Celebration dinner for 25 people. What can we cook?

[Surfermum]

My lifeguard club are going away for a weekend to celebrate a 21st birthday. There's going to be about 25 of us in a huge self-catering property. We thought we'd have a big sit down meal on the Saturday night. Has anyone got any ideas what would be easy to cook for that many people. None of us will want to be slaving away in the kitchen for hours. Oh and we have a few vegetarians with us too.

a huuuge pasta sauce pot, with veggies/beans? pile of garlic bread & obv. pasta?

easy & quick & ok to make vast amounts of too?

Can you make the food in advance and then just reheat it when you get there? Then different people could bring chilli, curry, chicken casserole - that sort of thing.

Thanks for your suggestions. Anyone else?

Can everyone/couple bring a dish or dessert... maybe salads, rice dishes, pasta dishes, quiche, and jacket potatos pizza's or anything that needs to be cooked at last minute can be done there..

We're going to be there for 3 nights, so that would be a good idea for the first night. 12 of us went away at New Year and the "lads" (18-20 year olds!) did the shopping with me. It was a nightmare, the trolley was full of pringles, fish fingers and beer and nothing substantial to eat! I had to put a firm foot down when they suggested Not Poodle.

This time I am collaring a couple of the girls and will plan sensibly. We shall send the boys surfing - that'll get them out of harm's way.

Ohhhhh do a menu plan...
[can't believe I suggested that....] [gobsmacked]

you should go tex mex

Nachos for everyone: corn chips, sour cream, salsa, just sprinkle ungrated cheese or make a welsh-raerbit style sauce to top them with and guacamole if you are feeling adventurous which you can make and take with you

Beer and lime, obviously

Then, as ellceell suggests, the chilli. A meat one and a veggie one. Dirty rice, with onions, chillie, green pepper and sweetcorn sauted and stirred through, or buy packet rice.
Chicken drumsticks marinaded with a shop bought spicy marinade ( presuming you have at least two proper ovens in this property)
I have a very easy recipe for cornbread, like a scone -very easy to flavour as well
Potato wedges
Avocados halved and stuffed with a cheese, tomato, cream cheese and coriander and sweetcorn stuffing and baked in the over for the vegetarians ( you could make these earlier in the day and leave them in the fridge)
A big salad and garlic bread to pad things out

Margharitas should come out at this stage

For dessert, very very good icecream or I have a recipe for cheesecake that doesn't need baking.

So on the night you only have to re-heat the chillis, bake the chicken, avocados, chips, the cheese sauce for the nachos, the cornbread only takes 20 minutes to bake and the dessert is chilled anyway.

Sounds a lot of work but if you theme these kinds of things it is often easier

we always seem to end up doing a lot of mass catering - posh sausages (meat and veggie) and potato dauphinoise or posh fversion of fish pie seem to work on a big scale.

Tex mex very good idea imo. Cold meats, salads, garlic bread is also easy for a lot of people. Or sausages and a vat of mash

Agree with sausage and mash - have cooked this for 20 on two gas burners in the back of a truck in the middle of the night in Uganda.
Went down a storm but broke two wooden spoons due to excessively vigorous mashing

That's a good idea waswondering, I wonder if they deliver to the middle of Bodmin Moor! I shall deffo investigate that one and ask the people at the accommodation if they'll take it in if we aren't going to be there.

I like the thought of a themed evening too. The club loves fancy dress. We could all dress up as mexicans. And of course there'd have to be tequila. Ooh yes, tequila sunrises to start with.