Please critique my buffet menu

[SundayTulips]

Hi all, we’re cooking for and hosting a buffet for between 20-36 adults next month (depending on RSVPs). We want it to be well done but not fussy (ie really high quality ingredients done well but not in a faffy way). There will be a number of vegetarians to cater for. For that number of people I can’t do too much hot food as don’t have the oven space to keep it all warm. Guests are international and fancy!

I was thinking:

Home made dips - baba ganoush, beetroot, red pepper plus crackers/flatbreads, fresh focaccia and oils

Rare roast beef fillet, cold, sliced, with horseradish sauce on the side
Marinated roast chicken thighs (anyone have a knockout recipe?)
Spinach and feta borek
I need another veggie main. I was thinking a frittata or similar but would love ideas

Straciatella and heirloom tomato salad with basil
Baby new potatoes with herbs
Giant couscous and roast vegetable salad (any dressing recipes are so welcome!)
Roasted white asparagus with aioli

Probably eton mess and brownies for pudding

We haven’t included fish as wanted to be able to focus on a few things done really well, although if suddenly half our guests turn out to be pescatarian I may need to rethink this. If so I would probably do a big bowl of white fish ceviche or similar

I was on that thread and made it - yes a great dish. It is vegan, minus the side of herby yoghurt.

I had read this very thread and was going to test out the recipe this week as a vegan option!

That all sounds lovely. Can I come??

I think a side of salmon, not smoked. I would leave the cheese out of the tomato salad and do a tomato and onion salad instead. Have a separate cheese board for those who want cheese.

Leave out the Cous Cous and do a platter of roasted veg in case people are avoiding wheat (you could have bread on the side for the those who eat wheat). Maybe a bowl of plain salad leaves and dressing on the side.

Otherwise I think it looks fine, some people don’t like chicken on the bone so maybe do boneless thighs marinaded in lemon, garlic, oregano, and olive oil? It’s a nice mix of British food so the chicken will add a bit of Greek to the mix!

That Ottolenghi recipe is delicious at room temp or warm, incredibly easy and can be as mild or spicy as you like. I'd definitely recommend it.

I always make focaccia for this sort of event. So easy, and very impressive to non bakers!

Looks amazing but for the fish I would steer clear of ceviche if only doing one fish dish, best to go poached salmon - less risky!

I think it sounds wonderful! Really good food. I'm vegetarian and would eat a lot of that. Agree you could do with another vegetarian dish - some ideas are stuffed peppers, stuffed mushrooms, Spanish omelette, quiche.

Pesto and roast veg tart. Puff pastry base , cover in pesto, top with roasted veg. You could make this vegan with vegan pastry. Or puff pastry base, topped with leeks, ricotta and lemon, with smoked salmon mixed in. Both could be served cold. Cover with parsley!!

Sausage rolls. [Grin]

Nothing wrong with chicken thighs - it's a buffet staple.

Eton mess may be fiddly for a buffet - you could do blondies or a traybake cake instead?

Regarding the Ottolenghi chick peas - it was investigating this recipe, and its variations, that I learnt that Kashmiri chilli powder is mild and can be substituted with paprika. The red chillies and chilli flakes give the dish its kick.

Any idea how many the original recipe would serve?

Your buffet sounds absolutely delicious

Don’t underestimate how long those dips will take to make for 20 adults, let alone 36. I’d swap one for a simple humus, as so quick to make if you use tinned chickpeas.

Chicken thigh fillets might be easier to eat, or make something like coronation chicken.

Spinach and feta borek is lovely and I would agree with frittata. As people always warn, don’t assume the vegetarian options will only be eaten by the vegetarians so make plenty!

My family are not fussy eaters at all but I am the only one who likes giant couscous. I offered the rest of the pack out to a group of friends, also not fussy eaters, and only one person said they would eat it. Maybe regular couscous would be safer? It will go further too and be quicker to prepare. When I make that salad, I use stock not just water for the couscous and the dressing a simple French dressing combined with a squirt of tomato purée

I feel like it’s missing something fresh - maybe a crisp green salad instead of the asparagus?

Eton Mess and brownies sound great for dessert. I’d add cheese & crackers for those that might find that too sweet.

Another one here who would add a whole side of roast salmon - a posh buffet without fish is not the same!

Or I would do lots of beautiful platters:

Cheese - cubed/sliced, lots of variety, make one platter vegan
Breads - focaccia and ciabatta in different flavours, maybe a rye bread
Meats - continental charcuterie in easy to eat pieces - Parma/serrano ham, marinated chicken pieces, chorizo, salami, mini meatballs, rare beef
Vegetables - grilled aubergines, courgettes, peppers and tomatoes - really colourful
Fish - smoked salmon, marinated prawns, tuna carpaccio
Cakes - brownies, mini cheesecakes, profiteroles, mini tarts

Sounds great 👍🏻
Eton mess needs making last minute so I'd change that to lemon tart with cream and berries to save the faff .
Perfect otherwise

I don't eat chicken on the bone either....but would definitely go for salmon. I'm not a huge fan of giant cous cous...weird texture. If you have breads and potato salad i think that's sufficient, beacuse you also have the pastry dishes. Otherwise sounds lovely.

I couldn’t be arsed with the homemade sauces. Buy them from Waitrose and pop them in a nice jar.

I think it looks utterly perfect.
If I was to add one thing, it would be some green leaves salad.

You could borrow a few slow cookers and keep hot dishes warm that way.
I wouldn't eat much from that either.
I'd want vol a vonts, cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, chicken nuggets but then I'm not very classy!
Ooh and some nice bread too.

It made three good portions for lunch, along with a flatbread each, and a dollop of the yoghurt. You would need bowls/soup plates as it's a bit more soupier than the photo suggests.

Menu sounds lovely, and I think you’ve got a great amount of variation without it being too scattergun.

For the chicken thighs I’d do some sort of Asian marinade - something lime ginger lemongrass type thing? I don’t have a particular recipe but there are loads around. I’m totally fine with on the bone, off the bone, skin or not, but boneless thigh pieces might be easier to manage / divide up, without people having leftover bones / skin on their plates? And it always seems like a bit of a shame to have a lovely marinade all over the skin which then gets left (unless it’s all crispy then it gets eaten!)

Thanks! I thought similarly to you and was considering this thigh recipe: https://thewoksoflife.com/lemongrass-chicken/

definitely crispy skin!

Spanakopita is good for this sort of thing and easy to make a big one and slice and also good to make day ahead

Lovely menu OP but I think I'd tweek it a bit for less work. I'd remove the chicken on the bone and add a couple of large quiches of some sort along with a side of poached salmon and a mixed leaf green salad. Sublime!