The cooking isn't part of the event. The cooking is the event.
At a Tapas Madriz event, the paella pan is never hidden away in a kitchen out the back. It's set up where your guests can see it, smell it, and hear it — because watching a 90cm pan of saffron rice come together over an open flame is part of what people remember about the night, not just what they ate.
Most catering in Melbourne means trays delivered cold, reheated in foil, and a server you'll forget by the next morning. That's not a criticism of anyone else's business model — it's just not what we do, and it's not what people are booking when they call us. They're booking the theatre of it: the sofrito building in the pan, the smell of smoked paprika drifting through the venue, the moment the socarrat forms at the bottom and everyone leans in to see it.
Ignacio grew up in Madrid watching paella made this way for as long as he can remember — in front of people, argued over, shared. That's the standard every Tapas Madriz event is held to, whether it's a dinner for six or a wedding for two hundred. Read the full story behind Tapas Madriz →
"The best meals happen when the cooking is part of the occasion."
It's the idea every Tapas Madriz event is built around — from an intimate private dinner to a 150-guest corporate function.
Tell us about your event — guest numbers, occasion, dietary requirements — and we'll put together a tailored quote within 24 hours. No two events get the same menu by default; we build it around what you actually need.
Paella pans, gas burners, serveware, tables — we bring it all. Your only job before the event starts is to enjoy your own guests, not coordinate equipment hire.
The sofrito is built in the pan on-site, not reheated from a container. Saffron, stock, rice, protein — all cooked from scratch, in view, finishing with the crisp socarrat at the base that you can't get from food that's been sitting in foil.
Once the last plate is served, we handle pack-down and cleanup and leave your venue exactly as we found it. You don't lift a finger — at the start of the night or the end of it.
The same live-cooking approach, adapted to what your event actually needs.
A live cooking experience that gives clients and colleagues something to talk about — not just another catered lunch.
See how it works →A Spanish feast cooked live for your wedding day, built around your guest count and the rest of your run sheet.
See how it works →Vibrant, social, and built for guests who want to be part of the cooking, not just the eating.
See how it works →An intimate restaurant-quality dinner for 4–12 guests, cooked by Ignacio in your own home from tapas to dessert.
See how it works →If it didn't go into the pan in front of your guests, it's not what we serve. Every paella is cooked live, on location.
We're there for the whole event — setup, cooking, service, and cleanup. Not a delivery, a presence.
A corporate lunch and a wedding reception need different things. We plan around your event, not a fixed script.
We pack down and leave your space exactly as we found it. The night doesn't end with you doing dishes.
Tell us about your event and we'll put together a tailored quote within 24 hours.
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