We're expecting around 50 people and I'm just wondering how many items of food I should allow for, per head? 6 or 7 maybe?
I'm doing things like sandwiches, stuffed eggs, gourmet sausage rolls, asparagus rolls, mini quiches etc.
Everything will be bite sized, so that people don't have to juggle a wine glass and a napkin while trying to eat something big.
Ideas for sandwich fillings would be good too if anyone has some. I'll do the usual smoked salmon and cucumber, prawn mayonnaise, egg, tomato and ham etc, but I need a couple of vegetarian options too.
I'm not going to do anything sweet, apart from platters of sliced fruit.

wasala - 2019-02-25 11:59:00

That sounds a really good menu wasala.
It depends on the make up of the group as to how much to allow per person, I reckon. It's an eye opener how much young people & old people can put away!
Mashed peas with mint is a good sandwich filling as is cream cheese & finely chopped ginger.
I was trying to jog my memory, so had a little talk to Ms Google & found this on a vegan site ...some of them sound pretty yummy to me, so you may find some ideas.
https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/lifestyle/food-and-dr
ink/sandwich-and-wrap-fillings
Hope that helps a little.

Edited by samanya at 5:56 pm, Mon 25 Feb

samanya - 2019-02-25 17:53:00

For previous catering events, I always allowed 3 savoury items and 1 or 2 sweets per person, as you are plating fruit, again maybe 3 pieces. Depends on the size of course, sounds just delightful. It is a tea not a meal. Cutting sandwiches different shapes is nice as well. Hope you get to enjoy the day as well.

lazkaz - 2019-02-25 20:49:00

How much? - How long is your event - people are going to eat more at a 4 hour event, than a 2 hour even.

How much? - What time of day??
11am-2pm, they will eat more than 2-5pm.

How much? - how much alcohol will you be serving?
If you have invited a crowd of drinkers, it will be more responsibility to serve more food rather than less.

duckmoon - 2019-02-26 18:18:00

Sandwiches fillings?
*Ham and egg and lettuce
*mushy peas (they look good on the platter and people like them - cook peas, whizz in food process with butter and salt).
*pineapple and cheese - kiwi-as.

Make your fillings spreadable, for fast construction

Edited by duckmoon at 6:22 pm, Tue 26 Feb

duckmoon - 2019-02-26 18:20:00

Take care with a true bite sized quiche...
Hard to get a quiche which isn't just pastry when it is only one bite.
I would make them a bit bigger, an aim for two bites

duckmoon - 2019-02-26 18:20:00

Sandwiches - pre make your fillings (eggs, peas, etc) and have them all in the fridge, and then you can make up the sandwiches really quickly.

If you want to remove the crusts - then borrow an electric knife.
If you don't want to remove the crusts (I don't, i think it is a waste of food) - then cut into triangles, and have the crusts on the bottom - next to the platter.

duckmoon - 2019-02-26 18:21:00

As you plan your menu and your serving plan,
Alternative between cold and hot foods...
So as a platter of hot food goes out, the next hot food goes into the oven.
And in the twenty mins it takes to heat - you are serving a good food.

duckmoon - 2019-02-26 18:24:00

Thanks for all the ideas. There will be beer, wine, orange juice and water on offer and it kicks off at 3.30pm. I think most people will have drifted away by 6pm.
All the guests are professionals, including lawyers, doctors, nurses and dietitians so I don't imagine it being a big binge-drinking occasion!

I'm fascinated by the idea of mashed pea sandwiches. I've never heard of this before but will give it a go.

wasala - 2019-02-27 11:25:00

wasala wrote:

I'm fascinated by the idea of mashed pea sandwiches. I've never heard of this before but will give it a go.

Gosh, you must be a young'un, to have never tried those - they were a staple filling of sandwiches for hall cabarets in the 50's/60's, when farming communities made their own social fun, on limited availability and budgets, post-WW11, when so much of NZ produce was still being sent to the UK.

Some update it nowadays with finely chopped mint, and wafer-thin slices of roast lamb.

But do let us all know how the occasion went - and what was gobbled up first.....

autumnwinds - 2019-03-03 18:49:00

Hi all. Well, it was a huge success. Probably about 50 people at its height and a really lovely, convivial atmosphere. The garden loooked absolutely beautiful, which was good. As I expected, the sandwiches and devilled eggs were the most popular and i took the easy way out for savouries and went to Why Knot on Saturday morning and bought literally hundreds of spring rolls, savoury tarts etc. Even then I spent most of my time running in and out of the kitchen but that was cool!

Edited by wasala at 9:34 am, Mon 4 Mar

wasala - 2019-03-04 09:34:00

Great to hear that all went well ...so often posters don't get back.

samanya - 2019-03-04 10:37:00

samanya wrote:

Great to hear that all went well ...so often posters don't get back.

agree - on both points.....

Glad you had a busy but convivial time, wasala...

autumnwinds - 2019-03-04 14:40:00

The stress of it all.

lil_mystique - 2019-03-04 15:50:00

lil_mystique wrote:

The stress of it all.

No stress. It was fun!

wasala - 2019-03-04 16:48:00

wasala wrote:

No stress. It was fun!

I've catered for many family occasions at my place, usually for dinner & I find that deciding WHAT to have is the worst bit ...once I know what I'm serving, I'm away, planning, freezing etc.

samanya - 2019-03-04 17:06:00

Oh, and another thing! I suddenly remembered my late Nana - who died in 1975, soaking cumcumber slices in vinegar, before putting them in a sandwich so i did this - using apple cider vinegar - and combined them with cream cheese. It was a lovely, and very popular filling!

wasala - 2019-03-04 21:50:00

Bump

unknowndisorder - 2019-09-02 15:41:00

unknowndisorder wrote:

Bump

Well, I guess spring must have made you think of this. I'm already planning the next one - probably in February - but I'm going to be more imaginative.For example, I had lavender-infused lemonade overseas recently and I've been trying it out with rosewater and also orange blossom syrup. It's delicious.

Last time I found that people didn't drink a lot of alcohol really as it was so hot, so I'll be aiming more towards sangria and spritzers as well and I think I'll employ some mature teenagers (if that's not an oxymoron!) to help with heating and serving.

wasala - 2019-09-02 17:21:00

I know an older female who could be keen to help out ;) but no, just searching for ideas for a daughter's 21st (not mine, my step-daughter is closer to 30 and her kids aren't that old yet) lol. Just been bumping threads that could help.

Check out the thread I bumped about punch.

unknowndisorder - 2019-09-02 17:36:00