Posh simple food

[alwaystrying2]

My DD is having a party and I've said I'll make food. She is 30. I'm looking to cater for between 30 and 50 and want to make some posh simple food. I want people well fed but I want something extremely simple that if possible is trendy and looks cool! There will need to be a veggie option. Ideally keeping costs not too high!

Does this exist?

Thanks!

There is a big difference between catering for 30 and 50!!
I honestly would get catering ordered. I might do food for 10 and that would be so much effort FOR ME and my home kitchen ie not industrial professional with several dishwashers, ovens and miles of prepping surfaces!
And you have to cater for special diets, too! OMG.

Good luck! Are you doing this in your own home? One thing to think about is fridge space. You may need some to chill drinks beforehand as well as store food. We had a party in our house for a fairly large number of people dropping in and out, many years ago. We got the booze delivered from Majestic, booked to arrive just before the party began, and they also rented us glasses and brought bags of ice and large buckets/small bins (can't remember) to put them in so we could put the beer and white wine in there. (Summer party.) Worked very well.

I always recommend this lovely tomato and pistachio tart, which is vegan and far easier to make than it looks (also fairly quick). It tastes great and looks very good. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jun/09/meera-sodha-recipe-tomato-pistachio-saffron-tart-vegan

PS. Please don't do those horrible boards with everything touching. Two minutes after people start helping themselves they must look an absolute mess. And that's without even starting on the cross-contamination risk, as others have already pointed out.

As someone who used to eat pigs in blankets i would warn you, that food is like crack and you'll need a mountain as people will just gobble them up.

You need to provide vegan/veggie/gluten free option.

I'm confident in the kitchen and I'd be happy doing this.
For ease I'd make a massive grazing table, Lidl and Aldi or cash n carry for various cheeses and meats, olives, sourdough breads, crackers, make some big bowls of hummus with spices and herbs, whack some sliced figs and strawberries on there to make it look nice.

Alternatively I'd do a Mexican theme

• loads of empanadas, nachos, home made guac, quesadillas sliced up.

To be honest, I’d just order M&S party food. I wouldn’t try to cater for 60 people in a normal kitchen.

For canapés you can do things on cocktail sticks (just don’t make a hedgehog out of a potato 🤣)

Mozarella, cherry tom and Basil leaf

Sticky sausages

Feta, beetroot and an olive

Dried apricot wrapped in streaky bacon

Then you can do bitesize things like smoked salmon blinis, mini Yorkshire puds (bought in)

Add a cheeseboard or premake small crackers (mini cheddars type size) with slices of different cheeses

Put garnishes out for drinks - lemons, limes, strawberries, blueberries, rosemary, mint etc

Its all in the presentation. I have a set of slate table mats which I put these type of things on which is probably not super trendy, but looks smarter than paper plates

If I was catering for that many myself I'd be making it as simple as possible.

Sliced meats
Nice cheese selection
Crackers
Olives
Crusty bread and proper butter
Sausages glazed in honey and wholegrain mustard
Falafel
Hummus
Mozzarella pearls in pesto
Artichoke hearts
Smoked salmon
Fruit - berries and grapes probably
Mini quiches/tarts
Couple more vegan options

You can make it look nice with presentation, even if it's fundamentally simple food. Nice crockery, napkins, candles etc. And I'd buy nice versions of everything.....proper english butter with salt crystals, sourdough bread, "posher" crackers etc.

Surely M&S party food is your friend here?!?

I do 120 people for drinks regularly. Canapé’s are easy to do ahead and meet criteria for smart. They can be bulked with commercial offerings from M&S without offence. Serving canapés is easy - there are always a few people who feel more comfortable mingling if they have a tray of food to carry.
Your budget is as much a consideration as the number. The easiest option is caterers. Some are not too pricey, if local.

Easy canapés are things like;
smoked salmon blinis (use smoked salmon pate with cucumber if budget is restricted.
Sushi is modern and easy to get from most high streets and supermarkets now.
Sticky sausages
Devils on horseback
tiny sandwiches
cheese scones with chilli jam and whipped feta
mushroom, tapenade/sun dried tomato, and prawn vol au vents
quails scotch eggs
things on pretty skewers.

mini samosa
mini backed potatoes with sour cream and chive
mini tacos
belly pork squares

a few sweet things like brownies, macarons and mince pies to finish.

canapé
fancy bread (french sticks cut in rounds)
topped with chacuterie, cheeseboard cheese, hummus, tapenade etc
bowls of hand cooked crisps, olives, grapes etc

tea-cups of french onion (or other naice) soup

I'd do a salmon tray bake from Jamie Oliver - with tomatoes, prawns, tender stem broccolli and asparagus, plus roast vegetable lasagne, maybe a chilli, or roast chickens with salads and breads.

Sorry to be a party pooper but even practical things like fridge space for 50 people on top of your own usual food in the fridge. Where will you refrigerate all that? Ice boxes?
What abou things that need oven? Do you have a massive oven? You'll be constantly in the kitchen.

I have catered for that many people but it was an English high tea for DS christening so was easy. The other times I have cooked for around 20 and that has been Chinese New Year where I make multiple dishes and it takes me three full days to buy, prep and make all the food. My parents also used to run a Chinese restaurant when I was a child so my Dad taught me how to cook in an efficient way plus I do have a big kitchen with a wok burner in the middle and 4 regular rings.

As you have never done mass catering before I would honestly not attempt this.
Because you just don’t have the fridge space to safely make buffet type food in advance and store it safely.

I would look at a caterer, plus what is the party for?

I'd veer away from hot food and canapés (I find canapés a faff). I have catered for large numbers for 30 years. Consequently have large platters, huge stainless steel pots and baking trays, a 110cm range and eye level oven, a very large fridge and an overflow fridge in the utility. If you haven't done it before and don't have the equipment it might get exponentially expensive. On that basis I second using caterers for the mains. Perhaps you should just do the puddings. A chocolate roulade always goes well, or three and a huge bowl of berries. Don't over complicate and be mindful of what people can manage standing with a fork. I have clips that attach to the plate to hold a wine glass.

You could make a lovely little soup in cups with a toasted sour dough slice rubbed with garlic, cheap visual and heartfelt

Flat breads and various fillings on random plates look in the charity shops for these

You could do rolled sandwiches you roll the bread thin then Swiss roll it up

Pinwheels

Grilled vegetables with sprinkles on

Roast potatoes

Lots of herb pots on the tables

A whole ham that you can slice and leave on the board

Punch, do a white wine punch or a fizzy white wine punch look up a German recipe put white vermouth in it

I'm also sorry to be a party pooper, but I would agree you maybe need to look at getting someone in - or at least m&s party food. It's your dd's 30th - you want to be able to enjoy it. I also think doing it yourself will cost more than you think - suggestions of charcuterie and cheese are lovely, but x50 is going to cost a hell of a lot. You'll also need to hire in glasses etc. as others have said.

Actually, if you have a Costco nearby and someone who's a member, they do great trays of
Sandwiches
Filled tortilla wraps sliced into pinwheels
Sushi
Focaccia sandwiches that can be heated
Large rectangular pizzas
Lots of different salads
big punnets of cherry tomatoes
Trays of macarons
Bite sized brownies
Big punnets of fruit/fruit salad
services.costco.co.uk/deli/

I'm about your daughters age and have catered for large numbers before. Surprised by the number of suggestions to make mini stuff - what a faff and a bit 90s!

Firstly I'd base the menu on veg, and have one meat option rather than the other way around. Yottelengi style eating is the way to go.

Shop bought:
Falafel, buy big bag of frozen from an ethnic supermarket so much cheaper and tastier than Tesco's. Crisp up ahead of time.

Selection of dips, served in bowls and topped with herbs or something to look good. Plain good hummus (weird flavors are not good...), babaganosh, maybe whizz up a yogurt based one fresh. Also put out nice olive oil and balsamic.

Selection of other shop bought antipasti, stick with simple like olives rather than any weirdly flavoured seasonal specials.

Mix of fancy hams, cold cuts etc for the carnivores.

Make at home:
Several trays of loaded focaccia. Can be served hot or cold, cut into squares, and you can always "cheat" with the supermarket bake at home mixes. Maybe offer two toppings, one vegan like med veg, one veggie like butternut squash and feta.

Couple of bowls of chopped salad (Not leaves!!). Maybe chopped caprese (let people dress it themselves) and a rainbow slaw.

The only thing you actually have to cook in the focaccia and it's dead easy because you just do it in slabs.

This sounds absolutely bang on - I would have LOVED this party!!

I think the point with canapes and small stuff is that there are going to be 50 people mingling in a smallish space and it's far easier to hold a glass and pick up something small to stick in yer gob rather than something that requires assembly or cutlery.

50? yikes
I would order in for that many

If you go down to your local supermarket world food section you can get big packs of samosas and spring rolls Which are delicious as restaurants also Use the same brands, and bake in the oven serve with chutneys and mint sauces

in other cultures catering for this amount of people is normal .. I would usually see Currys /biryanis/rice with meat but it’s effort

But for western tastes, Small bits are usual.. it depends if you want to feed people or just provide nibbles

I wouldn’t faff about with fancy folded up designs like the above picture someone posted - just my Personal opinion..

u cod also make “posh “ sandwiches, Using sourdough bread, I would Buy puff pastry sheets and spread with different feelings and cut into squares, you could do a cake tray bake, dips and Pitta triangles,

You can buy premade stuff and just put them in the oven Sainsbury’s Asda Tesco Iceland are all good at party food which you can make better by making your own dips on the side

This.

I regularly used to cater for large family events. It could get very stressful. It was a revelation when I stopped being a martyr and bought stuff in.
No matter how you do it, the cost of catering for 50 people is very significant so it’s probably worth spending a bit more on caterers and having the time to enjoy your DD’s birthday.

Moules Marienere

Beef Stew (use steak)

Cheese, French stick and wine.

All posh.