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Original poster

Ever been to an under catered party?

446 replies

Crunchymum · 14/10/2018 17:37

Just back home from a party with a generous doggy bag and I remarked how I'd never been to an under catered party as the host was divvying up the leftovers. Cue lots of stories of horrifically under catered parties and weddings?

Other than a few occasions where I've known there won't be food, I've never experienced it? I've never had to share a burger at a BBQ or nip out for a super market sandwich at a wedding.

Is it really that common? What's the worst under catered event you've been to?

OP posts:
redsummershoes · 14/10/2018 17:39

some caterers have really stingy portions. so unless you order 2-3 things per person per meal you might end up with a hungry crowd.

ShirleyPhallus · 14/10/2018 17:41

I’ve been to a BBQ before where the host asked what I wanted. I said “oh what’s cooked?” And she replied that nothing was yet but she was taking orders. So we could have one burger OR one sausage OR one piece of chicken.

Thank Christ I’d brought crisps and dip and wine etc. It was such a mean bbq.

I also found it weird the host hadn’t tidied up either - still had her laundry on a horse in the room we were eating in etc. (No kids). All a bit weird.

LoveManyTrustfew · 14/10/2018 17:41

Never been to one, and to quote my DH I have never knowingly under catered. Grin

ScreamingValenta · 14/10/2018 17:42

A "working lunch" which ran out of food before my group had the opportunity to get any - and because the meeting ran continuously, there was no chance to go out and get anything else. I had eventually had my "lunch" from the ghastly sandwich trolley selection on the train home at 4:30.

Iamtheresurrection · 14/10/2018 17:43

A wedding where two thirds of the guests got no evening buffet.

formerbabe · 14/10/2018 17:45

I went to an under catered wedding once...it's miserable.
I also went to a wedding which had piles and piles of delicious food, more than anyone could eat...it was fabulous!

Disfordarkchocolate · 14/10/2018 17:45

Family wedding with my X, very stingy buffet with hardly anything left by the time out table got to the buffet.

ny20005 · 14/10/2018 17:45

A party for a couple who'd got married abroad - crappy buffet & couples kids loaded plates with sausage rolls before anyone else. They must have catered for about 40 people but invited 80-100 🙄

Mammyloveswine · 14/10/2018 17:48

I did the buffet for a party... thought I'd catered for everyone until.i went to get some... anyway turned out to be nothing left! It transpired that lots of people had seconds before some people had been up and also that people were giving their weaning babies full.plates of food "so they could try everything". I was Hmm! I ended up ordering in a pizza for the poor polite people who had waited and missed out!

donajimena · 14/10/2018 17:48

I recently ran an induction. The food was ordered by someone more senior than me for 35 people. I said it looked like we would possibly have 40 - 50 attending so she said no problem email this person when you know for sure. So I did. Because we had 50 people. I received a reply from the person completely ignoring me with a 'I have ordered for 35'
Lunch came out and it was a woeful amount but what annoyed me more than anything was that people seemed to have forgotten their manners and heaped their plates so that the poor sods at the back were left with a few soggy bhajis and fruit.

CluedoAddict · 14/10/2018 17:49

Two that I can remember. A wedding where half the people went to the chip shop as the buffet ran out. Then a dance celebration night. People were piling their plates up by the time we got to the food there were a few lettuce leaves left. We had paid £8 a head for the buffet. I was not impressed.

RonniePickering · 14/10/2018 17:50

A friend's 21st, the buffet fed probably a 3rd of the guests.

I was so hungry, and they only had mini cheddars behind the bar.

WeeMadArthur · 14/10/2018 17:50

I went to a wedding as an evening guest and there was no food put on for us at all. None of us had eaten before we got there as we assumed there would be a buffet. Ended up eating a combination of crisps and nuts behind the bar. I will never look at a bag of Scampi Bites again!

JohnnyKarate · 14/10/2018 17:51

A wedding. We all got picked up at 9 and taken to the church by coach. We then had a church service for two hours and then we’re taken to venue number one at around 12 for photos. There was a free glass of Prosecco and some cheese on a platter, about enough for 50 people. Approximately 100 people were there. By the end of photos we were all starving. We were then picked up and taken to venue number two for food. We got there about 3 and then had to sit through speeches and gifts and finally were served a meal at around 5:30. The meal I kid you not was half a chicken breast and a spoonful of veg. We all got wedding cake for dessert but only a tiny cube because the bride wanted to keep it for her and the groom. On the way home we got the coach to pull into a services and we all went for food. What a feast we had!

maggienolia · 14/10/2018 17:51

A wedding where there was no evening food at all.
All the food served on the day was vegetable sticks, dips, rolls and cupcakes instead of wedding cake.
No financial issues either - groom was a company director but just tight as a camel's arse in a sandstorm

troodiedoo · 14/10/2018 17:52

Only funerals. The buffet tends to get scoffed by moochers before the family gets a look in.

RonniePickering · 14/10/2018 17:52

I've also noticed the amount of food those first in the queue seem to pile on their plates, so greedy and selfish.

MeanTangerine · 14/10/2018 17:53

Once went to a wedding where there were no canapés or anything and then the main meal was 2 hours late. By the time I went to the bar to get a snack they'd sold out. I was a) starving b) monumentally pissed due to drinking for hours on an empty stomach. But so was everyone else, so I guess it was OK.

cloudtree · 14/10/2018 17:54

My wedding was under catered. I am still embarrassed 15 years later even though it was not our fault and we had ordered plenty for everyone. The really bad thing was I was stone cold sober (pregnant) and so I was very conscious of it.

TeaAndNoSympathy · 14/10/2018 17:56

I went to an under catered wedding once. It was a miserable affair. We had to go up and get our food from a hot buffet where we were served by the caterers. Portions were meagre anyway but about a third of the way through the guests, they must have realised they didn’t have enough to go round. They dealt with this by halving the already small portions. I had 1/2 a chicken breast, 1 roast potato and a baby carrot with a dribble of sauce. I was breastfeeding and starving. I sent DH out for supplies and ended up scoffing 2 mars bars in the car. The mother of the bride went without and gave her portion to the bride so she’d have a decent meal. It put a real dampener on the day actually. And it’s all I really remember about it.

stillamummy · 14/10/2018 17:57

I've just come on to say my Grandad's funeral tea. We paid quite generously for them to woefully under cater!!

Guardsman18 · 14/10/2018 17:57

I have! A friend of mine had a birthday party in her house.

People invited offered to make a few cakes and bring crisps.

That was all that was there! We were all very drunk and hungry.

I thought that was odd to invite a crowd to your home and not have any food. It was a long few hours!

SenecaFalls · 14/10/2018 18:00

I recently went to one where the food was plentiful, but really bad. We stopped at McDonald's on the way home.

oopslateagain · 14/10/2018 18:00

I helped cater a mediaeval-style event, we had to make 'accurate period recipes'. We had a total budget of about £5 per person - for a whole weekend. Light supper Friday, breakfast lunch and a feast Saturday, and breakfast Sunday.

We did it. It was a nightmare, but we did it. I spent the entire 'feast' running round tables making sure people were only taking two slices of meat and one spoon of carrots and one potato. It was fucking miserable.

Minniemountain · 14/10/2018 18:02

A friend's wedding where we got called up by table for the carvery. DH and I had a sliver of meat each.

The worst bit though was not being warned that the bar was cash only. We were 6 miles from the nearest cash point.