How Many Trays Of Food Do I Need For 40 Guests? (2024)

FAQs

How Many Trays Of Food Do I Need For 40 Guests? ›

For 40 guests, you may need around 4-5 trays of food, depending on the dish and the serving size.

(Half trays serve 20 people. Full trays serve 35-40 people.)

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.

To avoid waste and expense work to feeding about 34 people if 40 attending." Remember if you're doing a number of dishes, you don't need to provide enough for people to have a full portion of each. If you're worried about running out, bulk up on cheaper items like potatoes, bread and salad.

Here's a general guideline: Number of Appetizers: Plan for 4-6 different types of appetizers. Quantity per Person: Estimate around 5-6 pieces per person per hour. So for a 4-5 hour party, you'd aim for around 20-30 pieces per person in total.

Main Dishes and Side Dishes

As a general rule, plan for one main dish serving and one or two side dish servings per person.

It's pretty simple too: We just determine an appropriate size portion of any dish in ounces per person, the we multiply that times the number of guests and divide by 16 (# of oz in a pound) and just like that you get the number of pounds you'll need.

That means if you needed enough food to feed 40 people, drop-off catering would cost an average of $800. Meanwhile, a traditional sit-down meal could cost up to $5,000, depending on the complexity of the menu and the other factors we've touched on.

As a rough estimate, if pasta is the main course, you might want to aim for around 4–6 ounces (113–170 grams) per person. So for 40 people, you would need roughly 160–240 ounces (4> 5–6> 8 kilograms) of pasta. Of course, this can vary depending on appetites, side dishes, and other factors.

What is the cheapest food to cater a party? ›

Cheap catering food ideas include rice or pasta-based dishes, hot dogs, burritos, tacos, cookies, and muffins, which are loved by everyone and are often more affordable than sophisticated seafood or meat dishes.

What Does a Typical Catering Tray Feed? Generally, a catering tray can feed 15-20 people. For example, a full tray of chicken breasts should have enough protein for 15-20 people. However, remember that people may choose sides like salads and desserts, which may not factor into this.

The overall rule that most caterers and party planners use is to calculate a pound of food per person, and a half pound per child. Professionals typically recommend breaking it down further from there: Aim for 2 to 4 ounces of appetizers per person—think 5 to 6 bites.

If you only have an hour in between, it's safe to only have a couple different options available, totaling about six pieces per guest. If you will be longer than an hour, more is always better. Consider having four to five different options during your co*cktail hour, totaling eight to ten pieces per guest.

Generally, you will need enough for each guest to eat 2 of each type of appetizer you serve. For very large parties, you can lower this to 1.5 servings per person per appetizer. However, for high-protein appetizers such as mini sliders, deviled eggs, or bacon-wrapped shrimp, you can plan for 1.5 servings per person.

Full Trays generally serve 25-30 people, half trays, 12-15 people depending on the quantity of other foods served.

NOT SURE HOW MANY PLATTERS TO ORDER? Each platter serves a party of 8-10 people. If you're hungry go ahead and order an extra platter or two.

​So how many desserts do you really need? If you are offering a full size dessert like a cupcake or a full size brownie, count on 1-2 per guest. With smaller desserts like cookies, macarons, bite size brownies, or mini tarts you can count on each guest taking 3 items from the various options.