Is this enough food for a barbecue?

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I’m having a barbecue for 24 people on Saturday. I haven’t hosted for this many before so can I check with those if you who are more experienced whether this is the right amount of food?

On the barbecue:

24 burgers
24 hot dogs

Prepared in advance and served cold:

50 buns
A large gammon joint
15 barbecue chicken drumsticks
15 plain drumsticks
A potato salad with lemon and garlic
Homemade coleslaw
A Caesar salad
Another type of vegan salad

Then for people arriving I’ll have a cheeseboard, crisps, dips, and sweets out.

Is it enough? Should I add a pasta salad?

Are they adults or children? No dietaries?

24 adults and maybe a one year old if the parents can’t find childcare.

One vegan but I’ll get vegan burgers for her and cook them separately. My friend is also bringing scones and another might be bringing lamb kebabs.

Any vegetarians coming? I think a pasta salad would be good.

No vegetarians, just one vegan.

that’s more than enough - what about dessert and drinks/ ice etc?

One burger per person doesn’t sound like a lot for a bbq

I think you'll find that most people would want more than one burger/sausage each.
Id do 35 of each.

I was going to fill a paddling pool with ice for the drinks to go in. People will be bringing their own alcohol although I’ll have some lager and wine.

I'd do a bit more healthy stuff personally. Things like corn on the cob, sweet potato, veggie kebabs, a fillet of salmon, prawns etc; all cooked on the bbq.

People are generally moving more towards this kind of food and away from sausage and burgers.

It’s not one burger per person, it’s one burger, hot dog, chicken drumstick and gammon slice, if everyone has one piece of meat each.

Do you think? When I do smaller barbecues this doesn’t tend to happen. I bought eight burgers and eight hot dogs for a barbecue of five last weekend and there were three burgers and four hot dogs left over. I would hate to run out of food but I don’t want to be throwing loads away.

Not enough meat, imo. People like loads of meat. I don’t, but we’ve had about 20 barbecues this glorious summer so far and I’ve noticed plates filled with all the meats.

I’d also add a pasta salad, a caprese salad and one with watermelon and feta.

I think that sounds lovely but I think people will expect the traditional burgers and sausages.

I think that’s plenty and I nearly always over cater. If you do anything additionally I’d maybe do 10 more burgers and 10 more sausages. Cheese slices for cheese burgers and lots of choices of condiments.

Is a burger, hot dog, chicken drumstick and slices of gammon really not enough meat for one person?! Maybe I should get more chicken and another gammon.

You need back up burgers/sausages that cam be frozen if not cooked

Plus more optionsfor your vegan that everyone can eat

I meant as well as the sausages etc

I'd go for more sausages than that. You'll probably find most people have one burger, max, some won't have one at all and that'll leave some spare for those who do want a second. Sausages, on the other hand, people pick at them eternally... You'll likely need more than one per person.

I find stuff on bones doesn't necessarily go down as quickly as the stuff that's easy to eat (e.g. sausages or kebabs).

I'd also do a pasta salad (pesto pasta, cherry tomatoes and pine nuts is a fav of mine) and possibly either some potato wedges or garlic bread.

Just keep the extra packets of sausages/burgers in the fridge and judge how the foods going down before cooking it all. If not used you can freeze it.

Yes, I’ll do this. I’ll get extra burgers but I’m not a fan of burgers so they’ll just be wasted and never make it back out of the freezer.

The vegan has a salad, potato salad and vegan burgers? Is that not enough? What else should I do for her?

Double the sausages and burgers. They also won’t know it’s 1. Of each item and I tend to eat what I like - I would have a few chickens
for example. So make sure you cater for that. But I would have any sausages type thing

Oh sorry, I see. Thank you.

I wouldn't do gammon id probably double up on burgers and hot dogs the rest is fine.

Marinated vegetable kebabs. A vegan cake (bought, not suggesting you bake!). Fruit salad.

I distinctly remember a barbecue I once did where one person helped himself to 5 chicken kebabs and I'd only done one per person. So four other people didn't get one at all (including me and I was really pissed off). If I remember rightly he also ate most of the vegetarian sausages that were meant for someone else.

People are not going to self-regulate and neatly have one of each thing, they'll take several of what they like best and leave other things alone.