Can you please critique my Christmas day buffet

[ProssecoSparkle]

Can you lovely lot please cast an eye over my Christmas day buffet. This is for 4 adults, 1 tween, 1 three year old and a 11 month old.

Is there anything you would take out? Different combinations?

Chocolate cake
Sticky toffee pudding
Cream
Ice cream
Dips and breadsticks
A few different crisps
Crudets
Cheese and pickle on sticks
Hummus
Cheeseboard
Mini chedders
Tangerines
Hero's
Cranberry sauce
Pate
Colslaw
Vol e vans
Lentil soup
Brusheta
Steak slices
Salad
Mozzarella and tomatoes
Mustard and honey dip
Italian meats
Turkey
Pigs in blankets
Carrots
Parsnips
Brussels sprouts
Stuffing
Sausage rolls
Dauphin potatoes
Yorkshire puddings

This will all be homemade

Can I call in?

To be honest it sounds a bit of a mishmash. Like you are throwing all the food eaten over a three day period onto the table at once. How does bruschetta and coleslaw go with parsnips and carrots. If it's all going out at the same time you will either have cold veg or soggy bruschetta.

I would serve a bunch of starter like items in round 1, so bruschetta, tomato and mozzarella salad, vol au vents.

Then a couple of hours later the hot turkey, potatoes, veg.

Then desserts, save cheese board for late evening.

If you want honest, I think that’s sounds a crazy buffet. Soup? And what are you dipping in the honey and mustard sauce? Steak slices sounds like Greggs. And why’s there a Christmas meal chucked in at the end? Turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets, potatoes and veg?

Very little of it goes together. I’d cut down items by at least a half and pair them together better.

This is my feeling too. It all seems quite a mish mash of different styles. Like you're doing Christmas dinner but not quite all of it, and putting Boxing Day's buffet with it. People picking at it all day turns my stomach when I think about bacteria developing. And cold sprouts!

@AtleastitsnotMonday I think it's because everyone likes different things so I've tried to please everyone. I really don't want to be back and forth into the kitchen a lot. Ds, dil and grandkids don't stay near us so I want to spend as much quality time with them as possible.

I can understand doing the turkey , sprouts , parsnips etc as a buffet if you don’t have a big table but I can’t see why someone would then want a vol au vent or salad at the same serving . Have I misunderstood and you put the meat / veg stuff out and then the rest is for the evening ?

I am totally confused by this thread!

Do you mean everything out together?

My favourite buffets have about ten things chosen to compliment each other so it seems a lot to me if that's what you meant.

I think it'll create MORE work rather than less. You can't just leave it out all day, it'll go cold/dry out/give people food poisoning. Whereas a sit down meal is served and finished. Then everyone can relax and play games, watch films, play with the kids' toys or whatever you want to do. If people are backwards and forwards at different times it could all get a bit disjointed.

Do you guests know that they're getting a buffet?

i agree. It's like all the courses and all the day's meals out at once. A bit odd. I'd lay out just the starter type things, let everyone help themselves, have a bit of a gap then put out the hot stuff. Another bit of a gap if you want then dessert/cheese board etc.

I don't see the difference time wise between you preparing all that stuff in the kitchen and putting it on the kitchen table, to preparing half of it and putting it on the dining table. If you're going to keep the warm stuff warm by using hot plates then that is defeating the object of you keeping out of the kitchen isn't it?

I understand you wanting to get some food everyone likes, and trying to minimise kitchen time, but I don't think you've thought through how it's actually going to work at all or minimise your kitchen time if you want it to be edible.

I spent weeks going through old threads on here and ticktock to get my list. Then facetime/group chat with the troops to make sure everyone had things they liked.
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I did think about roast potatoes maybe float that idea to them.

it feels like you’ve got a bit obsessive here. You don’t need to plan for weeks and check every item with everyone.

there’s the equivalent of 5 people eating and you’ve made 30 pigs in blankets plus about 20 other items. It’s ludicrous

The thing is, it sounds just rather unpleasant to me having it served that way. But I'm not your guest, so it doesn't really matter what I think. Your guests might love cold sprouts served with vol au vents and brushetta with gravy on the side.

We all have our own ways of doing Christmas. If this is what works for your family, then go for it. But I'd double check with your guests first if they haven't previously been served food in this style.

FWIW the individual items you list sound very nice. It just seems that you're chucking a whole 3 course Xmas dinner on the table to go cold surrounded by the Boxing Day buffet food! Can you not at least serve the hot (Christmas dinner) buffet at lunchtime and not bring the rest of the stuff out til early evening once the roast has been cleared away.

Can I ask about the cheese and pickle sticks please?? How does that work?
like, Branston pickle? Or pickled onion or something on a toothpick?

You'll be prepping forever making all that lot!
Everything sounds nice on its own, but on top of a full roast dinner and some delicious desserts, I'd question whether you need all of
Breadsticks
Vol au vents
Sausage rolls
Pate
Hummus
Dips
Coleslaw
Mozzarella/toms
Steak
Brushetta
Crudités
Italian meats
Smoked salmon blinis

Making all that is a lot of effort on top of all the christmas dinner things you also have.

Why don't you narrow it down and have a couple of snacks (breadsticks/crisps), a couple of starters (maybe pate/smoked salmon), the turkey dinner stuff, and then pudding / cheese.
All the coleslaw/dips/mozzarella/ sausage rolls could put in an appearance in the evening if you must, but putting all that lot out for only 5 people is a monumental effort (and think of the washing up... both prep and serving!)

OP have you cooked this huge variety of food like this before?

It just seems like far too much for a small group and unless you have a huge kitchen, fridge and serving area I fear that most of the food will get wasted.

All the ideas sound lovely but I would honestly spread the cooking and serving over at least 3 days.

OP can I live with you?!

Christmas cake, mince pies, Yule log, banoffi pie, Christmas pudding ( I may have blurry eyesight from Bailey's)! Bread sauce Yorkshire puddings with fixings. panettone

Bread and butter pudding

Sounds ok to me. what time shall I come over?

Oh this is great. Myself and my partner do a buffet party food type thing for Christmas. Just for us 2 and our 1 child.
We call it snackmas dinner 🤣

You lost me at 'putting it out at 2pm for the day because you don't want to be going back and forth to the kitchen' 🤮🤮. Food poisoning for all by Boxing Day.

I don't think the roast dinner lends itself to a buffet, and it doesn't go with the rest of the items. It is also far too much food for that amount of people.

I wouldn't be putting out massive amounts of everything just little bits of it all. I can keep bits hot or pop in the fridge if need be. I make big buffets all the time with a mix of things to suit everyone. I would hate to have guests and them not get enough food. I have a dishwasher for the dishes.

@AmusedBouched cut chedder cheese into cubes and put one cube onto a cocktail stick then put one pickled onion onto the stick on top.

All my guests like different things so people wouldn't be having sprouts with brusseta etc.

I honestly think this is an insane amount of food for five people, but it does all sound delicious. It will be much more appetising (and safe) if served as three separate buffets: the starters at 2pm, clear at 3. Turkey dinner buffet at 4pm, clear at 5. Then puds and cheeses out from 6ish/7ish. It won't be as much extra work as you think - all will be prepped, just needs bringing out.

Got it! Good idea - thank you. You’ve made me want cheese and pineapple!! That’s going on my menu now 😂

Swap the ice cream for tiramisu. Eating one now and it is soooo good. Then you don’t have the hassle of frozen items.

have a great time - sounds amazing.