Our catering celebrates the fragrant dishes, flagrant passion and breezy service style of Andalucian tapas bar culture from the South of Spain, and has done so to the delight of thousands of people across hundreds of private and public events in Dorset and Hampshire.
From humble beginnings as ‘The Paella Lady’, Idelica is now among the most sought-after caterers for our specialist menus and attentive service across our home stretch of the South of England.
“What can I say Ian, Emma and Team truly made our wedding day absolutely perfect with their exceptional service! Idelica provided the catering for our wedding at Sopley Mill and even from the first email exchange with Ian we knew we were in good hands. Their communication was brilliant from start to finish and their expertise was clear. We would like to thank the whole team at Idelica for your service on our wedding day - you ensured everything ran smoothly and everyone's bellies were full! All of our guests commented on how lovely and attentive the team were and how yummy the food was. Idelica provided canapes during our drinks reception followed by a full 3 course wedding breakfast with antipasti sharing boards, paella and dessert platters. They then provided an open pizza bar for us in the evening! It was all absolutely stunning - thank you!”
“Idelica catered for our wedding breakfast and wow, what a treat! From our first meeting, through to helping with seating plans, setting up the dining room, serving fantastic food and to clearing away at the end of the night, we could not fault the team. We can't recommend highly enough!”
“We hired Idelica for the last weekend of August this year to cater paella for my 30th birthday party. We were all blown away by the quality of the service provided. The team were prompt, organised and very easy to communicate with. They were so friendly and knowledgeable about the food they were serving, the handling of ingredients and what to do with leftovers! The food itself was absolutely exquisite, definitely one of the best paellas we have ever eaten. The team cooked the food on site, provided their own biodegradable cutlery, bowls and napkins as well as giving us a vegetarian option for diet restricted guests. We cannot recommend them enough and plan to hire them again for our next big event!”
“Ian and the guys are amazing. They had to work in horrendous weather but still managed to pull off the most delicious paella. Very recommended.”
“We cannot thank your team enough for an incredible service on Saturday. We have had so much positive feedback from all our guests, they really loved the food and the service. Also I can’t remember the man’s name but our guests with allergies said that he was top notch- straight away when my friend told him she was gluten free and veggie he said “you must be Sam!” And went to get her canapés for her, he also later on found her again to give her more food!! It just felt really personal and that they really knew what they were doing and so accommodating for the guests with allergies. All the staff were so friendly and also joined in with the conga!!! Honestly cannot fault it. ”
“I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for helping us to make Gilly's seventieth truly wonderful and memorable. Everyone had a fantastic evening and the celebrations continued through the whole weekend.”
“Just a quick note to say a massive thank you to you and your team for Saturday. The paella was delicious, as was all the food! So many people came up to us during the evening and said how nice it was and that it was such a great idea to do something different for the catering, so it really ticked all the boxes. Your team were also fantastic on the day, looking after everyone, and having our pizza to go was just perfect!”
“Thank you Ian and Emma for the wonderful food you provided for our anniversary celebration on Saturday. Both the paellas (chicken and chorizo and vegetarian) were delicious. Dessert was wonderful too. Many of our guests made a point of telling us how much they enjoyed their meal. As well as the quality of the food, from the moment of my first enquiry, communication with you was always quick and easy. Thank you again.”
"We just wanted to say a belated thank you for the food and service you provided at our wedding! We were so pleased with the food, the paella was wonderful and lots of guests have commented on how nice it was. The staff were lovely as well and really helpful with any requests we had (we ended up having about four servings of the paella as we were so hungry having barely eaten all day!) Esme also loved the paella - have attached a photo of her tucking in (her dress was more orange than white by the end!) Thanks also for all the time you spent with us pre-wedding, it really helped us feel more prepared. All the best for the future - we hope Idelica continues to go from strength to strength."
"We just wanted to email and say thank you so much for catering at our wedding - the food was delicious and everyone commented on how great it was! You were both super helpful and friendly from the start and really flexible when our date had to move because of covid."
"Myself and Ollie wanted to say the biggest thank you to you and everyone who made our day so special. The food was delicious, the staff so caring and kind and nothing was an issue for anyone! Honestly it made our day. Lots of people have commented on how slick the service and delicious the food was. Thank you so much."
"We both just wanted to say a huge thank you for the catering on the weekend. The food was great, Steve's service was great and we really had a good time. We found you really professional and really easy to deal with and we wish you all the best for the future."
"Thank you so much for all of your help during the run up to the day and on the day itself. The food was fantastic and we had so many compliments on it! Your team were also brilliant - sooo friendly, helpful and flexible, especially with how late we were running."
"We both like to thank you all again for all your hard work and fab cooking to make our wedding day fantastic! It was an amazing day and so many people commented on how yummy the paella was! And as for the cheese, that was quite clear by the small amount of leftovers - which quickly disappeared the following day. Thank you again Emma for helping us create the days food and all your patience and advice in the lead up. I’m sure we’ll see you at a food festival soon."
"Just a quick thank you to you and your team for Saturday! You made my job easy and you were a pleasure to work with!"
"Your team were amazing. Steven was so helpful and cooperative. I couldn't fault them. The food was great as well. I hope to work with you again in the future."
"I want to send you a heartfelt thank you for such wonderful food last night. The entremeses and paella were amazing and my family and friends were extremely complimentary. I've never had such tasty paella! You really pulled out all the stops for me and I so appreciate that. You're very talented!"
"Delicious paella for our 9 year old’s birthday - portioned and delivered to us for his friends and their parents. Ian was so helpful... and made everything very easy. Highly recommended, great value and made this part of our day so much easier! Thanks so much..."
"We had the pleasure of choosing Idelica to be our wedding caterers at Sopley Mill. They were amazing right from the word go. Emma is so lovely, she answered so so many emails and made quite a few quotes to get it just right. She was so willing to help with our budget and the food....oh my word the food is amazing! I’m so glad we chose Paella, it was something that stayed hot, was so tasty (very good cooks) and was thoroughly enjoyed by many! We had 3 people with extremely complicated allergies and Emma also catered extremely well for them and they really enjoyed their meal. I wish I could get married again just to deal with Emma and eat the paella again. Thank you so so much Emma and Idelica! You won’t regret choosing them!"
"We can't thank you guys enough for the food on Saturday, it was perfect!!!! So many compliments on the food and how lovely the staff were. Thank you all again for helping our day truly be the best day ever."
"Idelica catered at my cousin’s wedding last November (2019), where I was a guest, but I wanted to leave a review because of how amazing they were (and because I’m still dreaming of the cheesecake 6 months later!). Best gluten free (and general allergy awareness) catering at any wedding I’ve ever been to (and I’ve been to a lot of weddings in a lot of different countries!). The food itself was delicious but also, on top of that, the general understanding of allergens and staff training was amazing. In a world where people have more and more dietary requirements, having caterers you can really rely on to do this carefully and properly is so crucial (I’ve been to a wedding where the maid of honour would’ve ended up in anaphylactic shock from sesame seeds, had the bride not noticed them on the bread before her sister ate it... all because the caterers received an incorrect bread order and didn’t check it!). I really cannot overstate the importance of caterers being on top of this for your peace of mind as a host, but also for all of your guests’ wellbeing! And again, this was all in addition to the food being absolutely delicious!"
"Thank you so very much for being a part of our special day, the food was absolutely gorgeous and this was reflected by all of our guests in their comments . We had quite a few guests with different dietary requirements and it was all taken care of with ease. All of your staff were extremely pleasant and accommodating. We would highly recommend your services to anyone hosting an event or wedding. Thanks again for making our day run smoothly and tasty!"
"Steve and Sandra (and the paella of course) were an absolute hit. Lovely personalities and when we cleared up there were very few plates that hadn’t polished off every grain. Even the most fussy eaters said the veggie paella was top drawer. They both cleaned up immaculately and you wouldn’t have known they had been there. Perfect choice and major contribution to a fantastic and successful night."
"I would recommend Emma and the team for any event. Really friendly, plenty of ideas and welcomed flexibility that allowed our day run really successfully. Highly recommended."
"We could not be anymore grateful or happy with the service Idelica provided. From start to finish Emma went above and beyond to help us come up with the perfect wedding menu for our special day. Nothing was ever too much for Emma, she was flexible and provided the most incredible food, despite all our dietary requirements!! The big paella pans cooking outdoors added to our chilled wedding vibe and the staff serving the food could not have been more friendly! We had endless compliments from our guests and we could not recommend Emma and her team enough! Thank you for making our day spectacular!"
"Emma and the Idelica team were perfect for our special day. Emma was very diligent during the preparation and planning for catering our wedding. Making changes and amendments for any dietary requirements or ideas we had and chipping in with fantastic flavour combinations that work well. Both the paella and the pizzas in the evening were delicious! The service from the team was impeccable even when we had some very short notice changes, no task was too great and they always delivered with a smile! "
"Thank you again for everything you did for us on our wedding day, everyone loved the food and the bar was managed really well."
"Just to say a huge thank you to you and especially to Rob for the brilliant paella sessions on Friday. The students had an amazing experience and I have already had some excellent feedback from both staff and students regarding the sessions and of course the delicious paella itself. Rob was great and explained loads about what he was doing as well as the ingredients he was using. It all ran like clockwork so please pass on our thanks."
"Thank you so much for everyone who was in involved in our Sopley Mill Wedding. The food for the main dinner and the pizza in the evening was all amazing and the guests loved it! The staff at the main dinner were great, making sure everyone was looked after. I hear we even had a little help on the getting bits of the venue set up on the day... above and beyond, thank you!!! Would highly recommend Idelica to anyone looking for extra special catering. The people are great, all very friendly and helpful... and maybe even more important, they’re really good at what they do, the food is delicious! Thanks again for making our special day even more special."