Cold finger food for 40-50 people, what have I done?

[Dustyblue]

I have a new job, going well so far thankfully. Nice people.

Part of the job is organizing events/programs for the community (it's a NFP) and so I have. In a moment of new-job madness, after arranging a 2 part lecture and discussion session over 2 evenings, I suggested snacks/discussion for 30 mins after the event.

Over to muggins here. Work has a 'certified commercial kitchen' but it's no bigger than a decent domestic kitchen. Am thinking of making pre-made cold food and not using the oven etc.

So far:

• cold chicken skewers with satay sauce to dip
• cold quiche?

I so should not have done this.

Can you not just do loads of sandwiches/onion bhajis/samosas with crisps?

Or sliced baguettes baked early to be crisis with dollops of things on (brie + chutney, pate + chutney, pesto + mozzarella ball etc).

The thing with not doing sandwiches is you'll need to do more different things, sandwiches/baguette doing the heavy lifting means you only need to do a few other things

Good luck!

What's your budget?

Can you order in sandwiches etc.

Sainsbury or Morrisons do nice platters

Another fan of shop brought platters here!

Costco platters are your friend!

services.costco.co.uk/deli/

It’s in the evening? For 30 minutes after the event?

I’d do tea and biscuits/mini muffins etc. not actual food.

If it is just after a lecture, then I'd just do cake as you either have to do full meal or just a snack in the evening. If I had to feed 50 people easily, I'd borrow slow cookers and then make a couple of soups (one vegan, one not, the vegan one gluten free) and serve with bread. The slow cookers mean you can heat the soup up ahead and then leave it on keep warm during the meeting

It's not a wedding. Make some sandwiches and buy some sausage rolls. Or get some supermarket sandwich platters. It will be fine

Tea, coffee, biscuits, fruit and crisps should be good enough.

Do not make the good yourself - I know it would be nice but the time you spend and effort will cost three times the cost of buying in. Order some platters of finger food or sandwiches from a supermarket or a local community caterer (is there another local charity that offers such a service so you can support a local charity?) and a few bowls of apples/bananas/muffins.. And depending on when you can get them delivered and how much fridge storage you have, I would stick to safe vegetarian options, nothing that’s likely to turn dangerous if it’s sat out on the side for a couple of hours.

Supermarket sandwich platters. Big packets of crisps. Some fruit.
Job done.

Buy in! Don’t make it yourself is my advice.

Depending on budget you could do a charcuterie board type thing. So cocktail sausages, cold meats, crackers and cheese, mini cupcakes, sliced fruit.

Oh - and under-cater for the numbers too. Not everyone will stay and not everyone will eat. The food waste at events can be terrible sometimes and its hard to shift leftovers from work buffet events. People aren’t coming for the food, so it doesn’t really matter if they leave feeling a bit hungry!

Go and ask 'I'm sorting the food for after this event, what's the budget and what are the preferred suppliers???' If they don't give you a sandwich shop they use then do some kind of afternoon tea. Sandwiches, cake. And don't ever suggest it again.

Unless your new job is as a caterer, you order it in.

No dips (Potential for double dipping) unless in little individual pots or to be spooned onto individual plates, in which case include baba ganoush & hummus
Cheeseboard, crackers, crusty bread
Olives
Salad
Crudités
Grapes, apples, celery
Nuts & crisps

I would order in from a local sandwich shop.

Or if it’s on you, pick up a box of samosas and pakoras from the local Indian shop, along with the chicken satay and quiche, crudités and dips, packs of Doughnuts and muffins and I’d leave it at that.

Agree, platters are your friend here and probably cheaper overall than doing it yourself. Get mixed ones that include sandwiches, sausage rolls etc.

At a push, buy in those canapés that you stick in the oven for 10 minute and prepare them in big batches alongside your sandwich platter.

Baguettes, pates and a few crudités.

Done.

Snacks for 30 minutes of discussion after the event? I'd do a few plates of biscuits and maybe a tray of sandwiches or fruit plate. You're not providing a meal.

Better not do nuts in case of allergies. All a bit of a minefield really.

Echo pp - go to Costco. They do big platters of sandwiches, sushi, big rectangular pizzas, salads, cheese. Keep it as simple as possible, a good amount of a few things rather than smaller amounts of lots of different things.

I would probably do:
sandwiches, crisps and fruit with maybe coffee/tea and a couple of different cakes.
Or
Pizza and salad (green and coleslaw), coffee/tea and individual ice creams.
Or
Lasagne or cottage pie with green salad or a tray of roast veg, and a big pile of individually wrapped chocs/biscuits for dessert.

I agree with others that you’re overthinking this and likely to wildly overdo it and end up with food waste. You have a responsibility to spend your organisation’s money wisely and that goes both for buying food plus the cost of your time stuck in the kitchen preparing all this.

Crisps, muffins, fruit, job done.

Remember that even to get 50-60 people served with food is going to take longer than your 30 minute slot, before anyone has taken a bite. Keep it simple. OTOH if it's an evening event you might lay on a glass of wine, if it's appropriate for your organisation.

@Obelisk

Snacks for 30 minutes of discussion after the event? I'd do a few plates of biscuits and maybe a tray of sandwiches or fruit plate. You're not providing a meal.

Exactly. You're not catering, just putting a few snacks together.