Easy cold buffet for 40 ideas and quantities

[Whatwouldnanado]

Boozy do. No kids. Low budget low time for prep and some vegetarians to think of. Finger food primarily.
Thinking sausages in soy and honey
Sandwiches
Hummous and crudités.
Cheese and onion quiche
Green, potato and a rice salad.
Crisps. Dips
Fruit platter
Someone else is doing cake etc
Just stuck on how much of everything!
Help!

Pizzas. Cooked in advance, served cold. Veggie and meat.

What is your budget @Whatwouldnanado

Greggs do an 80 person banquet if you phone them

I’d have lots of bread eg baguettes rather than sandwiches which take more effort then things like a meat platter, cheeseboard, tuna, hummus and coronation chicken to go with it, chicken drumsticks are cheap, the frozen sausage rolls and cheese and onion rolls are cheap and popular. Salad’s, veggie quiches, don’t bother with meat in them for simplicity

This all sounds good 👌

you could also get some puff pastry and roll it out and then add tomatoe puree and cheese and whatever toppings and bake or make just tomatoe and Parmesan pinwheels - cheap and easy to do!

Tesco also have a lot of frozen party food
3-4-2 there’s some great bits in those offers

This is news to me my BIL is obsessed with Greggs!

Sandwiches are hard work to make and dry up quickly. I’d get some lovely bread (baguettes/turkish bread/focaccia) , lots of cheeses, meats, pate, sausage/vege rolls, crisps, olives and other antipasti, crudités and hummus/dips, maybe quiche, maybe good pizza cut up, potato salad and coleslaw if you don’t mind fork food rather than finger food, green salad, baby tomatoes.

All great ideas, especially the pin wheels. But how much? Thinking Tesco oval foil trays. The fact it’s 40 people is confusing. Used to family food, for max say 15. How much do people eat? Do I double up? Aargh.

I think it depends on what the 'do' is, and who is coming.

Friends round 'for drinks' will have eaten before they come and you will just need something more bulky to soak up the alcohol.
People over for a 'naice lunch' is going to be a different set up, however boozy it is.

In terms of quantities, if you are feeding the rugby team after a match, you are going to be looking for more food than if you are feeding a bunch of your 90 yr old Nan's pals.

I've been to two different parties recently, where the buffet has been real old fashioned bar food. Two completely different groups of people, but it seemed to go down well with everyone. Decent sized cheese rolls / cobs (depending where you are in the country), ham rolls, pork pies, chicken drumsticks, crisps. Indeed we went to a quiz night at a bar last month and they were selling crusty cobs from behind the bar that seemed to be going down a storm. Of course, these don't work so well if people are having trouble with their dentures, or there are small children who can't get their mouths round a crusty cob.