To think feeding 40 people for £50 is more than possible

[user1486841477]

I was planning to make a chilli con carne, curry, pulled pork, meatball pasta, carbonara in large pots.

Add sides of rice, garlic bread, potatoes, chips, pizza.

Snacks of crisps, nuts, quiche, cocktail cheese and pineapple, cruidetes with dip,

Large homemade cake

Different desserts.

My mum thinks this doesn't sound that interesting and I should be doing fancy canapés etc.

Caterers all wants £6 a head which I can't afford and don't need to ask I'm a good cook.

Am I being too ambitious?

What would you do to feed 40 people on £50?

What is certain is that you can feed 40 people for less than £6 per head.

I don't think it is possible. I catered for 30 people over two days and I really struggled to get the main meal to come in at under 5 per head which was the max. We had vegans and other dietary requirements to consider.

What really proved problematic was how to keep food and drinks hot - hiring hotplates and thermal jugs and so forth would have screwed my budget completely. A caterer charging 6 would include all that.

My solution? For the hot meal of the day we gave everyone a voucher for 5 quid they could use in a nice takeaway cafe that did not food inc. vegan options and the owner was kind enough to include a hot drink too. So people had a massive choice to pick from

Was fine for the informal corporate type of event... Might not work for a wedding or family party.....

Even in the UK with your incredibly cheap food, surely that is not remotely possible? Several meat dishes, sides, desserts AND snacks, for 1 pound 25 pence a head?

I have serious trouble believing it. I'm not saying its not possible as I'm not familiar with the cheap shops in Britain, but I'd be amazed.

I think you're offering too many dishes. I would simplify it, so guests aren't overwhelmed with choice. £50 sounds ambitious. What is the event? Could you offer homemade soup (one meat, one vegetarian) & sandwiches? That would do for a simple lunch & would be easy to prepare / serve

I don't see it's possible but look forward to being proved wrong. When you're done, please can you post a photo of everything and scan in your till receipts? I'm ready to be impressed.

Apologies for completely irrelevant post..

Hi Narky Promise im not stalking you but now I understand why your home insurance policy doesn't exclude unlocked doors.... you don't live in the UK. Mystery solved! 😂😂😂

OP it would have been helpful if you'd said at the outset that it was a charity event ....... it's obvious that the expectations of the guests would be different from, say, birthday party or wedding guests.

You've been less than honest.

If attending a charity event catered by a volunteer I'd be happy with anything - including a slab of congealed carbonara!

The reason for the buffet isn't something someone needs to be 'honest' about.

While it is for a charity event the standard still needs to be half decent and enough food for everyone.

Most people will be coming back from a very long walk so will be hungry and cold.

They won't expect as much but no one wants a buffet to be a disaster.

My food is never horrid though. I'm a good cook. I've usually spent £70 for an amazing buffet of food which I always get complimented on.

Once I did a pancake party and that cost less than £1 a head.

Pancakes and then different fillings in bowls. It was wonderful.

But I think something a bit more interesting is needed here.

The reason for the buffet isn't something someone needs to be 'honest' about

I was hoping this was a wedding thread and you'd overspent on the 👗.

Ok, adults coming from a long walk: that makes it much easier, and your Mum is mad: no one eases of their boots and thinks 'I could murder a cold prawn on a blini'!

Choice of two thick stews (beef in guinness with lots of root veg and dumplings, maybe) and a veg tagine with cous cous. Bread, salad.

Or chillli, one veg, one meat.

Or a Sausage Spectacular: different sausages, nice rolls, fried onions, sweet potato wedges.

Or

Big fish pie (lots of good value frozen fish, especially the Lidl bags), big veggie shepherds pie.

Or

Three big pots of curry

Or Coq au vin / hunters chicken and a veggie dish

Any of these things, nicely done and well presented would be better than messing about with quiches and nibbles, and two seperate pasta dishes.

You do need to be honest!

And to be honest ..... your multiple menu (based on £50) sounded shite!

But I didn't say so as thought you were catering for a wedding, or similar, on a very limited budget and was trying to be helpful.

I'm no getting into an argument over it. If people presumed it was for a wedding that their problem. There's lots of reasons someone may need to cater for a large number. Only one of them is a wedding.

I think a simpler buffet would come across better and more appetizing than a number of unrelated dishes.

MixedGrills suggestions are spot on. Baked potatoes plus various fillings plus salad would be lovely too

If people are coming in from a long walk will they be arriving at different times?

If it's for lots of hungry people then I would do a chili, a shepherds pie and a veggie lasagne

Ooh yes, I reckon after a big walk a couple of pots of something hot and hearty will go down very well.

How on earth was the OP not being honest ? 🤔 She said it was a buffet for 40 people at £50 and that's exactly what it is, she didn't say who it was for. If some posters made assumptions then that's their mistake not the OPs 'dishonesty'

It can be done. I catered for my wedding for 160 guests, with pretty much everything made from scratch, and it included things such as joints of pork, beef, chicken and a whole side of salmon, plus pasta dishes, rice dishes, puds, salads, stuffed mini peppers and olives, sandwiches, sausage rolls, crisps, homemade nuggets, etc as well as an Indian and a Chinese snack selection. I managed to keep to a budget of under £3 a head and there was a lot left over and I worked out afterwards that I could've got it down to around £1.50/head.

It's all about context, and honesty when posting.

If you're very hard-up and on minimum wage and ask MN members if it's OK to serve your guests baked potatoes, beans & cheese and a cup of tea, then of course it's more than OK as you're being the best host that you can.

However, if you're very well off and seeking justification for being a cheapskate, that's a different matter!

Posted too soon. A big mistake I made was to offer too much choice, so I'd suggest offering less options, and more of each one instead.

I like the curry idea. Very popular food. So Dahl, chickpea curry, rice, naan breads, Greek yogurt, coriander, mango chutney

Followed by vanilla ice creams.

Carbonara and pasta would be awful sat around. Meatballs is similar to chilli

I would ditch most of that. Do two mains, one veggie , one meat. Then add two carb sides ie baked potatoes and bread. Add two different salads ie mixed Greek and a cabbage coleslaw type. Add simple two deserts. That's it.

Exactly this. Maybe stretch to a veggie soup if you like. Honestly, fewer things on offer plus a less stressed chef is a winning combo.

I really do admire your enthusiasm, I personally think you've had some good suggestions, like having a theme, choosing 2 or 3 main dishes.

I think stew is so easy & cheap, it's not going to spoil as its heated over time. You could easily do a meat stew & a veggie stew. It might seem a bit boring but if they've come in from walking I doubt they'll be picky if hungry.

You could still do the chilli, the main issue would be rice as it unbelievably can be dodgy if left out / reheated. I would leave out kidney beans as its an expense not needed.

Then focus your efforts on the buffet style good, so you could do a cold pasta salad, pizzas, buttered potatoes, the quiches if fresh out of the oven or good quality so no soggy pastry, salad, then cheese cubes, maybe chicken instead of the pulled pork, ham, a few things people can add to the salad or add to a buttered bap. You could even do the salad as a make your own, so all in their own containers. The stew could easily be looked at soup like, so some stew and a nap they make themselves.

I mentioned allergies, but as well as veggies you could have vegans.

I think like some others have mentioned, along with my suggestions, you'll have plenty of time whilst the stews/chilli are cooking to do prep for other stuff. I think you're doing a great thing, I would just aim to make it not as complicated. Of course it's your event so do as you wish, it just seems like a lot of pressure to put yourself under.

Are you considering donating leftovers to a homeless service? That could be a good way of any excess being gratefully received, rather than thrown.

Of course you could. If you don't mind hungry and disappointed guests, no problem then.

elder- I like a theme too, usually people at a buffet like to try lots of different things and I wouldn't want to end up with chillli/carbonara/curry on the same plate. If I entertain then I stick with British traditional or Moroccan or Indian/ Mexican etc but I wouldn't mix.
That way if you choose to pick up lots of items everything will have a good flavour blend.
I also think it makes for more fun for the guests. i often cook for family, some are vegan, some love meat, I tend to make everything vegan and add meat as a side dish rather than do options.

So for a Moroccan meal I would do a chickpea and vegetable tagine, flatbreads, stuffed aubergine with pinenuts, salad and spiced lamb chops.

The thing is, OP, cooking is a bit like singing. You know all those really cringeworthy singers on early rounds of the X Factor? They all think they are really good too.....

You can say your food is "never horrid", but using cheap, rubbish ingredients for a menu which won't heat well for large numbers like pasta or weird quantities like 2 pizzas for 40 people sound pretty horrid. You've had some good advice on this thread but you really don't seem interested in listening to it.