Cooking for 15 for a week. What would you cook?

[CookingAllDay]

Going to a holiday home with family for a week.
10 adults, 5 children. No dietary requirements. Kids aged between 3-15. Not fussy eaters.

I need breakfast, evening meal and snacks. I think I'll be doing most of the cooking which is fine, others will help if needed, so the easier the better.

Any suggestions please!!!

We did this recently. 4 children, 11 adults including vegetarians and a vegan! Only dinner was eaten all together though. Everyone sorted their own breakfast and picnics. We had 4 pairs of adults and a group of 3 and each pair/ 3 were allocated an evening so one person didn’t spend all week cooking, we all went out 1 night and the last night ate random things to use up leftovers.
We did roast dinner, pizzas, curry, pasta with a couple of different sauces, fajitas. It would have been much easier to think of meals if we didn’t have to do a vegan option.

When we have done this each couple has cooked for one night each then one night is takeaway and the final night is leftovers/clearing out the fridge

Breakfasts, I would do "continental" with cereal , toast or a lovely bread with jam, cheese & ham, muffins. Finish the buffet with some yoghurt and fruit.

Dinner, there are already some great ideas, I suggest the following. It is easy, not to expensive and can be scaled up or down!

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/curried-cod

Some great sounding suggestions, thank you!

I enjoy cooking, I find it quite therapeutic and relaxing so I don't mind cooking for everyone. It may not be for every night and I've no doubt others will offer to help/cook. They have previously.

Realistically it's only around an hour in the kitchen, and with a glass of wine, I don't mind at all

I wouldn’t be, that’s not a holiday to me whatsoever.

If you haven't got large one already, I would seriously think about buying a large slow cooker.

I can see your holday people rushing about sightseeing/walking etc and then turning up at the venue famished and wanting something straight away.

Slow cooker solves that problem as the prep is done in the morning and as a main course, all you need to is put some rice on, to have with it, or cook potatoes beforehand to have as mash, or if it is a soup or stew, just go with a decent bread and baskets of bread.

With a large slow cooker you could get away with that for that number of people and fruit for afters.

A large number of the recipes here can be done with slow cooker. I would practice at home a couple of times. Keep it simple. Try to get one that has a ceramic dish that you can lift out (carefully it gets hot) and then just place on the table.

Don't forget your spices which are key, and decent chilli sauce for exmaple so that you can make a base in slow cooker and those who like things more chillified can add it at the table.

After the holiday you can use it for soups etc.

And batch cooking.

@robotcollision

Tray bakes are really easy.

If people like chicken you can do it twice in tray bakes. Once with fresh herbs (eg rosemary & thyme) lemon zest, garlic paste, baby tomatoes, baby potatoes, chunks of red & yellow pepper, aubergine and red onion, olives and just bake for 45 mins. Pur a glass of wine into the tray to help steam roast. Serve with leafy salad or steamed green veg.

Second chicken traybake, rub in jerk or curry spices with a bit of brown sugar and salt onto the skin pf the chicken. Add chunks of sweet potato and white onion and any other veg you think goes well in a curried dish. Serve with rice cooked in stock and coconut milk with a cinnamon stick, star anise and some cardamon pods, with peas.

Another good one is chunks of butternut squash, peppers, chunks of chorizo, any onion you like (red/white/shallots) tinned chickpeas, tinned tomatoes. Stir them all together with a huge spoonful or two of smoky paprika, some garlic paste or powder, a smaller spoonful of cumin, salt and pepper. Serve with garlic bread.

Butter the base of a roasting tray. Layer it with chunky rings of leek, sliced fennel, sliced old potatoes, chunks of carrot or baby carrots, fresh thyme, pour in a glass of cider and lay good quality sausages on top. Serve with steamed green veg.

These sound lovely will try myself thanks!!!

This one has got a hob proof cooking pot.

Unless unwell .too young/old or incapable ,how is cooking for 15 people a day in any way a "holiday"? If you or anyone else has a slow cooker. I would bring them down ,and do Chilli.Spag bol/Lasagne /Cottage pie for 3 days .Also see if a good Chippy or take Out nearby as well!

currys large slow cooking about 45 pounds.

I meant why has it fallen on you to be Default Chef on your hols FFS!

You might even find that someone has one in the back of a cupboard somewhere, or even on ebay

Fifteen people and no dietary requirements - that's a big bonus!

Sausage and bean casserole
Roast chicken
Tray bake fish with veg
Chicken curry
Etc

I can't get over how hands off these 9 other adults are about food on the holiday.

Not planning on doing their share of cooking or even giving you any input into meal planning or shopping. If each couple or pairs if any single parents did a night each, it would be much fairer. Any leftover days, eat out or get a takeaway or nice supermarket pizzas, bagged salad etc.

When we go on holiday with that many we usually divide into pairs so everyone does one night, do one night out for dinner and one night as a takeaway.

If I was cooking for 15 I think I would do easy things like:

1. Macaroni cheese with bacon and cherry tomatoes, and a salad. Get someone to stand there stirring the cheese sauce while you're sorting other stuff.
2. Roast chicken - either with a big tray of roast potatoes if you can be bothered, or wedges is easier, or for the ultimate easy do it with bread, butter and salad.
3. Pulled pork - if you're driving and can get a couple of people to bring slow cookers this is an easy, yummy dish that also only works when you've got a big enough crowd!
4. Ratatouille with baked potatoes.

Those are my obvious options, I don't have other obvious options but I'm sure there are plenty.

Roast chicken?

You would need to roast at least 3 for 15 people!

We did something similar but not for a week and we took turns. But BBQ one night, caterers one night, fish and chips another night. Also there are pubs etc. I think you are rather mad doing this on your own. What about the other adults?

Have you got more than one oven? Hope so!! Also you'll need big pans.

I'd do following:

• 3 shoulders of lamb, put on v low heat in oven with foil in the morning, leave all day. It will fall off the bone. Serve with minted new potatoes.

• Similar thing with pork shoulder, add in bottle of BBQ sauce for the last hour. Serve with flatbread, coleslaw and salad.

• Massive chilli and rice, made with pre chopped frozen onions, peppers etc

• Jacket potatoes with variety of fillings

• Easy Thai curry using chicken thighs, jar of Thai paste and coconut milk.

• Salmon fillets poached. Serve with lemon mayo and new potatoes.

• Takeaway pizza night

• Fish and chips night

@Tulipomania

Roast chicken?

You would need to roast at least 3 for 15 people!

Nowt wrong with doing 3 or even 4! They're easy and doing 3 is as easy as one - presumably the house is set up to cater for 15 or every tray bake recipe on the thread will be useless. If you had a big wide range with a couple of shelves you could get chickens on on, potatoes on a second.

Don't forget sausages, mash, onion gravy. Always a winner if the weather's crap.

I’ve sometimes had to cook for 16-18 at a BiL’s huge holiday home.

I have a great curry-in-a- hurry recipe - you just sling everything in and shove it in the oven. Can send the recipe if you like.

I’ve also done cooked penne pasta with a tomato/veg sauce, I usually make it but jars would do - plenty of grated cheese on top, shove in the oven till nicely browned and bubbling. Pref. with garlic bread.

We did this recently. We arranged the week so as it went on we used more frozen ingredients like frozen veg that we didn’t have to prep. It’s very easy, low prep cooking that scales up easily.

Shopping list: Mince, tinned tomatoes, spaghetti, potatoes, cheese, beans, Curry sauce, frozen veg, rice, frozen fish, chips, ready made Yorkshire’s

Day one: Chinese takeaway
Day two: Spaghetti Bol
Day three: Jacket potatoes plus fillings - beans, cheese, left over chilli
Day four: Veg Curry
Day five: Curry part two
Day Six: Fish fingers/battered fish, chips and peas
Day Seven: Buy rotisserie Roast chicken, roast potatoes, ready made Yorkshires, peas

We also shared the cooking so I only did it twice.

@DownWhichOfLate

Spaghetti bolognese (can cook in advance if you have a huge freezer). Curry (again, can be cooked in advance). Great big gammon. Jacket potatoes. Quiches. Fish and chips.

Depends on size of oven as well.

Remember to take some huge cauldron size saucepans to make cooking for that amount of people easier!

Remember to take some huge cauldron sized saucepans

Remember that if you are boiling water in them, they take forever to heat up.