The evening

A paella is finished in its last five minutes. So it is cooked where it is eaten.

We do not box a paella and drive it to you; that is rice with things in it by the time it arrives. We bring the pans and the fire, and we cook in front of your guests. While the rice takes the broth, the table eats tapas and drinks. Then the pan comes to the table, and the evening has its centre.

The menu is set: two or three tapas a person, the paella, and dessert, at $75 a person. Every evening comes with a cook and a server. Twelve guests is the smallest table we cook for. Eighty is where the standard evening ends; beyond that we still come, by special request, with more time and more pans. Livermore Valley wineries, you are who we mean. Wine, beer and cocktails by what is opened; the restaurant’s licence carries a caterer’s permit, and each event is authorised with the state in advance, which is one reason we ask for 7 days’ notice. We cook outdoors, or in a kitchen with ventilation.

How many

One pan feeds a dozen, and one cook tends one pan. A bigger table gets more kinds of paella, not a bigger pan.

Guests	Paella
12 to 19	one paella, one cook
20 to 34	two paellas, two kinds, two cooks
35 to 49	three paellas, three kinds, three cooks
50 to 80	four paellas, four cooks
More than 80	by special request: more time, more planning, more pans

Every paella on the menu is gluten-free and dairy-free, and the Four Mushroom is vegan, so one pan can already suit a mixed table; from twenty guests the kinds multiply: a Valenciana beside a seafood, a mushroom beside both. Tell us who eats what on the form and we choose the pans with you. Past eighty guests, say so on the form: it takes more planning and more of us, and we have done bigger rooms than that.

Who comes

An evening for twelve, with a cook and a server, is $1,400: $75 a person and the team below. From there it grows with the table.

A cook and a server come on every evening, whoever else does. When Torsten or Mete joins you, they come in addition to the team, never instead of it: the team does the work, and they are the reason you asked.

At your table	For the evening
A cook from the L Campo team, with the pans and the fire (every evening)	$250
A server (every evening); a second server the same	$250
A bartender, for cocktails	$300
Mete Akbaba behind your bar, with the cocktail list	$800
Chef Torsten Schulz with you for the evening: at the pans, and at your table	$2,500

Food at $75 a person, twelve guests at the least; more than eighty by special request. Travel within San Francisco, the Peninsula from Palo Alto to San José, the East Bay to Walnut Creek, and the Tri-Valley is included; beyond it, by quote. Deposit half on booking, the balance the day before the event. Prices plus California sales tax; no service fee. Gratuity at your discretion. A limited number of evenings each month with the chef himself.

Good to know

How it goes

You send the enquiry. We reply within two business days with a quote and a plan. When we agree, a deposit of half holds the date; the balance is due the day before the event. Gratuity is at your discretion, in cash on the evening or added to the final payment.

Plates, glasses, cutlery

Yours: no charge. Ours, disposable and compostable: $5 a person. Ours in china, glass and steel: $15 a person, which covers the rental, the washing and the return.

Can I cancel?

The deposit is the commitment, and it is not refunded. The one exception is weather: if it makes cooking outdoors unsafe on the day, we move the date together and the deposit moves with it.

What we need at your venue

Water. A place to wash. A proper area to cook and prepare, and a place to stage. Somewhere to unload, and a clear word on where to park. Access to a bathroom for the team is appreciated.

Leave no trace

We arrive, we cook, we clean, we go. You would not know we had been there except for the plates.

Who you will meet

The team comes in L Campo uniform; if your evening asks for a dress code, tell us in advance. Servers are professionally trained. Every cook holds a California food handler card.

Wine, beer and cocktails

By what is opened, from our list. The restaurant’s caterer’s permit covers service at your venue; each event is authorised with the state ahead of time, which is one reason for the week’s notice.

Rain

Paella is cooked outdoors or in a ventilated kitchen. If the forecast turns, we talk two days before and decide together: a covered space, or a new date.

Is there a service fee?

No. The prices on this page are the prices, plus California sales tax. The team’s fees are stated, not hidden in a percentage.

How long is the evening?

We arrive about two hours before the first plate and stay up to five hours on site. A longer evening is possible; we agree it in the quote, by the hour.

When do you need the final count?

Five days before the event. That is the number we shop for and the number we charge; a few more on the night we can usually feed, a few fewer we cannot unmake.

Children

Children under twelve are half price and count toward the table.

Does your venue need a certificate of insurance?

Some wineries and event spaces ask for one before a fire is lit. Tell us on the form and we handle it with the quote.

Livermore Valley

We are part of this valley. Invite us to your winery.

L Campo is a Livermore restaurant, and the Livermore Valley is wine country that keeps getting better. Its wines are on our list beside the Spanish ones, and its vineyards are where a paella belongs: outdoors, over a fire, with a glass of what grew fifty yards away. If you run a winery, a tasting room or an event space in the valley, invite us to your next tasting, release party or harvest dinner. We bring the pans and cook among the vines, and your wine pours with a dish that was made for it.

Paella, cooked at your table