The Party Planner: Cooking for a Crowd (2024)

FAQs

How do you calculate food for 50 people? ›

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.

The time of the party is also important. Guests tend to eat and drink more at night than during the day. However, an after-dinner co*cktail party requires much less food than an all-afternoon cookout. On average, plan for each adult to consume about 1 pound of food total (not including dessert).

Generally, an adult will eat about 1lb of food per seating. So if you are serving 4 portions of food, you need about 1/4 lb per person.

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.

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.

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.

Plan on 1/3 to 1/2 pound potatoes per person for your feast.

Aim to provide around 6-8 courses of small bite size food per person. Each course should have enough for 1-1.5 pieces of food per person. When choosing recipes, consider whether you could eat it with one hand in one or two bites. Check your guests' dietary requirements.

How many sandwiches for 50 guests? ›

To feed 50 people with sandwiches, you may need around 100-150 sandwiches, depending on the size of the sandwiches and the other food being served.

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.

Quantity. A good rule of thumb when working with your caterer on just how many hors d'oeuvres to choose is as follows: for 10 – 12 guests a minimum of 5 selections, 25 guests a minimum of 9 selections and for 50 guests, a minimum of 13 selections.