Menus & Cuisines
Pasta Catering in Medellín
Medellin Elite Catering runs live pasta stations and pasta buffets at weddings, birthdays, office parties and late-night receptions in Medellín. A cook finishes each portion in a hot pan in front of the guest, with the shape and sauce they chose, and plates it in under three minutes.
Pasta is one of the few dishes that pleases a six-year-old, a Colombian grandmother and a visiting Italian colleague at the same table. We have served it at events since 2019, and our Medellín kitchen rolls fresh egg pasta for every order that needs it.
This page covers the pasta station and pasta buffets. A complete Italian dinner in courses is on our Italian menu page.
- Itemized quotes available
- Bilingual English and Spanish coordinators
Plan your event
Our Pasta Catering
We serve pasta two ways: a live pasta station where cooks finish each plate to order, and a pasta buffet with two or three pastas held in chafing dishes. The station is an experience and the buffet is efficient, so many hosts choose the buffet for a big lunch and the station for an evening party.
A pasta station works as the main meal, as one of several stations at a wedding or as the snack that comes out after midnight. It pairs naturally with the antipasti from our Italian catering menu, and it fits most indoor venues because it runs on induction rather than gas.
Guests usually choose from 2 pasta shapes and 3 sauces, plus a vegetarian sauce and a gluten-free pasta option. Fresh pastas are made the day before with Colombian eggs and Italian 00 flour, and dried pastas are imported bronze-cut durum wheat. Staffed stations and buffets start at 15 guests, and a drop-off pasta buffet of two pastas, salad and bread suits smaller gatherings.
Pasta Shapes and Sauces
The right shape depends on the sauce: wide ribbons carry creamy and meat sauces, ridged tubes trap chunky sauces and thin strands suit oil-based ones. This table shows the pairings we use most.
| Shape | Fresh or dried | Best sauces |
|---|---|---|
| Tagliatelle | Fresh egg pasta | Bolognese ragù, mushroom and cream |
| Pappardelle | Fresh egg pasta | Slow-cooked beef or pork ragù |
| Spaghetti | Dried | Carbonara, aglio e olio, cherry tomato and basil |
| Penne rigate | Dried | Arrabbiata, vodka cream, basil pesto |
| Rigatoni | Dried | Sausage and tomato, four cheeses |
| Ravioli | Fresh, filled with ricotta and spinach | Sage butter, tomato and basil |
| Gnocchi | Fresh, potato | Gorgonzola cream, pesto |
Our carbonara is made the Roman way, with egg yolk, pecorino and black pepper and no cream, using pancetta because true guanciale is rarely sold in Colombia. Gnocchi are made with papa pastusa, a floury Colombian potato that keeps them light, and the pesto uses basil grown in eastern Antioquia.
For a local twist we offer rigatoni with chorizo antioqueño, tomato and a little hogao. It is the sauce Colombian guests ask about first.
Live Pasta Station Setup
A live pasta station is a cooking table where one or two cooks finish pasta in sauté pans over induction burners and plate it to order. The pasta is cooked al dente in our kitchen, cooled fast in our blast chiller and reheated in the pan with its sauce, which takes 2 to 3 minutes per plate.
We bring 4 induction burners, sauté pans, a hot-water bath for the fresh pasta, sauces in insulated containers, grated Parmigiano, chili flakes and basil, plus coolers that keep cream and eggs below 5 °C. One cook with 4 burners plates about 60 to 80 portions an hour.
Each station needs a table about 2.5 m long and two standard 110 V outlets on separate circuits, since two induction burners can trip a shared breaker. Because there is no open flame, the station is allowed in hotel ballrooms and in most salones sociales, which is why our catering in Laureles books it so often for apartment towers where gas is off-limits.
Pasta for Kids and Big Groups
Children want simple pasta: butter and Parmigiano, or a smooth tomato sauce with no visible onion or herbs. We serve kids' portions in small bowls with mini penne or short spaghetti, and add meatballs or breaded chicken on the side for bigger appetites.
For adults, plan on 100 to 120 g of dried pasta per guest when pasta is the main dish, and 60 to 70 g when it is one station among several. Children aged 4 to 10 eat about half an adult portion, and a pasta station is one of the safest menus we know for kids' birthday party catering.
Groups of 150 or more get a pasta buffet rather than a single station, or two stations side by side. For a 200-guest wedding, two stations with 4 burners each serve the room in about 90 minutes, while a staffed buffet of three pastas serves it in about 40.
Questions and answers
Pasta FAQs
Do you offer gluten-free pasta?
Yes, we offer gluten-free penne and spaghetti made from rice and corn. It is boiled in its own pot of water, finished in a dedicated pan that never touches wheat pasta and plated with clean utensils. Tell us how many guests have celiac disease when you book, so their plates can be labeled and served first.
How fast can a pasta station serve 100 guests?
One station with 4 induction burners serves 100 guests in about 75 to 90 minutes, which suits a late-night snack or a party where people eat in waves. If all 100 guests eat at once, as at a wedding dinner, we set up two stations and serve the room in about 45 minutes. A staffed pasta buffet is faster still, at around 25 minutes for 100 guests.
Reserve your date
Add a Pasta Station to Your Event
Tell us your date, guest count and venue, and we will send a pasta menu and 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)