You're arranging a easy buffet for 20 people. What are you serving?

[LordOfTheThings]

You don't have time to put loads of things in and out the oven and would like to make as much as possible early in the day.

Did I mention that you are a shit cook so it needs to be simple?

Ok so I've just been told that one of my guests is a recently diagnosed coeliac so I want to make as much as possible, of not everything gluten free.

Not a problem. I'm coeliac myself, and GF isn't hard to cater for with planning. I also like keeping things simple for a buffet. For 20 adults:

Cold gammon joint, made a couple of days ahead
3 roast chicken (served hot or cold)
^ let people carve/serve themselves
Potato salad
Coleslaw
Bean salad (made in advance)
Cherry tomatoes
Cheese selection
Crisps (most of the Tesco own-brand 'posh' ones are GF)
Oatcakes/biscuits for cheese (get the Nairns GF ones from the supermarket so you're not wrangling GF and non-GF, your friend will appreciate not being excluded as much as possible)

Baguettes (on a separate table if you can to avoid crumbs for the benefit of the coeliac)

I find the trick with a buffet is to concentrate on quality rather than variety. Serve a few things, but serve good things. For example, some really good cheese rather than a few more random dips/salads. Chicken/gammon always goes down well on a buffet, look good, and aren't expensive. You also get to make stock from the chicken afterwards. Avoid lettuce and leaf salads - they always start to look a bit limp before you've time to blink, and they're not popular.

@Nuggetnugget

Coeliac is going to be a different requirement altogether. I would plate up something and wrap carefully for them prior to the event.

Definitely- not with the risk of cross contamination and the faff of designing a whole buffet to accommodate it.

Did this just before covid.

Make three big salmon en croute and froze them in advance.

New potatoes
vietnamese coleslaw
tomato, mozzarella and basil salad
Green salad

Done.

Oh and chicken and lemon and parsley sliced breasts for those that want meat

Veg crudités with dips
Baked Brie with sliced french stick
Cheese board
Greek salad
Platter of cold meats
Sausage rolls
Chipolates roasted until sticky in marmalade with sesame seeds
Pickles (gherkins, pickled onions, Piccadilly)
Potatoe salad

I love the big spanish tortillas you get in the deli section of waitrose. Slice into small squares and put toothpicks in for easy eating. Plus a platter of things like mortadella with sundried tomatoes and nice bread.

Olives
Mixed salad
Selection of cheese
Selection of bread
Italian meats
Crisps

Agree with Doginatent - lots of a few things rather than little bits of lots of different things otherwise a buffet quickly looks as if a herd of wildebeest as been through it, messy and unappetising.

Costco do some nice buffet platters and salads but I'm not sure if they're gf - the sushi platters are great.

Otherwise a joint of either beef or ham, a pastry choice (quiche seems most obvious and you could make that a veggie option) , a hot potato dish (gratin would be nice, or small jacket potatoes split and topped with herb cream cheese) and a couple of salads, a green salad and either a coleslaw or bean salad.

Then 2puds, an indulgent option, probably chocolate based, and a lighter option, Pav or lemon tart.

@LordOfTheThings

I should have said - no kids!

The pizza thing is very popular with adults too!

Personally the favourite part of a buffet for me is a nice cheese sandwich with crisps inside. I'm very uncouth at times.

Potato salad (you can boil some new potatoes in their skins, drain, and make a dressing with Hellmans Really Good Mayonnaise plus lemonjuice and chopped mint.

Make a tomato salad with onions (oil and vinegar dressing from smkt)

Ham , mixed salad, crusty bread, pickles, butter, cold smoked mackerel, smoked salmon, all from smkt.

Strawberries and cream

Drinks. Paper napkins.

Done and dusted; total cooking time 12 mins. Anyone can help you take it out of packets and set it out.

A poached salmon

Bread

Salad

Potato salad

Strawberries meringue whipped cream

Cheeseboard

My go to if I've got a lot of people round in the summer is...

A big bowl of salad leaves plus tomatoes, cucumber, coleslaw etc

Some pasta or potato salad or boiled new potatoes

Salmon cooked earlier in the day or the day before

Chicken pieces stuck in the oven as needed

A few sausages for the kids (again stuck in the oven)

A nice selection of vegetarian flans or vegetarian 'chicken' fillets

Lots of different breads/rolls plus butter

For dessert I do 'deconstructed Eton mess' which is basically a big plate of meringues (shop bought, I'm not spending time on those), a big bowl of mixed berries, big tub of very good quality ice cream and a big jug of double cream. That way, if people can't have cream they can have bowl of meringue and berries, if they don't like berries they can leave them out and kids can have a huge bowl of ice cream. I get some sticky ice cream sauces too so they can help themselves. Less work, stick it all in bowls then on the table and they can make what they want with it.

Oh and crisps and olives on the tables or dotted around. Have plenty of top ups.

If you're doing everything gluten free, it's better to serve naturally gluten free carbs like rice or potatoes, rather than give everyone gluten free bread and pasta to be safe for the coeliac, as these are expensive and not very nice.

I would do a huge tray on lasagna which can be assembled the day before and cooked that day.
One big pot of chicken curry, one pot of veggie con carne, rice cooker full with plain rice. Salads, bread rolls etc on table. Wine for starters and desert.

@justaweeone

I'd do a grazing table, Aldi or Lidl is good for value. We also did a couple of homemade focaccia but you could always buy some breads. Was very well received. Photo of one my Dd did for a recent gathering.

This might be useful
[[https://www.you.co.uk/grazing-platter-tutorial/]]

That's look amazing! But I can hear the screams of 'Touching Food! Touching Food!' from my lot in my head already.

(Tbf, we have ND family members and some allergies.)

But I just wanted to say it's a splendid feast, @justaweeone.

Oh and crisps and olives on the tables or dotted around. Have plenty of top ups.

And yet again I say ermmm .... Covid????

Do you really want people putting their hands in the same food 😖

@Nuggetnugget

Coeliac is going to be a different requirement altogether. I would plate up something and wrap carefully for them prior to the event.

This. Honestly, it's safer for them if you keep some food aside for them as other folk won't know how important it is not to cross-contaminate, and it is really hard to do an entirely gluten free buffet.

I'd get everyone to bring something. Because I'm lazy like that.

@Guineapigbridge

I'd get everyone to bring something. Because I'm lazy like that.

Good idea but also a likely way to end up with one tray of chicken legs and 26 sharing bags of Doritos, unless you assign people different items to bring.

I am now remembering the christening buffet for Neil the baby in Gavin and Stacey, where most items are being provided by Gwen, with Doris (not) doing the salad.

I've done this and bought it all from M&S buffet selection including trays of sandwiches, pre prepared salads, quiches, cheesboard, seafood, desserts and lots of other picky bits. It really was just a matter of putting it on serving platters and was delicious!

I’d go for a Spanish/tapas theme too.

Small finger food: a few dishes of e.g. olives, stuffed peppers, nuts, tortilla, manchego slices, Serrano ham, chorizo, crisps etc
Buffet dishes: Paprika chicken with roast peppers; roast new potatoes with olives and red onion, green bean salad with almonds and anchovies, a herby chickpea/white bean salad, and maybe caponata. All can be made ahead and served cold.

OK I'm out - enjoy your "Covid Parties" 🙄

Order sandwiches/wraps from Sainsbury’s deli counter (did this for our wedding buffet and was super reasonable)
Cheese and pineapple sticks
Cheese and pickled onion sticks
Mini sausages/sausage rolls
Cold chicken nuggets/goujons
Green salad
Celery, cherry tomatoes, carrot battons
Watermelon chunks
Olives
French baguette
Cheese
Cold meats

I hate buffets that are a weird mix of all sorts of things.

My vote would be for: a meat chilli / a veggie chilli / some rice / tortilla chips / tomato salsa / mango salsa

or

A chicken curry /. a veggie curry / rice / cucumber and onion salad / minty yoghurt / a load of pakora or samosas from a local restaurant / poppadom crisps

or

A couple of big lumps of cheese / bread / crackers / grapes / celery / tomatoes / pickled onions / radishes / chutney / apples and pears

Brownies, ice cream, strawberries, cream for pud