FAQs
For bookings and terms & conditions, please download our Booking Form.
¡Hola! My name is Emma Lopez. I am the owner of Idelica Limited and the contact person for our Private Catering events.
I’ve provided a list below of some of the questions I am often asked at the outset, and some answers that I hope will be helpful.
If your question isn’t answered here, please Contact Us.
Kind regards, Emma Lopez
I am considering hiring Idelica to cater at my upcoming event and would like to investigate availability, options and costs - how should I contact you?
In the first instance, please Contact Us using the form on the website. In the Enquiry box please include the date, location and a brief description of your event, the estimated numbers to cater for and any information you can give me about the food and services that are looking into. I aim to respond to your enquiry within 3 working days. I am also contactable via:
- Email emma@idelica.com
- Telephone 01425 350350 or 07932 677255
- Facebook Messenger http://m.me/paelladorsethampshire
When can I expect you to be available to discuss an enquiry or booking by phone or in person?
I am normally available Monday-Friday for calls or meetings between 9am – 5pm. If I haven’t been able to answer your call please leave a message on my voicemail and I will call you back at a convenient time. By arrangement, I can also make calls and meetings in the evenings during the week.
Do you have set prices and menu packages or do you always provide an individualised quote?
Upwards of Paella party catering for 50 people, we have set prices per head with discounts based on the number of total servings ordered. Our Menu items have pricing which reflects the best value for money and quality that I can achieve at the time of quoting. Our quotes are always broken down to show how the costs are allocated. Many clients want variations to the published menu items and may want services or items that are subject to their individual requirements, therefore I am always happy to work with you to bring you the best fit and best value tailored catering option for your day.
What is normally included when you quote for catering at an event?
My standard quotes will be inclusive of the food, the chefs to prepare, cook and serve the food to the plate onsite, our cooking and safety equipment, our gas fuel and rig and the labour that it takes to set up it and take down it at your venue. If required, we will quote for the hire and erection of our fire-safety compliant cooking tents, which are £45-£100 depending on the size needed.
Quotes for standard buffets and sharing boards will include the use of our serving platters and serving utensils, or the supply of disposable versions or a mixture of both. There may be a deposit required to leave our serving items at the venue for later return.
Quotes for Paella include biodegradable plates, forks and napkins should you require them. Otherwise, crockery and cutlery, table linen and other special items can be hired, or your disposables can be upgraded to something smarter like palm-leaf tableware, either through us or from elsewhere.
Do your quotes include VAT?
At the time of writing Idelica Limited is not registered for VAT. If this becomes the case, then we will publish this information in the FAQs on our website and we will show the VAT charge on our quotes and invoices.
Can you provide front-of-house staff for catering events?
Yes we can, and we do have an excellent team that always provide a commendable service at formal and informal events. Once I have a fair idea of your food and service requirement then I can work out what you will need in terms of front-of-house staffing and provide you with an estimate.
Can we provide our own food alongside your catering, and can we ask your staff to service other aspects of our event?
As long as we agree in advance who is supplying what, then of course we are happy to work with you on this basis. There will be a small fee per head to cover any additional work that our kitchen staff may need to do to facilitate this, and we would need to ensure that any additional front-of-house staff time will be covered by the number of staff hours quoted.
While always focussed on the food catering, your front-of-house staff can offer assistance with your drinks and other tasks depending on your overall requirements and the timing of things. Always ask if you think we can help.
Can you provide dishes that are not on your menu?
Yes we can, always ask if you have a favourite thing, even if it’s weird and not remotely Spanish. I promise I won’t laugh, but if I start to cry then it’s probably a ‘no’.
Do you do Tastings?
I can do Tastings and there would be a charge. The most popular item that people want to try is of course the Paella. An alternative, cheaper way to taste it is to pop down to a food festival that we are catering at, usually between the months of May and August. Contact me to find out when we are next appearing near you.
I have decided that I want to book Idelica to cater at my event, what happens next?
It may take a few emails back and forth to get your catering quote perfected, but once you are happy and have given me the email go-ahead, I will type up a booking form with all the important details agreed between us. I will email this in PDF format which you can digitally sign and email back – and if you can’t do this don’t worry, you can use a pen and the postal service. At this point, 30% of the total will be due to secure the date, which can be done by BACS or by cheque. (Please note that only 10% of this deposit is refundable if cancellation is made in writing more than 60 days prior to the booked event).
I worry that my numbers or requirements may vary in the period between booking and finalisation, how do you manage this?
We can keep in touch as closely and as often as you need to. This is most important for couples when it comes to Wedding Catering. I am always at the end of the email or phone if you want to discuss any ideas or if plans change and I will do my best to help and accommodate.
When and how do we finalise the numbers/requirements?
The important thing for your budget is to ensure that your numbers and requirements are made firm by the date that the balance is due, which is 30 days prior to the booked event. This can be done by phone but needs to be followed up by email. I will reply with confirmation of the finalised balance, due on receipt.
Refunds cannot be accommodated after this point.
If you do think you need to adjust anything about the catering arrangements after this point, or you realise you need something additional, please do Contact Us as soon as possible.
Can I see a blank copy of the Booking Form with your standard Terms and Conditions and your accreditations and compliance documents?
Yes you can, please download our Booking Form here or Contact Us to be sent one by email. You can view our profile on the Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS) website where we have held membership since 2013.
We had a fab day and lots of compliments about food. Staff were lovely too!
We had a great day and your food has been raved about by everyone we've seen since! So glad we picked you guys. It was everything we hoped for and more. Great selection of tapas canapes and plenty of paella for numerous helpings. Thank you for going along with the idea of one per table so that people could do family style dining, it went down a treat!
Thank you so much for our wonderful wedding paella!! All of our guests absolutely loved it and we've had lots of lovely comments about it since. It was super tasty and he portion sizes were amazing. Lots of people managed to have second portions and lots of people commented on the lovely artichokes in the vegetarian paella. The set up was really easy and it was there and ready to go before I noticed. Everyone serving was so kind and friendly and definitely made our evening fun and relaxed. It was just what we wanted. Thank you so much, we give you 5 out of 5!
Thanks so much for everything, we loved all of the food and we've had loads of people say how much they enjoyed it too. In particular the sobrasada with kiwi - one which I will certainly be stealing from you! The drunken goats cheese was as good as you'd said and the paella was even better than I remembered. When we next have cause for a large celebration - we will certainly be giving you a ring.”
“It was an absolute delight having you catering for us at the party. You were accessible and responsive in the planning stage and made everything very straightforward whilst being very attentive and understanding of our requirements. On the day you and your team were brilliant, with everything happening like clockwork and all according to plan - even if we did delay things a bit by taking a while to get the guests seated! You were all charming and helpful, and we have had numerous comments from our guests about how good the Paella was, and that was evidenced by the fact that when we cleared the tables the plates were nearly all empty, and the portions you served where certainly generous ! Your starter snacks were also delicious, and perfectly suited for serving to guests over the first hour while standing around drinking.”