Catered food - how much?

[tink_n_pooh]

We are planning DD's first birthday party. Invites haven't gone out yet so I don't have a real number of people attending so I am just going to guess 50-60 adults and 10-15 kids (little kids, mostly toddlers). We will most likely be ordering trays of food and I am trying to get a realistic handle on how much food we will need.

The party will be at 1pm. In addition to the lunch foods we will serve chips, pretzels, dips, and probably fresh veggies for snacks/appetizers. We are thinking of serving for lunch: tossed salad, a pasta (baked ziti or penne with vodka sauce), a chicken (francese or parm), and something kid friendly like chicken fingers and fries. Of course there will be cake and a few other desserts. My sister in law will likely make some potato salad too.

Guesses for number of trays of food we will need? Most menus say a full tray feeds anywhere from 15-25 people but reading some other sites online I am thinking that is very conservative. We could also add another option for people such as an eggplant parm.

 

[dakcp2001]

I'd ask the caterer for the long and short of it. I would also order more than I think I need. You can have leftovers or send some home with family. If it were me, I'd probably make the tray of salad myself and put the money toward getting more of the pasta and chicken dishes. With the estimate you have of 15-25 per tray, I'd err toward the lower end and assume 15 people per tray. I'd probably get at least 2 chicken dish trays, 2 pasta dish trays, one tray of kiddie food and make my own large tray or two of salad and my own big pan of mac n cheese to go with the chicken fingers for the kids (fries wont hold well in a preordered tray they will be mushy). I am one of those that always wants to have way more food "just in case". I might even do 3 trays of chicken and 3 trays of pasta. Or else 3 trays of pasta, 2 trays of chicken, and 1 tray of eggplant.

Can you wait on RSVPS before you make your final order? You might not get 60 adults. Then you can order scaled down a bit.

 

[shoney]

I just looked at the catering menu for our local Italian place.

It says full trays feed 12 to 14 people.

I would ask the place what they recommend.

 

[NotUrsula]

That number is a bit low, and is probably assuming that adults will eat a large portion of salad, which young kids tend not to do. I'd assume 12-15 rather than 15-17.

BTW, I don't know a kid alive who doesn't like Penne w/ Vodka sauce (they all call it "Pink sauce"), so I'm not sure why you would need a separate non-pasta entree for kids.

Also, you should note that standard catering practice is to assume that liquid consumption among children under 12 is always twice that of adults -- kids drink like wee fishies, and at an active party, many of them will pass up food altogether and completely fill their stomachs on liquids and bread-based snacks such as crackers or breadsticks.

 

[ChristaDeVil]

Always order more than you need. What some catering companies consider a "serving" and what some people consider a "serving" might differ. I'd rather have too much than too little. I don't know that I would do all of those snacks/appetizers and the lunch. Kids might fill up on that and not eat their lunch. But that's totally my opinion.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

The caterer I spoke with yesterday recommended one tray of each salad, pasta, chicken nuggets, and either two trays of the chicken choice or one chicken and one eggplant. That was without taking into consideration all of the other things like chips, potato salad, veggie platter, etc. Each tray is a full size pan (I think about 10-12" x 24"). I will ask each caterer as we review our options as to what they think as well. I guess different caterers include different amounts of food in the pans?

 

[abdmom]

That doesn't sound like enough food for 50-60 adults. I would get at least another tray of pasta + something hot other than chicken or pasta.

 

[shoney]

That doesn't sound like enough food for 50-60 adults. I would get at least another tray of pasta + something hot other than chicken or pasta.

I agree.

I would add a tray of meatballs and another pasta.

I would also skip the nuggets. Most kids like Italian food.

 

[cluvsdisney]

Depending on the final head count, I would serve:

1 full tray of baked ziti (or make it, it's easy to do and much much less expensive then ordering a tray)
1 full tray of penne alla vodka (I would specify no meat in the sauce for vegetarians)
1 full tray of chicken parm

1/2 tray of meat balls
1/2 tray of sausage & peppers
1/2 tray of eggplant rollatini or parm
1/2 tray of chicken francese

Or substitute one of the half trays of meat for grilled vegetables.

Salad (maybe 2 - mixed green & Cesar). FWIW, whenever we served a buffet meal like this, very few people ate salad.
Italian bread with butter

Maybe a platter of slice tomatoes & fresh mozzarella?

Plus the chicken fingers wi fries or Mac & cheese for the kids.

 

[Green Tea]

Isn't it part of the benefit of hiring the caterer that you tell them the head count and after that its their responsibility to keep the food coming until the end of the contract time?

If I was doing it myself, I would worry about how much food was ready. But I hire a caterer when I don't want to think about the details like this.

 

[cluvsdisney]

Isn't it part of the benefit of hiring the caterer that you tell them the head count and after that its their responsibility to keep the food coming until the end of the contract time?

If I was doing it myself, I would worry about how much food was ready. But I hire a caterer when I don't want to think about the details like this.

I don't know about the OP but when we ordered trays like this, the food is delivered and set up but the caterer doesn't stay and serve or anything like that. So once you're out of something, that's it. They should guide you on how much to order but even on this thread the amount is not consistent and it will also depend on your guests.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I don't know about the OP but when we ordered trays like this, the food is delivered and set up but the caterer doesn't stay and serve or anything like that. So once you're out of something, that's it. They should guide you on how much to order but even on this thread the amount is not consistent and it will also depend on your guests.

Exactly. Many places don't even deliver the food, or will deliver for another fee. The food is just picked up and we go from there. We could have it fully catered where they stay and serve to the tune if $20-40 per person but that just isn't in the budget.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

Depending on the final head count, I would serve:

1 full tray of baked ziti (or make it, it's easy to do and much much less expensive then ordering a tray)
1 full tray of penne alla vodka (I would specify no meat in the sauce for vegetarians)
1 full tray of chicken parm

1/2 tray of meat balls
1/2 tray of sausage & peppers
1/2 tray of eggplant rollatini or parm
1/2 tray of chicken francese

Or substitute one of the half trays of meat for grilled vegetables.

Salad (maybe 2 - mixed green & Cesar). FWIW, whenever we served a buffet meal like this, very few people ate salad.
Italian bread with butter

Maybe a platter of slice tomatoes & fresh mozzarella?

Plus the chicken fingers wi fries or Mac & cheese for the kids.

This is along the lines of what I am thinking right now. We will probably cut out two half trays because we are also getting a large3 or 6' sub and some cold potato & pasta salads in small quantities. Tossed salad is one of those things that is never a huge hit but still expected.

I will probably just make my own pasta because like you said, it is very easy and much cheaper, I just don't have much room to store it. I can make the salad too with a few bags of salad from SAMs club

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I'd do a tray of salad, two trays of pasta, two trays of chicken and a tray of meatballs, plus the kids food (although my toddler would eat the adult food instead).

It's unlikely adults will fill up on chips and veggies, I'd expect them to eat a full lunch anyway.

 

[MrsPete]

General rule for a caterer is, Plan 1.5 x your number of guests. So if you had 100 guests and were serving hot dogs, you'd need 150 hot dogs. If one cup of pasta is "a serving", you'd plan 1.5 cups per person -- divided among the different offerings.

Ways to cut costs:

- Order your pasta trays, which are both adult and kid friendly
- Choose only two pasta trays -- one vegetarian, one with meat; the more options you offer, the more people will eat -- rather mindlessly
- If budget matters at all, forget the chicken nuggets -- if you serve only the pasta, people'll eat the pasta and be happy; if you serve the nuggets AND the pasta, they'll eat both and be happy.
- Add meatballs in your own crock pot -- all of five minutes effort, but the same impact as another tray of time-consuming pasta
- Buy bagged salads yourself -- why pay someone to do something that simple?
- Buy loaves of Italian bread yourself -- again, why pay someone to slice bread and slather it with butter?
- Go with small plates