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

This is giving me terrible flash backs to my wedding for 50 which I self-catered on the day. Jesus H Christ what was I thinking. I did one of those buffets where it's all on the table, can't remember what they're called and possibly they're no longer fashionable, but it did look lovely. I on the other hand looked like a woman who'd had 3 minutes 30 seconds to do their bridal makeup 😂

Posting here in case anything appeals - they're mainly a combo of cured meats with another thing, and some extra salads

MAINS

Serrano ham, goats cheese and bay roasted pear dressing with thin slivers of pear
Prosciutto, basil, parmesan, basil and garlic olive oil
Chorizo iberico de pilota with Padron peppers and habas fritas
Jamon Iberico on the bone
Bresaola with artichokes
Smoked salmon and dill drizzle

Stracciatella, roasted fennel, capers and mint with sourdough toast and

Orzo with oven-dried tomatoes, rosemary, pine nuts, olives and saffron
Panzanella (tomato and bread salad)
Farfalle with basil, pinenuts and spinach

Sourdough bruschetta
Crackers
Fresh sourdough

MISCELLANEOUS
Fresh nchovies
Roasted salted mixed nuts
Green nocellara olives
Black Kalamata olives
Black grapes
Figs

Agree it needs to be worked out, but a lot of people won’t be meat eaters, and I don’t think people will each each 2 thighs, as well as 300g beef, as well as 150g potatoes etc etc etc.
I was assuming 2 thighs per meat eater, 250g beef or so per meat eater (which is a lot when sliced thinnish), plus all the other sides etc. I’m not certain how to calculate salad volume but will research it.
This is why I’m not planning on faffing around with continental platters etc, I just want to do a few things I’m already confident I can prepare well, and in advance. And I’ll hire serving dishes etc (oven space, dishes etc all fine plus I’ll have some volunteer sous chefs!)

I was thinking this.

This is where I come in like a broken record and point out that most of us are omnivores so if you're catering for a group where most people eat anything and a few only eat a vegetarian or vegan diet, you need to provide lots of options that don't contain meat or fish, as virtually all the guests will want to sample all of those, and not all will want the meat or fish.

We have a coeliac friend who sadly just doesn't eat anything except unpeeled fruit when he's out of his own home, except in a restaurant where he's confident they do genuinely understand how to provide a gluten-free dish. He just finds it safest.

Veggie (vegan) main: make a spectacular platter of roasted Romanesco in Romesco sauce (so tasty)
https://lisasprojectvegan.com/2014/11/19/romanesco-romesco/amp/

@WalterFence

what is wrong with a platter of fine Italian meats/fruits/french cheese/crudites/crackers etc/chutney?

absolutely nothing!

she is doing a buffet and I guarantee that would be a hit with something for everyone

she’s not doing a sit down meal

guests are coming to mingle and eat nice food!

@Quitelikeit

1- people will be sitting down.
2-the link you’ve posted is to a load of random stuff- pretzels, breadsticks, mini pork pie, orange slice etc, all mushed up on the same plate. It looks like a buffet after you’ve eaten and scraped the plates 😂 For such a big group and a seated meal you need real food in decent quantities not a mishmash of party snacks.

Something like that would work better if it was just nibbles- even so I’m not wild about everything heaped up together and it’s a non-starter for most vegetarians to present it like that.

Well I think that's a great buffet OP, a lot better than processed pork five ways that a lot of people seem to serve then a token cheese sandwich or two.

Maybe if you want to add salmon, drop the chicken so have beef, salmon, borek and possibly a Spanish omelette or a vegetarian quiche would be fine unless you have some vegans coming, then you could add falafels too?

And it looks like you don't need to be told that, shock horror, some of the meat eaters might want to 'sample' the vegetarian options because you've got the balance right with a good selection of food that's suitable for everyone then a meat option for those who want it.

Wait, are you suggesting the meat eaters might try the veggie food and I should cater accordingly? I hadn’t realised! Why did nobody mention this?!
😁

I like Spanish omelette suggestion. Thanks!

looks great OP

I’d do normal couscous (with roasted veg) with a tahini and lemon dressing. Basically tahini lemon and olive oil with some spices.

thighs - do skin on with an Asian dressing - soy, honey, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic.

I’d also do cheese.

With that many people you can do a cheese board with something like a whole little stilton on it. Any left over freeze.
https://www.thefoodmarket.com/products/stilton-baby-cropwell-bishop-2-5kg?taxon_id=2261

For each person you should cater 200-250g protein each, and certainly not 2 thighs and 250g beef each. For baby new potatoes for 35, I'd use around 3.5kg potatoes.

I catered a lunch for 35 recently (I'm a private chef and caterer) - 3 shoulders of lamb, 2 sides of salmon, 5 different salad/veg dishes, hummus, baba ganoush, labneh, flatbreads. There was plenty of food for at least half to have a second plateful. When catering for a higher number, especially when doing a buffet style, grab you food and sit down sort of thing you do not need some of the quantities people are suggesting above.

Veg/salad dishes - for a recipe to serve 6, multiply each recipe by 4 if you're doing 5 different ones or by 6 if only doing 4.

Baba ganoush - homemade using 6 aubergines

Hummus - 3 tima of chick peas plus scaled up other ingredients should do it

Labneh - 2kg Greek yog to yield enough when drained etc

I agree, a gammon really wouldn't work well with the rest of the menu. It all sounds absolutely delicious.

Your posts are hugely helpful, thank you.
in terms of the sides calculations, you’re saying if I have a recipe for a side which serves 6, if I’m serving 4 sides in total I should aim to make enough for all attendees to have a whole portion, but if I’m serving 5 sides, only 2/3rds of a portion?

I doubt children's birthday party is really the theme OP is going for.

@SundayTulips

Sorry it doesn't make much sense - will simplify if I can..!

4 different veg dishes each recipe serving 6 (24 portions)

Make 5 x each recipe which will give you enough for everyone to have a decent portion.

5 different veg dishes multiply a 6 person recipe by 4.

Years of experience has taught me that the more choice available the smaller of each choice people will generally take as they want to be able to eat a little bit of everything. Most will take a tablespoon of a grain salad, a tbls and a half of a green salad and roughly 1-1.5 tomatoes (when sliced). Some take more, some take less and some are fussy buggers, so it all works out.

Feel free to PM me if you want me to jot stuff down for you.

What I did for the same party where I did the confit chickpeas was to buy some salmon fillets and chicken breasts (could have used boneless skinless thighs). I marinated each with some spice and then cooked in the oven. The salmon was in a yoghourt marinade and the chicken wasn't (but it could have been vice versa), to allow for people who don't eat dairy but do eat meat and fish so they could still try one. For serving, I divided the salmon into largeish chunks and I sliced the chicken. I found, as the caterer above mentions, that most people like a little bit of everything, so were very happy to have just a mouthful of salmon and another of chicken.

I made a mango salsa and a red cabbage salad too because the idea had come from recipes for marinaded salmon with mango salsa and chicken shawarma with cabbage salad, but I kept all elements separate so people could mix and match as they wanted and vegetarians could have the salad and salsa. The herby yoghourt sauce from the chickpeas recipe went very well with both the salmon and the chicken as well.

The only chicken recipe you ever need.... trust me

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_marbella/

OP your menu sounds delicious! I’m not a huge meat eater but do love beef and would love your menu apart from chicken thighs, I avoid any chicken at buffets 😂 I hate ‘beige buffets’ and typical party food like that, yours is a buffet I can get on board with! 😋

When I went on a big get together of French and English once the English were in charge of starters and dessert and the French did the main (we were in France) and we English made Eton mess for pudding, it went down a treat with everyone :)

This is really helpful, thanks! Do you mind confirming how many people are those numbers (total 120 portions of sides) are based on? Are you saying cater for 4 portions of sides for everyone across all sides provided?

I'd stick with the chicken rather than replace with salmon. People are more likely to eat salmon than fish and some people won't enjoy the beef cos it's rare (though some will love it of course). I think you're more likely to please more people with chicken. Generally I think it's a nice menu. Quite heavy and oily though so I'd add in a simple green salad to balance it out. Also another bread as well as focaccia cos I personally think focaccia is too greasy to be nice. Some plain nice baguette perhaps too.

@SundayTulips

Of course; by scaling up the 4 veg/salad dishes as above, that will give 120 portions (based on 30 guests), or a small serving of each dish each. Basically, they'll have the equivalent of 1 generous veg/salad made up of 4 types.

Honestly the higher the number of guests for a self service sort of event, the smaller the portions people tend to take. Even when I do a sit down dinner party for a client, once the guests number more than a dozen, people do tend to eat less with each course due to the social side of such events.

See, I wouldn't have had you down as seeing that as children's party food. Thought you'd be more carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes and olives? But each to their own..

I wouldn't do green salad as it's the one thing that hardly anyone eats at a buffet ime. Maybe find another vegetable salad/vegetable dish instead.