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Magin 08/22/07 |
Hi I am having a picinic style food at my wedding reception. We have decided to do our own food but i need to know how much Potato, Macaroni, Pasta Salad, & Baked Beans I should get for 200-250 people. The other items I am having is a Veg. Tray, Bologna & cheese tray, Olives, Pickles, Chicken, Beef. Also how many dozen of eggs and cans of red beets should i get for 200 people? I have never done a party like this before and I have no idea on the amounts so PLEASE HELP ME! |
ellen 08/23/07 |
Dear Magin, I am concerned that you have not thought this through. First read my article on the wedding dinner/reception and figure out if you have or can hire enough help. As I say in the article, a function this size takes months of planning, and if you are inexperienced and do not plan well, you can end up spending more than you would for a simple catered meal, and still doing all the work! 200 to 250 people is way too big a party meal for an inexperience bride to handle. Not only do you need food, for this size group you need a commercial type kitchen and food storage area or three to four refrigerators and 2 to 3 ovens; all kinds of rental items like chafing dishes, roasters, serving staff (6 per 100 plus a minimum of 3 cooks), tables, chairs, china and silverware, napkins, beverages, setup and takedown services, not to mention the service area. You either need to have some of it catered, switch to a non-meal reception, or cut back to a max of around 130 people. As for the quantities, all the foods you have mentioned are already in my quantity tables, which means that you should be able to prepare and post a first estimate, so that I can help with it. If you look at the other threads, you will see that I do NOT recommend fully self catering a dinner party this size, especially if you are inexperienced, but rather to go with a dessert only or tea reception, much less complicated and half the cost. Also, I do NOT prepare the first estimates- haven't done that since I posted all the tables in 2004-
Also, you have to tell me a lot more about your plans. what is the full menu? Chicken what? Beef what? Buns, rolls, bread? What are you doing with the egss? with the beets? I hope you have plenty of time- and can line up your local help. Ellen |
Adrienne Stephens 08/24/07 |
My husband is retiring from the police dept; its his 65th B-day also. He loves beef and chicken. I 'm having a gathering for 300 of his friends and co-workers. How mucn of each meat do I need to purchase? It will be on serving of either or. Thanks |
ellen 08/24/07 |
Hi, Adrienne, nice little party you have in mind! Caterers offering a choice of entrees to slice and plate order an amount equal to 5 ounces ready to eat beef PLUS 3 ounces ready to eat chicken meat per person, and this gives everyone a choice and comes out about right. So if you went with about 110 serving of chicken and 220 of beef, you would probably be in the ball park. In 300 people there will be some non-meat eaters, so do offer, for example, a veggie burger pattie option if you are grilling, or a side dish such as scalloped potatoes that can act as a vegetarian main course. |