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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:
MissConductUS · 15/10/2018 20:08

His wife took a real dislike to me and announced loudly at dinner that I "looked like the sort of girl who would seek out a married man to have an affair with."

@MrsSchadenfreude - that's bloody awful! Had she been drinking? She must have been terribly insecure about her own looks or her husband's faithfulness or both.

YoureAllABunchOfBastards · 15/10/2018 20:12

I used to run courses for teachers in my last job. We did one on a Saturday and our caterer pulled out all the stops with some fabulous fresh fish - prawns, crab, salmon etc.

However, the greedy sods at the front started taking huge portions and he told them off. They were most put out.

Every course, ever, someone complained about the food. And it was honestly lush. We used to wait til the delegates had gone back in to the training room and hoover up the leftovers!

MissConductUS · 15/10/2018 20:12

Does anyone mind if you go in and order one dish between two people MissConductUS? Or do you have to order one each and get a doggie bag...

Sharing a dish is quite commonly done and not looked down on at all. There's sometimes a minor charge to do so (a dollar or two), but most places will just put out an extra plate without batting an eye.

Roussette · 15/10/2018 20:14

Thanks, I wondered!

CurlyhairedAssassin · 15/10/2018 20:22

Bloody hell, thenewaveragebear1983, take a chill pill. You didn’t mention half those things in your first post. What did you expect people to actually respond to? Food items listed that WERE NOT THERE in your first post?!

Proseccoagain · 15/10/2018 20:28

A wine club evening where the hostess rang round everyone to find out who was coming as she only wanted to cook one (cocktail) sausage each....

toxic44 · 15/10/2018 20:28

I was matron of honour at a friend's wedding. The night before The Day they'd had a blazing row and she told him to get stuffed. On The Day her bridal car was late so he thought she wasn't coming, took his mates to the local, got steaming drunk and had a fistfight with her brother in the church graveyard. Finally Bride arrived. Vicar had another wedding by then and everyone had to wait. Final straw, the caterers forgot the booking and finally turned up with some plates of very thin, dried up beef. Nothing else. No salad, no wedding cake, nothing.

cutie101 · 15/10/2018 20:32

This thread has just reminded me of an awful engagement party I went to where food ran out in the first 20 minutes. We were all absolutely starving. Fast forward a fair few years at my DD 4th birthday where her and her friends were making their own pizza (putting toppings on bases). Made enough for all siblings over 2. No 1-2 year olds. A family with a 3 year old and 8 month old then bitched about me not having enough food for adults or babies and that they would need to go to Tesco express as their poor 8 month old would starve. I don't do undercatering. I had made cakes and put out crisps and drinks for adults and purposely cooked an additional 5 pizzas and pasta with a choice of toppings...but I was slated for not feeding a 8 month old.
I have only just now made the connection that the parents were the same people who starved us at their engagement party.
BTW we are no longer on speaking terms!

Rudgie47 · 15/10/2018 20:35

The worst ever was a multi agency planning day held at a hotel/leisure complex type place.
The lunch was cheap boiled pasta with tinned tomatoes poured over and followed by economy sponge cake and glasses of water. It make Iceland food look like a fine dining experience.
I was absolutely starving but just said I wasn't hungry and would wait till I got home. I felt like saying its absolute crap.

SharkBrilliant · 15/10/2018 20:40

All day wedding (straight to venue after loooong ceremony starting at 10am) in the middle of nowhere.

“Afternoon tea” consisting of 2-3 finger sandwiches per person with no cakes, pastries or scones at about 1-2pm.

At about 7pm they served a very, very small portion of “fish and chips” consisting of a single fish goujon and about ten chips.

As DP was best man we spent a fortune on their wedding and didn’t even get fed. Still makes my piss boil just thinking about it 😂

RosinaAlmaviva · 15/10/2018 20:45

The christening of a friend's baby. She was catering it herself at home but it wasn't her fault as about 10 of her DH's rellies had said they weren't coming, then rocked up anyway. Confused It was a buffet and I took some savoury stuff but gave everything else a miss including the cake because I could see there wasn't going to be nearly enough to go round.

lljkk · 15/10/2018 20:49

I was the caterer. Some kind of Christmas meal for about 8 people... I don't really remember the details but my alcoholic mother didn't get it organised so boyf. & I went shopping & hastily guessed at portion sizes & amounts (we were also guests in my mom's house, we never hold dinner parties). The guests ate every scrap. Oops.

I still prefer that we did that rather than over-cater. Upsets me a lot to see food get binned, even cheap crap quality food.

Samantha2018 · 15/10/2018 20:54

I've been to a bbq (family of 4 waited about 3 hours and managed to get the kids a tiny burger! I've been invited to a play centre party that was actually just a meet up and pay for everything yourself!!

forwhatyouare · 15/10/2018 20:55

In my teenage years, I was invited along with my Mum to an 'American Party'. A friend's son of my Mum's was going away to study in the USA and she threw an 'American bash'.

At the grand old age of 15, I personally phoned ahead to see if I needed to bring anything along for myself, since I was Vegan. I made it clear I was very happy to do so. The woman said not to worry, she'd make it just as special for me.

I got there and there wasn't so much as a bowl of olives  I asked what I could have, she said there were cheese sandwiches (the food was mostly southern fried chicken). I said I couldn't eat that.

She was quite  and then said the cake was being cut fairly soon. I then said there was milk in cake.

She was quite moody with me by this point and I said I was sorry to trouble her, I asked before hand about bringing something as I know it can be tricky to cater for a vegan sometimes. She went on to say "can you just have a cheeky bit of chicken and chips?"

I can't hold a grudge, she helped me get my first PA job. But how she managed to be a EA for a multimillion pound company, I will never know  She thought cheese was Vegan ffs

LeftRightCentre · 15/10/2018 20:56

I still prefer that we did that rather than over-cater. Upsets me a lot to see food get binned, even cheap crap quality food.

Seriously? So then freeze it and use it again, but you'd prefer that your guests go hungry? Hmm

user1457017537 · 15/10/2018 20:56

MrsSchadenfreude the same thing happened to me but at a party!

forwhatyouare · 15/10/2018 20:57

*quiet

deptfordgirl · 15/10/2018 21:03

I went to a bbq retirement party the other day. I didn't eat all day because of it. We got there on time but didn't realise they had opened it up as a community event and there was hardly any food. About 15 at the front of the queue got salads, other than that there were just burgers and sausages and by the time we got to the front of the queue there was just burgers (no buns) left. I don't really like red meat so enquired about veggie food and apparently it had gone in the first few minutes.

Catspyjamazzzz · 15/10/2018 21:08

Thought of another.
Christmas at relatives. Relatives plead poverty so we actually have to give them money for xmas dinner and take food with us.
I didn’t want to go in the first place and we had been forced into it.
They cooked and hardly served any of the food, didn’t serve any of the extra food provided. Host was saving food to give to their relatives the next day.
Cheap wankers.

MonteCarla · 15/10/2018 21:10

Yes. A millionaire’s wedding!

They ran out of booze, and the wedding breakfast was sandwiches.

MonteCarla · 15/10/2018 21:11

We all made dashes to the nearest McDonalds.

Titsywoo · 15/10/2018 21:15

I hate buffets at weddings - it's like being in a canteen.

jcsp · 15/10/2018 21:25

Christmas at my Mums was both under and oddly catered for.

My mum lives on her own now and still buys and cooks as if there were 5 of us there. Consequently she chucks a lot out.

Come Christmas and 18 there she still cooks the same amount, gently refusing suggestions like ‘shall I do some more spuds, sprouts etc etc.

I sort out the main stuff now.

It’s a bit world foods as there are about 1/3 of us vegan now.

NorthbyNorthwest22 · 15/10/2018 21:28

We were invited to the evening do of the parents of a child in my daughters class at school. Still in reception at the time so didn’t know them that well but my daughter had become good friends with the child and we were all invited. I’d been excited told they were having bacon and sausage barms in the evening followed by chocolate cake. Who doesn’t like bacon right! It was the most disappointing thing I’ve ever been presented with. Large flour covered barms with just half a slice of bacon on each or half a sausage. No butter on the barm and no sauce. Enough for 1 each. I gave my half sausage to my daughter so she had enough and saved myself for the cake. Look good when it arrived but as soon as I bit in I knew something wasn’t right. Odd texture and didn’t taste of chocolate at all. Had a strange plastic taste and was soggy. I suspect undercooked. Also minuscule portion. Thumb sized. Send the hubs to the bar for crisps but he said everyone else had the same idea and came back with the last bag of nuts. Made our excuses and left soon after, starving. Sideways skid into the local pub car park and dashed in before last servings! 😳

purplebunny2012 · 15/10/2018 21:32

I went to a Christmas lunch with work with stingy portions. A group of us ended up going for a curry a few hours later