Party food ideas for 100 people

[Namefornumber3]

Throwing a festival style party for my husbands 40th and trying to think of the most cost effective, yet easy and yummy way to feed the guests. Was thinking of hiring a hog roast company….. what other ideas do you have for me!! Thanks

I did a party for appx 100 for my 50th. I got the local Indian to cater it, with pakora and samosas delivered, and a chef and two curries/rice and naan in these big silver catering dishes on the night. It was great. Can’t remember how much it cost - £750 rings a bell though.

I’ve just read @AtleastitsnotMonday‘s post. Maybe you were at my 50th! 😂

Slow cookers full of meat and vegetable tagines, (cook ahead and reheat), big bowls of couscous, jacket potatoes l, green salad. Get guests to bring a pud/cake if you know them well. Job done!

Dominoes are so expensive and tbh not that nice imo I'm sure they are about £25 a large pizza you might be cheaper looking at a local pizza shop if that's what you want,

If you use a caterer/local restaurant they'll provide plates and cutlery, chafing dishes to keep things warm and probably a couple of staff to help serve people and clear up afterwards. They'll also probably have buffet tables to set things up on.

I'm not really sure want you imagined the costs would be of such a large event? I'm baking a cake for an event for 40 and that alone is expensive due to quantity of ingredients, decorating it, etc.

DIY Grazing table

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/285556432608221632/

Those prices actually seem quite reasonable - especially if cutlery/crockery etc is provided.

If you have a big garden and space and it's in summer, hog roast is good but a lamb spit is also a good option and a lot of people find hog a bit too fatty.

Paella is also a great choice - usually paella caterers turn up with absolutely massive paella pans and it turns into a bit of a exhibition as well. And it's easy to select two or three types - chicken/chorizo, seafood, vegetarian.

And yes, a local restaurant could probably do a good "takeout" option for you. I would recommend choosing one you already use/like and/or that has a really good reputation locally.

If your house is big enough to fit 100 people surely you can afford to splash out 😂😂

I think realistically with alcohol included you are looking at around 2k

I do an annual party and I do have a large grazing platter in the centre, then I have the sandwiches, chips/dips/crudites/ etc round the centre

Your numbers are higher than mine but all I would do in your shoes is simply double up what I normally buy and keep replacing things

Grazing platter 🤮

If you cater yourself, you will certainly pay more than $7/head. Then there is the cost of refrigeration - which must be your first priority. Plus everything else.

For that number of people, choose an option where a lot of people can be served at once. Something doled out individually a la pizza van can be more trouble than it’s worth.

Then think about your priority for YOUR day. Is is being catering manager? Or is it being hostess? If you are going to be catering manager, who is going to do all the other bits? Your invited guests?

Remember you can have cheap or you can have good value but they are often not the same thing.

How do grazing platters work for vegetarians & vegans, not to mention people with allergies? The cross-contamination must be huge.

£7 per head is cheap. I wouldn't eat anything from a grazing platter🤮

Grazing platters are an awful concept.

I have this soon. Dh said pizza, I think we need a bit more.

Grazing platter for 100 sounds absolutely disgusting. Imagine going 99th 🤢

Also Dominos goes cold quickly and turns to cardboard.

Grazing platters look beautiful when no one has touched them. The thought of them 🤢

I’d take a look at a grazing table as the. You don’t have people queuing up to eat.
But with 100 people I think £700 is really cheap to be honest. You’d not be able to order anything that cost less than that yourself.

I’ve been to parties where they’ve served a vegetarian/ vegan and a meat/seafood paella.

It’s always delicious.

That then covers meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans and the GF brigade (of which I am one).

Also provides a deep stodge of carbs to soak up the drink!

Do you have any Indian sweet centres near you? They will often do catering of Indian food.

Even if they don't cater my local sells samosas for 25p each and other Indian snacks.

If you decide to do it yourself hire a catering fridge, get some of those trays with compartments that look like you would get in prison.

You can make up the trays with cold food the day before and refrigerate, if you have 6 compartments I'd do

Salad - no dressing
1-2 samosas
Some sort of savory snack, sausage roll or scotch egg or mini pork pie.
A bread roll and a butter (catering pack of those mini butters) Add a napkin and plastic cutlery.
Mark the vegi / vegan ones separately
Put a selection of condiments on a table.

On the day hand out the trays and have 2-3 hot things, a BBQ, selection, rice or potatoes (mini baked potatoes are quick in an air fryer) or both. Veg chilli and maybe something else, pizza or quiche or rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.

Have someone serving the hot food, teenagers are good at that.

Get paper plates for cake / pudding.

Paella is one of those things that is easily scaled up for a large number. I've never eaten one remotely authentic in the UK though, but then I did live in Spain where they are expert at the huge paella for 100+ cooked over wood in the street. Now something like that in your back garden would be a talking point for years to come!

Chippy van?

This cannot be said often enough. Vegetarians, vegans, people with allergies and food intolerances, people who follow a certain diet for religious reasons and have to avoid some foods or ingredients - how on earth do you cater for them safely? Then there's food hygiene, the huge amount of waste, the sheer idiocy of putting wet things next to dry things, sweet touching savoury ... The list goes on. I can't understand how this trend ever took hold.

The simplest possible way to cater for very large numbers is to buy a lot of cheese and decent bread. Put out various salad-type things as well, maybe a big tub of hummus (catering size), fruit, chutneys. Add pork pies, quiches etc if you want. If you have vegans coming, bean salad, hummus and perhaps a vegan cheese (marked as such - I doubt anybody else would touch it then). For people who need a gluten-free diet, some nice gluten-free crackers or bread, kept separate and marked.