How Much Food to Serve
Determining Food Quantities For a Crowd is More Than a Number
How much food to serve your large crowd is a very important question for you to answer.
There is no one answer or exact formula but there are a number of factors you should consider as you begin the decision-making process.
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The purpose of the event is determined, the budget is set, the guests are counted and the menu is planned. The next step is to figure out how much food to serve.
In estimating how much food to serve a crowd, you will consider the number of guests attending, including details such as age and gender. The menu, time of day, portion sizes, and service styles will also affect the menu. ​
How Many People Are Attending?
The answer here is based on your budget and the purpose or occasion of the event. Often, the number of guest is only an estimate. Unless you ask for an RSVP that specifies the number of guests, you should anticipate and plan for extra servings. Also, an RSVP doesn't mean there will not be no shows or uninvited guests. Of course it is always best to have too much food than not enough.
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For a big event, consider using a free online invitation and RSVP service or app to make it easier for guests to quickly respond and no shows to obtusely decline .
Who Are These People
Once the numbers of guests are confirmed, you should look at the many descriptors that categorize the people attending the event. Your guests will most likely be made up of a combination of ages, genders, ethnicities and cultures. Keep in mind, these generalities are not written in stone. Everyone loves delicious food, especially when it's free!
Male and female: Men eat more than women, except when it is all women eating together (or so I’ve noticed).
Ages: Children younger than 10 hardly eat anything but the amount they eat increases significantly after age 14.
Local: Guests coming to the party from out of town will eat more because it is looked at as a special, celebratory occasion.
Experience: Guests who frequently dine out or attend social occasions may eat less then guests who are home bodies or who don’t get out much.
Enthusiasm: When people are “pumped up” and excited, they eat more.
Marital status: Single men and women gathered for a buffet mixer will eat less. By the way, they also may not appreciate saucy, messy barbecued ribs and smelly garlic bread.
Most importantly, do not forget that your guests will come equipped with a variety of dietary requirements and preferences.
Time of Day
The date and time of your event or party will usually be based on an occasion or event, such as a birthday, anniversary, holiday, awards ceremony or fundraiser.
Socializing and sharing meals with others happens at all times of the day and night. For many occasions, the time of day you wish to hold your event will affect your menu choices.
You can host an awards breakfast, a noon wedding brunch or a late-evening Christmas cocktail party.
As a rule of thumb, people prefer lighter foods and will eat less at breakfast, brunch and lunch than at dinner time.
It goes without saying, people tend to eat more in cold weather and prefer lighter fare in the spring and summer.
Breakfast
6 a.m. – 11a.m.
Full breakfast early in the morning; continental breakfast after 9:00 a.m.
Brunch
11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Brunch served after 2 p.m. can include more lunch items and light snacks
Lunch
12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Appetizers, sandwiches, hearty salads, casseroles
Light Snacks and Appetizers
2 p.m. – 5/ 6 p.m.
Open houses, meetings
Dinner
6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Early dinners - roasted meats, casseroles; later dinners - more appetizers, soups, salads, light pastas
Cocktail Party
7 p.m. and beyond
Appetizers, snacks, light salads, fruits, alcoholic drinks
Food Service Styles
This refers to how you set-up the food and serve your guests. Everyone loves a self-service buffet. Your guests will see copious amounts of food and think it will last forever! That's one reason a buffet will require larger portion sizes. A seated service should be easier to determine food quantities and control portion sizes and you can decide whether of not to prepare for second helpings.
Types of Food
Determining how much food to serve also takes the types of foods into consideration. Types of food include the proteins (meats, seafood), carbohydrates (pasta, potatoes, rice) and vegetables.
Try to prepare a balance of foods, both in types and amounts. Most guests will “sample” a bit of every dish but proteins and carbs will be the most consumed dishes especially on guests first “pass” of the buffet table. Next to be consumed will be vegetables, desserts and salads, in that order (and in my experience).
Remember, you do not have to prepare 100 servings of every item on a menu for 100 guests. In fact the more options you serve, the smaller each portion size can be, including the main course.
Portion Sizes
Knowing exactly how much your guests will eat is almost impossible. Having a general idea of the desired portion sizes is one of the best ways in estimating food quantities for a crowd and in estimating and controlling food costs.
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The portion size of each dish can be determined by the recipe and by making assumptions about the crowd.
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A group of college football players might eat larger portions of chili than a group of pre-teen soccer players. Portion sizes can be smaller if a variety of food options are offered.
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If you can, weigh a cooked whole beef, pork roast or loin to calculate individual serving portions.
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For buffets, have items pre-sliced into one serving sizes, such as casseroles (like lasagna) and pies and cakes.
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You can also control portions by having volunteers do the serving. Just be sure that portion sizes are equal between plates. Also, have volunteers serve expensive items like seafood and beef filets.
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On a self-serve buffet you might control portion sizes by the size of the serving pieces placed in each dish. For example, use a small serving spoon to serve shrimp in butter sauce and a larger spoon to serve the accompanying rice.
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Use a serving fork instead of tongs to serve beef steaks or slices of roasted chicken breast.
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Planning for Extra
It is always better to have too much food then not enough, duh. Having extra food will come in handy if something is overcooked or spilled or if there are errors in your calculations. Even with a fairly accurate head count, extra guests will always show up.
Also don’t forget about feeding your precious volunteers and any support workers involved, like musicians, facility managers or the clean-up crew.
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Professional caterers will generally prepare 5-20% more of a dish based on the weight or other
quantity. This "cushion" will also be influenced by makeup of the guests, the courses or types of food, and the real potential for extra guests.
For example, if you are serving chicken breast to 100 guests, you will prepare 100 chicken breast halves and add a modest 10% cushion of 110 chicken breast halves.
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Another good example, you are cooking for a neighborhood block party breakfast for 100 invited guests. You've calculated that you will need 12 pounds of bacon to serve each guest 2 slices each. You may not be able to control neighbors inviting other family and friends, and you know EVERYONE loves bacon. In this example, plan for at least 10% to 20% extra or 13.25 to 14.5 pounds of bacon.