Catering for 150 people-how much to buy?
Sarah P
09/29/09 		Hi! My husband and I are catering a party for 150 people. We are at a loss as to how much of each menu item to buy. Our menu includes quesadillas, chicken skewers with dips, and mini sandwiches (ham and turkey). We're shopping on Thursday...can you offer some assistance as to how much to buy? Thanks!
ellen
09/30/09 		Sarah, unless you specify the yime of dsy of the party, length of the party and full menu there is no way to come even close on the estimate. Write back.
Marie
09/30/09 		This is my VERY FIRST SOLO catering job
Here it is ....
130 people buffet style
dinner at 5:50 p.m.
I will have someone serve the meats

Roast Beef
Ham
red potatoes
gr. beans w/ mushrooms
carrots w/ honey glaze
meatless pasta
tossed salad
rolls/butter

CAN YOU PLEASE HELP ME FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH TO COOK. I always have tons of food left over when I prepare food for home parties and other gatherings.

Thanks,
Marie

ellen
09/30/09 		Marie, this is a site for home/ volunteer cooks, and I can't be responsible for advising folks about pro/paid functions. For that I recommend chef2chef.com and cheftalk.com.

I you were a home cook, I would telkl you that you will need at least 3 cooksm 6 servers for buffet service or twice that for table service.

Roast Beef
Ham
You need to plan to end up with 5 ounces cooked beef plus 3 ounces cooked ham per person. How much raw beef depends on the cut; if it is bone in prime rib, it is 10-12 ounces raw weight. If it is boneless chuck, you need 2 pounds raw for each 4-5 people. Already cooked ham doesn't shrink much when reheated, but if you cook bone-in ham, you need about 2 pounds raw for each 7 people. See the beef roasting page for help.
meatless pasta- this will be used as an entree by the vegetarians in your crowd and as a side by everyone else. allow 8-10 pounds dry per 100, depends on the type of pasta. See the spaghetti page for yields.

All the below are covered on the plan for 100 page. Use 1 1/3 times the amount for 100.
red potatoes
gr. beans w/ mushrooms
carrots w/ honey glaze

tossed salad
rolls. butter

Sarah
09/30/09 		Sorry Ellen! Ooops! The party is from 7-11 p.m. We're serving cheese quesadillas, chicken skewers with assorted dipping sauces and mini ham and turkey sandwiches.
ellen
09/30/09 		This is not a lot of food or really the usual number of choices for this m,any people. That said, allow 1 quesadilla PLUS 1 of each sandwich (1 1/2 ounces ready to eat deli sliced meat, 2 rolls PLUS two small skewers of chicken (5 ounces). I would definitely add at least a big fruit tray (see the fruit trasy page for amounts for each 25) and either relish tray (top of the veggie tray page) or dip and chips.
Trevor
10/16/09 		I need to know how much of the following I would need:
Beef for Stroganoof
Chicken Quarters for roast chicken
Parisienne potatoes
Rommaine Hearts for salad
Trevor
10/16/09 		for 150 people-how much to buy?
Sorry I forgot to mention that it is for 160 people
Trevor
10/16/09 		I need to know how much of the following I would need:
Beef for Stroganoof
Chicken Quarters for roast chicken
Parisienne potatoes
Rommaine Hearts for salad
Sorry I forgot to mention that it is for 160 people
ellen
10/16/09 		First, cut the chicken from quarters to pieces, or people will take a whole quarter plus beef and a LOT will be wasted. Allow 1 piece per person plus 10%.
For the beef, 1 pound raw lean boneless for each 45 people, assuming mushrooms and sauce, again plus 10%.

Potatoes and lettuce are covered on the plan for 100 page, use 1 2/3 times the amounts for 100.

marilyn
10/29/09 		I am cooking for 100 people how many restaurant size cans of string beans do I need?
Reazy
10/29/09 		Party for 75 people
I am serving potatoes with string beans how many diced potatoes would I need to go into the beans I am serving 75 people

Thanks

Dalton
11/05/09 		We are serving 150 Homeless people.
Menu:ham, green beans , mashed potatoes,rolls, cookies ,Fresh fruit
Need quantity of each for meal. Thanks Dalton
ellen
11/06/09 		See the planning and shopping for large community meals for help with all these; use 1 1/2 times the amount for 100. The fruit tray page will give you specific help on the fruit planning.

I suggest you read the article, Community Feasts, and pass it around to your volunteers:

www.ellenskitchen.com/turkey/turkintro.html