Private Party Paella Catering Near Warminster
The Dove really is a beautiful setting for a celebration. The garden has plenty of outdoor seating, mature trees and a relaxed country-pub atmosphere, while the building itself has bags of character.
My cooking position was actually tucked away in a corner of the car park, but it couldn’t have worked much better.
A large opening in the wall connected my cooking area directly with the garden, so guests could easily wander through, watch the paellas being prepared and return when it was time to eat.
That’s one of the advantages of our Private Party Paella Catering service. We don’t need a conventional commercial kitchen at the venue. We bring the equipment required to cook the paella fresh on site and can often work in spaces that wouldn’t be suitable for traditional caterers.
The Paella Cart Soon Attracted Some Attention
One of the things I love about cooking paella at private parties is how often the cooking itself becomes part of the event.
That certainly happened at The Dove.
While I was preparing the food, plenty of guests wandered over to see what was going on. We chatted about the paellas, the ingredients and the Paella Cart, which attracted quite a bit of attention in its own right.
Several guests asked whether they could take photographs of me cooking and of the paellas as they were being prepared. Of course they could, I was more than happy for them to take as many photographs as they liked!
It’s one of the reasons our traditional Paella Cart has become such an important part of what we do. Rather than food simply appearing from a kitchen, guests get to see their meal being freshly prepared in front of them.
For birthday parties in particular, that live cooking experience adds something different to the celebration.
Paella Catering in Warminster for 80 Guests
For this party I cooked:
60 portions – Chicken & Spanish Chorizo Paella
20 portions – Vegetarian/Vegan Paella
And by the end of service?
It had all gone.
That’s always the result I like to see!
The guests were extremely complimentary about the food, with plenty coming over afterwards to tell me how much they’d enjoyed it.
I also met one of the owners of The Dove and her daughters, who are involved in managing the venue. They couldn’t have been more welcoming or helpful throughout the evening.
By the time one of the daughters had an opportunity to try the food, the Chicken & Chorizo Paella had completely disappeared, so she tried the vegan paella instead.
Her verdict?
Delicious.
And that’s something we take seriously. The vegetarian and vegan option isn’t there simply so that we can say we’ve provided an alternative. We want the guests eating it to enjoy their meal every bit as much as everyone else.
Our current Paella Catering Menu includes Chicken & Chorizo alongside vegetarian and vegan options, and all of our paellas are gluten-free.
Birthday Catering Without the Hassle
One of the things our customers appreciate is that once we’ve agreed the menu, timings and arrangements, we take care of the catering side of the event.
We arrive, set everything up, cook the food fresh, serve the guests and clear everything away afterwards.
It means the person organising the celebration can concentrate on something much more important, actually enjoying their own party.
That’s the idea behind our No Hassle Paella Catering Service, whether we’re catering a birthday party, wedding, anniversary, corporate event or another special occasion.
And if you’re considering paella for your own celebration, you can also see our current Paella Catering Prices, with personalised quotations based on the event, location, guest numbers and menu choices.
A Little Surprise for the Host
I’ve recently started doing something extra at my events.
The person making the booking has usually spent weeks or months organising everything, so I now like to bring them a small surprise gift as a thank-you for choosing Your Paella.
For this party, I brought along a luxury scented candle from That Candle Company.
The host wasn’t expecting anything and was absolutely delighted with it. She told me what a thoughtful gesture it was.
It’s only something small, but I think those little personal touches matter.
And Then Came the Silent Disco…
Once everybody had eaten, I packed the Paella Cart and equipment away.
By this point it was dark, so before leaving I went inside The Dove to find the host, thank her for the booking and say goodbye.
What I wasn’t expecting to find was a room full of people dancing… wearing headphones.
The party had moved on to a silent disco!
After an evening of freshly cooked paella, the birthday celebrations were clearly nowhere near finished.
Another Booking Through Word of Mouth
It was during that final conversation that the host told me something I hadn’t known.
I’d been recommended to her.
Two friends from an organisation she’s involved with had previously booked Your Paella for completely separate events, one in Southampton and another in the Midlands.
Both had recommended us.
After catering events across the UK since 2011, a significant amount of our work now comes through recommendations and word of mouth. Someone enjoys Your Paella at a wedding, birthday or corporate event, remembers us and sometimes months or even years later our name gets passed to somebody organising another celebration.
For a small independent catering business, there probably isn’t a better compliment.
It’s also why although we’re based in Wiltshire, Your Paella continues to travel throughout the country for private parties, corporate events and wedding paella catering.
Paella Catering in Warminster, Wiltshire and Across the UK
From a beautiful country pub in Corton to a private garden, wedding venue, marquee or corporate event, our mobile setup means we can provide freshly cooked paella in an enormous variety of locations.
This double birthday at The Dove was a perfect example of paella catering in Warminster: 80 guests, two different paellas, a great atmosphere, lots of interest in the live cooking and not a portion left at the end of service.
Another successful Wiltshire event, and another booking that came to us through the recommendation of previous customers.
If you’re planning a birthday party or private celebration in Warminster, Wiltshire or anywhere else in the UK, take a look at our Private Party Paella Catering service, browse our Paella Catering Menu or get in touch for a personalised quotation.
