Celebrations
Housewarming Party Catering in Medellín
Medellin Elite Catering helps new residents of Medellín celebrate the keys, the view and the first guests through the door. Since 2019 we have catered housewarmings in fresh-built towers in Sabaneta and Envigado, renovated houses in Laureles and furnished rentals that expats have just moved into.
Our hosts include Colombian families who have finally bought their own place, foreign remote workers settling into a new apartment, and couples welcoming neighbors, colleagues and in-laws at once. Coordinators speak English and Spanish, so an expat host can plan everything without translating the building rules alone.
Housewarmings are where catering meets moving day reality: no gas yet, half the plates still in boxes, a doorman who needs a list. Years of these first parties have taught us to arrive with everything needed and leave nothing behind but a clean kitchen.
- Itemized quotes available
- Bilingual English and Spanish coordinators
Plan your event
Our Housewarming Catering
We cater housewarming parties for 8 to 80 guests, as delivered platters you set out yourself or as a staffed party with servers, a bar and full cleanup. Most take place in apartments or the social room of a residential tower, and some in houses with a terrace or garden in Envigado, the Oriente or the leafy streets covered by our catering in Laureles.
Many Colombian families open a new home with a bendición del hogar, a short blessing led by a priest, followed by lunch for relatives. Expats tend to throw an evening open house for new neighbors, coworkers and friends from language class.
Either way, the guest list is often a mix of people who have never met. Food that encourages wandering and talking, such as grazing boards and finger food, does more for the party than a seated meal.
Catering in a Home That Is Still Half Unpacked
You do not need a stocked kitchen for us to cater your housewarming, because we bring everything needed to serve. Food arrives cooked and hot in insulated Cambro carriers, then goes into chafing dishes with their own fuel, so we never depend on a stove that may not be connected yet.
That matters in Medellín, where new apartments are sometimes handed over before EPM activates the gas line, and a delivered refrigerator can take another week. For cold items we bring coolers with ice packs, keeping salads and desserts below 5 °C for the whole party.
On staffed parties we also bring plates, flatware, glassware and serving utensils, and if you have no table yet we can rent a buffet table through a partner supplier. At the end our team washes what needs washing, takes away every bag of trash and leaves the new kitchen as clean as the day you got the keys.
Apartment Building Rules to Check
Before you send invitations, check your building's reglamento de propiedad horizontal, the internal rules every residential complex adopts under Ley 675 of 2001. These rules decide when guests can arrive, which elevator we can use, how loud the party can be and whether you can book the social room.
The points we ask every host to confirm with the administración:
- Visitor registration: most porterías want a list of guest names in advance, and our team appears on the same list
- Service elevator: some towers require a reservation and padded walls for deliveries, especially if other residents are still moving in
- Parking: visitor bays are limited, so we confirm where our van unloads and for how long
- Social room booking: capacity, closing time and the administración's conditions for using it
- Quiet hours: many buildings set quiet hours from 10 p.m. on weeknights, backed by the noise rules in the police code, Ley 1801 of 2019
Send us these details with your quote request and we will plan the timing around them. An evening party in a tower usually works best from 6 to 10 p.m., with the hot food out by 7.
Housewarming Menus
The best housewarming menus are grazing food that guests pick at while touring the apartment, with a hot dish for evening parties. A grazing board is the centerpiece: campesino cheese, chorizo, mini arepas, guava paste with cheese, fruit, olives and crackers, laid out on a long board on the kitchen island.
Around it we add finger food that holds well in a small space. Our corn empanadas from the empanada catering menu, mini arepas with hogao and shredded beef, patacones with guacamole and chicken skewers with pineapple are the favorites, at about 8 to 10 pieces per guest for a three-hour party.
For an evening open house we add a compact hot buffet, such as chicken in coconut sauce, rice with vegetables and a green salad, served from two chafing dishes. A family lunch after a bendición might instead be sancocho or a bandeja paisa buffet with frijoles, chicharrón, rice, arepa and avocado, finished with natilla or a tres leches cake.
Drop-Off or Full Service?
Choose drop-off for a casual gathering of up to about 30 guests where you are happy to set out the food, and full service when you want to spend the evening with your guests rather than in the kitchen. The table compares both.
| Drop-off | Full service | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | No guest minimum | 15 guests |
| Staff | None, you set out the food | Cook, servers, optional bartender |
| Tableware | Compostable plates and cutlery | China, flatware and glassware |
| Cleanup | You keep the leftovers and trays | Full cleanup and trash removal |
| Order ahead | 48 hours | 2 weeks |
Our catering delivery service explains delivery windows and packaging in more detail, and our small group catering page covers gatherings under 20 guests.
Questions and answers
Housewarming FAQs
Can you cater in my building's social room?
Yes, we regularly cater in salones sociales, as long as you have reserved the room with the administración and know its capacity and closing time. Send us the booking confirmation and the building's rules, and we add our team and van to the access list. Most social rooms have a sink and a fridge but no stove, which suits our hot-held buffets and finger food.
What is the smallest housewarming you cater?
For drop-off platters there is no guest minimum, and we can size an order of generous platters for as few as 8 to 10 guests. Staffed parties with servers and cleanup start at 15 guests. For smaller, more formal evenings, a private chef dinner works from 2 guests.
Reserve your date
Celebrate the New Place
Tell us your neighborhood, the guest count and whether you want delivery or full service, and we will send an itemized quote within 24 hours. You can also write to info@medellincatering.com.
- Itemized quotes available
- Menus, staff, tableware, setup and cleanup in one quote
- Food-handler certified team and labeled allergens on every tray
- Monday to Saturday
- 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Sunday
- Closed (events still run)