The Party Planner: Cooking for a Crowd (2024)

FAQs

How do you calculate food for a crowd? ›

Rules to Plan By

Each adult will consume 1 pound of food total; children, about 1/2 pound. The more options you have, the less you need of each; decrease the main course portion sizes by 1 to 2 ounces if served on a buffet. Guests will always eat — and drink — more at night than during the day.

For a plated meal, you would typically need around 140-170 grams of meat or fish per person. So, for 50 people, you would require approximately 7-8.5 kilograms of the main course. If you're serving a buffet-style meal, you can estimate slightly less, 110-140 grams per person.

The number of full trays of food needed for 100 guests can vary depending on the type of food and serving style, but a rough estimate would be around 10-12 trays.

Serving budget-friendly cuisines like salads, sandwiches and pasta dishes can be a very cost-effective choice. Or, if you're looking for a more casual option, how about a barbeque? Burgers, hot dogs and other grill-oriented foods are sure to be crowd favorites, and they won't rack up a big bill.

A: 100, 1/2 cup servings of potatoes needs 25 pounds of potatoes. However, if the group has other choices for sides, I think you can get by with about 15-20 pounds minimum.

10 lbs is enough mashed potatoes for around 8 adults getting reasonably sized servings (ie large).

What to feed a party of 50? ›

co*cktail Party - Allow 4-6 pieces per hour per person - where the finger food is served in place of a meal. You will serve more pieces per hour in the first 2 hours and less per hour after that. Remember snacks with meat and fried foods are more filling.

To determine serving size, you can weigh the food and divide it by the number of servings. Many recipes also provide the recommended serving size.