What’s the maximum number of people you reckon you could cater Christmas lunch for?

[Sidebeforeself]

Comfortably I mean. Taking into account chairs, table space, oven room etc?

Eight for me

Hey up Nigella!! Sounds fabulous.
I regularly do Sunday lunch for up to 12. Seated.
I could prob fit another 6-8 in by adding an additional table but after that we'd be outside on picnic tables or buffet style.

Oooh what did you cook?

Four.

Due to house design and existing table, 12 formally (also have enough crockery and 12 piece cutlery service.) more than 12 will mean table in another room or standing up in the kitchen

If weather is decent eg in the summer I can cook for far more, I’ve served 85 single handed in the past but using 2 kitchens in the church

who has 40 chairs?????

8 to seat comfortably. Cannot understand why people try and accommodate more than is comfortable for everyone. The extra baby in highchair is fine.

We had 15 once and it was too much. I was working full time in the lead up to Christmas and had a toddler, and I massively underestimated how much work it would be. Had I been more experienced catering for large groups it probably would have been fine.

In terms of just the cooking, 15 at a stretch. I only have one oven and one hob. The most I've cooked for in the past has been nine, including me. It was beef casserole and turned out well.

’Comfortably’? Six. That’s how many our dining table seats.

Yes, I could fuck about with moving furniture and borrowing chairs and folding tables and all that stuff, but that wouldn’t (for me) fit the ‘comfortably’ part of the question. I absolutely cannot stand that sort of thing.

I love cooking for people and plying guests with food and drink so I’m very comfortable with that element of it. But too many people being crammed into a space on folding chairs etc practically brings me out in hives.

I've regularly cooked for 20+ having friends around for Christmas time.

I've cooked for 50 previously a few times.

My record is over a hundred for one sitting which is even more interesting as it wasn't at home so there's the logistics of getting the food there and cooking in a small shit kitchen. The biggest issue is prep time and fridge space tbh. I can budget and organise the fuck out of a spreadsheet.

I was thinking the same.

Done 25 for a sit down Christmas lunch in the house. The proper works.

Without moving anything around 8, adding fold out table and chairs from the loft up to 12.

Dining table at full stretch plus the kitchen table added on to the end, I can seat 12. I have enough chairs and cutlery, crockery, glassware.
Two ovens plus a slow cooker and microwave, so I can prep enough food with a bit of planning.

Anything bigger, there's always the village hall 😁

1. The space issue would be secondary to the stress involved. This is why I.would restrict to.3 and me.

25 uncomfortably, I’ve done this for informal meals and dig-in type food.

For Christmas I’d be comfortable feeding 10, maybe 12 at a push. I’ve got 8 this year which is a lovely number. .

12. We'd need to bring the garden table in to extend table space though. We could scrabble enough chairs together from around the house, though 4 would be the kitchen stools which are a bit too tall!

I've done 15 before but I couldn't in my little house now.

In our previous house I have catered for 20, sitting around one table but some people had to bring chairs with them! I only had a double oven so it was interesting juggling everything.
Here I can seat 6, a comfortable number nowadays.

I’ve done 45 several times.

,2

I usually host between 17 & 21. However this year there will be just four of us!

To be organised & comfortable 8.

I only have 6 dining chairs, but if guests brought a couple of spare chairs 8 is the maximum as I only have a dinner service for 8 people..