How many people do you think this spread would serve?

[CateringPanic]

I’m having a gathering tomorrow and having a slight panic about having enough food! (And about the weather which looks like it will be the worst of the weekend but that’s a separate complaint)

How many people do you think this spread would serve?

3 x quiche
2 x giant pork pie
1 x gammon joint
3 x large loaves crusty bread
2 x tubs falafel
2 x pots hummus
Potato salad
Cous cous salad
4 x blocks of cheese
“Other” salad (a guest is bringing it)
Sliced veggies
“Leaves” Salad

Coleslaw
2x chutneys
2 x sharing bags kettle chips
2 x tubes Pringles

Cake for afters

I would have said 20 but it needs way more crisps.

Depends if DH is invited.

As person who likes quiche, I know quite a lot of people who don't and it doesn't really get touched at gatherings. Homemade yes! Shop bought....meh. Pork pie is a no from me it's the jelly and fatty bits
Sandwiches/wraps and pizza yes!
I normally also get deli somosas/bhajis etc they always go down well.

I think it sounds fine but I'd make 2-3 more salads (without a mayo dressing) and drop one or two of the quiches/pork pies. Just something simple like a carrot salad with a mustard dressing or a really good green salad.

This really does depend on how big the quiches and gammon are? Some are tiny some are huge.

10-12.

Your non-vegans are going to enjoy the hummus and falafel, they will take the hummus to dip their crisps in for starters. Two pots of hummus isn't enough for 20, your vegan may find that by the time they get to the table there's nothing left for them.

Is your potato salad, bread, cake etc vegan?

What about cooking up potato wedges or chips so guests can have something hot too and it's fills people up

I really don’t know what people’s feelings are about quiche however I know I haven’t invited fussy eaters. Although I have to say I didn’t realise it was so polarising!

The cous cous is vegan
The potato salad is vegan
There is a separate vegan cake
There is a separate vegan colelsaw

Among my guests I have a vegan, a vegetarian, a GF person and someone with a nut allergy. If I did equal amounts of everything for everyone special I would be bankrupt however I do think there is enough for each special person to have a decent something to eat (bought a mini GF quiche and pork pie).

Just ran through the menu with DH…he thinks I have done too much food again 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

16-20 if it’s lunchtime, especially if not for a long gathering or other people might bring a dish. Fewer if for a long party where people will graze.
Depends on the crowd too, if you want to bull it up I’d add more crisps (if they stay unopened they’ll keep for too) and a pasta salad - if you’ve over catered you can have pasta for lunch the next few days!

@PinkDaffodil2 its at lunch time, starting at 1 and I expect people will be gone by 5ish

Because I’m on my third glass of wine, I’ve googled “Hiw many apringles are in a tube”. Thankfully, Google knew what I meant and has informed me that a tube of Pringles contains 80 Pringles.

You’ll need more Pringle, OP. An allocation room of 8 per head will cause war. They’ll pop, won’t be able to stop, and it’ll all turn nasty.

Have you already answered the size of the quiches?

If they're about the size I'm thinking of: should be more than enough with all the additional food items you bought.

I personally have never encountered a quiche I didn't like (at least up to now). I would be very happy with getting some quiche...

You have 2 vegan carb-y options, one vegetable salad and a cake. That's fine imo. It's not as if you're a professional caterer.

@PumpkinsAndCoconuts

I have bought another bag of kettle chips - maybe I should get another tube of pringles though!

Yes it’s tricky with people with dietary preferences. If I was having a small dinner party with those people I would just make everything vegan or vegan adaptable but I think in a large group of people it’s enough to be full? My GF person won’t be able to eat everything because gluten free stuff is soooo expensive but she has quiche, pork pie, bread, gammon, cheese, potato salad…

How big are the pots of cous cous potato salad etc and how many falafels.

@Fatandfunny 16 falafels I think

mixing bowls full of home made (not little pots from the supermarket)

Sounds fine to me. I personally really don’t think you need more.

But an additional pack of crisp will keep (if your guests won't need it and it's unopened), so there's probably no harm in buying more as a backup.

I would get 3 bags of potatoe wedges and sling them in the oven too. Oh and give everyone little plates, that way someone greedy can't take all the good stuff in one go

Please have an order to the buffet!

Let the GF person head to the buffet first before people start dunking bread and crisps in the humous. Then let the vegan/veggies go next, ime meat eaters like to complain a lot about vegans/vegetarians but they're very quick to snaffle down all of the meat free options on a buffet!

I would have said a generous 8 but it depends on the sizes of each thing - eg a quiche can come in all sorts of sizes. My homemade ones feed 6 easily, a standard size bought one we eat between 2.

Depends how big the quiches are surely! Supermarket 7 inch ones would do 4 people each as a main, bigger, entertaining ones twice that, maybe more. I agree that a turkey/chicken cold meat option might be better alongside pork pies. I would also suggest ice cream and fresh fruit salad as alternative desserts.

ah it’s so hard to do a buffet! I think you’ve done great op…. I think you were a little light initially, but with drinks etc people always eat less than a meals worth.

I think you might have to let the vegan/other guests know the options beforehand, so she knows to get in there quickly; I’m not veggie but don’t eat gammon or quiche so id dive into falafels and houmus like a hungry Moroccan!

Depends if the quiches are supermarket ones that you eat a quarter of, or homemade ones that feed 12? If it's the former, not enough for 20. I'd maybe add a side of salmon which only takes 20 mins baked in foil in the oven to make it a bit different.

8-10.

The problem is it is plenty of food and you will likely have lots left over but there are so many things to choose from it’s hard to predict what will be popular and run out and what will hardly be touched. If lots of your guests want a bit of everything and take a falafel and a big dollop of hummus then even if there’s lots of gammon, pork pie and quiche left your vegan and vegetarian guests will quickly be left with nothing they can eat apart from salad and couscous, which isn’t a very well rounded meal.