Opinions on Paella

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sazpot
sazpot Posts: 107 Forumite
in Weddings & anniversaries
I am hoping to hold my reception in a large industrial barn (owned by family) and will be arranging pretty much everything myself (toilets, tables, chairs, crockery, food etc) for approx 150 guests.

All of these individual things are adding up to a very high cost and I am trying to find easy inexpensive catering options and have found that I could get paella for around £7 per head.

What would everyone think of paella cooked and served from huge pans at a wedding? I would be planning on Palm/bamboo style disposable plates/boats and forks.

Is this too casual? Would you enjoy it? What inexpensive starter would you consider self catering?

Would you serve sangria instead of wine or would you consider it too much hassle and just have red wine on the tables?
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Comments

  • Fuzzy_Duck
    Fuzzy_Duck Posts: 1,594 Forumite
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    I think paella is a lovely idea. Personally I dislike formal three course meals at weddings- I think it's a lot of expense for food that often gets wasted due to guests not liking the choice or feeling stuffed after one course.

    Sangria probably would be a bit of a hassle for dinner- maybe you could have Spanish red wine instead and serve a glass of sangria for the welcome drink?
  • Floss
    Floss Posts: 8,247 Forumite
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    Personally I really dislike paella but why not do several options, ie fully veggie, with squid & without?
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  • 74jax
    74jax Posts: 7,923 Forumite
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    I love the idea, I can't eat fish but I'm guessing you'd have lots of varieties?

    As for sangria, love it!!!!! We had a sangria fountain so I'm bias, but it was different to thenorm and it was in Summer on a beach so fitted in perfectly.
    Forty and fabulous, well that's what my cards say....
  • Fuzzy_Duck
    Fuzzy_Duck Posts: 1,594 Forumite
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    My understanding is that it's more like tapas- there are several dishes for people to choose from, not just fish paella!
  • flea72
    flea72 Posts: 5,392 Forumite
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    If having paella for the main, for a cheap starter i might just do olives, bread, and dips, maybe extend it to a meze with salami, ham and antipasti.

    I prob wouldnt serve it independently as a starter either, more lay it out on tables just before the main was ready, so people can pick whilst they wait their turn for the paella queue, or eat alongside the paella
  • flea72
    flea72 Posts: 5,392 Forumite
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    One thing to ask the caterer is how many servings they can do at a time. As it takes a while to cook, you could end up with gaps between servings and it could really drag out. I would think 150 people would take a good hr to serve, if not 2 if you have to allow time for guests to decide which dish to have
  • brightonman123
    brightonman123 Posts: 8,532 Forumite
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    Tesco paella as part of £10 meal deal serves 2 - £5/head, plus some wine, puds, sides!
    Long time away from MSE, been dealing real life stuff..
    Sometimes seen lurking on the compers forum :-)
  • Fen1
    Fen1 Posts: 1,577 Forumite
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    Hi. Are you using a company like Sausage&Pear for the Paella?They do an all-in service, including crockery, setting-up etc.
    I've never used them, so am just wondering what they are like.

    If you are doing absolutely everything yourself, remember that Waitrose and Sainsbury's do free glass loan.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
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    Never had it .... what's the veggie option?
  • flea72
    flea72 Posts: 5,392 Forumite
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    PasturesNew wrote: »
    Never had it .... what's the veggie option?

    Vegetarian paella
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