Cooking for a crowd

[MrsTaytodarling]

Anyone any suggestions for this? I dont even know where to start.. I'm thinking I'll have 30-40 ppl and will try do a curry and some sort of beef dish, cold meats, salads etc....

Will you have access to a kitchen?

Lasagne

Curry or lasagne for that number of people is a lot of work.
Do jacket potato with variety of fillings

Need more information. Is it at your house or somewhere else? Are you cooking on the day or can you do in advance? Does it have to be hot or is cold okay? Do you have budget constraints? Dietary restrictions?

For context, if I was feeding 30-40 people it would have to be somewhere else as I don't have the space at home. So would assume I have to prepare in advance and bring along, with, at best, heating facilities. I'd probably do mostly salads/rolls etc and for the meat would do a number of large slow roast joints that I could cook for hours in my oven ahead of time then cover and bring down to the venue to serve at room temperature.

Also, with that many people, I'd probably ask for help simply because I'd struggle to store the food, never mind preparation. So some salads etc I'd ask someone else to make (even if I had to pay for ingredients).

I tend to stick to curry, chilli, stew type meals. Supermarkets have massive saucepans in the Indian food specials aisle at the moment as it's Ramadan, I have a rice cooker that makes life easy too. I do it quite often and organisation is key

The problem for me with curry/stews is that it is a lot of work for that many people. All the dicing and chopping and sautéing and stirring and checking. I just can't be bothered. Stews/curries are my go-to for groups of up to about 8 or 10. After that I'm all about single slabs of meat that can be cooked in one go with minimum preparation or intervention required!

We cook for this amount once each year on average.
A greek style mezze is our go to. Grilled marinated meat on small skewers, individiual spanokoptia type pastries (spinach and feta), dips, flat bread, dolmades, various salads etc. Can be eaten warm or cold depending on time, location and venue.
Dessert is usually a whole watermelon cut up and some kind of simple tray bake

And when I'm feeling flush, I do the whole side of salmon from Cook thing!

I will be cooking at home the day before . I can transport it then and heat there

How about pork pie and peas. For 30-40 people, maybe 25-30 pork pies, which you can heat up at the venue. Slow cooker or big pan of mushy peas and mint sauce.

Then baked potatoes with butter, cheese and beans for vegetarians and anyone who doesn't want pie and peas. Maybe a vegan friendly soup and good bread too.

Quite easy and forgiving. A lot of the above suggestions look good too, but seem quite complicated.

This time of year I'd go for a selection of cold meats, quiches, nice cheeses and bread and a few interesting salads. Then it can be prepared in advance, leaving you free to enjoy your guests.

Will people eat standing up or sitting down?
Are you doing cheap and cheerful or fancy?
Will the venue have all the crockery etc or do you need to think about that?

Chilli con carne - use plenty of beef mince, frozen prechopped onions and lazy chilli and tinned tomatos and kidney beans lots of grated cheese, piles of wraps and/or baked potatos and / or rice, pots of guacamole, sour cream, big lettuce and tomato salads to cool it down with (add avocado if you can be bothered)

I'd do it in the slow cooker but for that number you may need more than one slow cooker - see if there's a couple you can borrow, beg or steal. You could also do a mixed bean chilli for the vegeterians / vegans- will cook a bit quicker than meat chilli so you can probably do it on the hob.

Well that's my go to anyway. Also has advantage of being gluten free, (with potatoes) and ignoring cheese and sour cream dairy free so you'll be catering to a range of dietry requirements as well

It depends really. I’d do a giant lentil dhal with bread for a young or non-fussy crowd, or a cold buffet otherwise.

40 people?
What age and what kind of event?
For a working lunch I'd go for fork foods that people can eat one handed while standing up, more grown up flavours, not too spicy.
For a family gathering I'd put in something easy for the children and older folk, as well as something more fun.
For friends I'd serve a mezze or loads of tapas: lots of small things for everyone to try, even if it might be messy.

I cook in slow cookers/trays/casseroles and then use chafing dishes to keep things warm. bread and salads go on the side and everyone can help themselves.

Do you have big pots to cook in?
I think I would do roast pork/beef that you can cook and carve in advance, either serve cold or reheat in the roast juices. Potato gratin, prep day before, slice potatoes, don’t bother pealing them, cook gently for 10 mins in milk and cream with nutmeg, s and p, and a couple of whole garlic cloves, into tray and bake. Reheat on the day.
Green salad and cheese.
Ask good friends to bring a cake!

Agree that you need to start wih the practicalities:

• what are the facilities ? Oven, hob - how big

• sitting down or standing? Are there chairs, tables, crockery and cutlery
• everyone eating at once, or people dropping by in dribs and drabs
• how much time will you have to heat up and set up?
• who is Coming? Diets, allergies, elderly. how fancy does it need to be....

Nigella's veggie chilli with cornbread on top is great - you can do it the day before then quickly reheat and do the cornbread top (or separate) then have loads of cheese, yogurt or sour cream, etc for people to add. I think the recipe is for something like 20 people as well, iirc.

I think it really depends what it’s for. Do you really want vats of chilli if there’s going to be limited seating and fancy clothing? It’s my favourite thing but I’d be worried about spills! Jacket potatoes are great but not easy to eat one handed.