DIY cold buffet ideas !

[Jenny2020]

Hey all !

im throwing an engagement party and I have my hot buffet sorted but what would you guys put in a cold one these days ?
the hot is pizza pakora chips etc

there will be some kids there for some time .
looking for about 70 people .

do youse think this is manageable to do myself in the days leading up ?
I done my little girls for 25 kids plus adults lol but
any ideas would be great !

Cheese, quiche, mini wraps, sandwiches, salad, dips, meat, bahjis and samosas, crisps, olives.

Trays of sandwiches, Costco if you can, but other supermarkets do them. Quiche as said, crisps and dips, cold chicken legs, cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, cheese and baguette slices.

70 is a lot of people...

Thanks for the quick reply .

yeah it is a lot of people so I’m worried I can’t do it but buffets are so bloody expensive to buy 🥲😀

I will keep these in mind thanks so much

I agree that 70 is an awful lot. Are you catering for your own engagement party or someone else's??? Can't others help?

I must admit that I looked up 'pizza pakora chips' to try and work out what they were? I'm assuming these are 3, different items though? 😆

Trays of fresh sandwiches/wraps can be made on the day and wrapped in cling film- but you'd need industrial fridge's to store them and help to make enough for 70! Or as someone else suggested, Costco. They do an online only account that deliver. Otherwise, M&S platters.

Home-made quiche or mini quiches, charcuterie boards, fresh fruit platter or skewers?

Forgot to say congrats on the engagement!

Yeah it’s my own . I’ve had a look at company’s etc and the prices are wild!
haha yeah it’s like Indian style food ,

unsure what to do will maybe email a few more companies

You can make sausage rolls in advance and freeze them. Or a rice, potato or couscous salad would be easy to do. Cheeseboard. Pate and nice bread. Feta cheese and spinach filo parcels. Stuffed vine leaves. Bought sushi?

Yeah I’m sure my venue does have a kitchen too but I just don’t want to be stuck in a kitchen on my party ,

I think I could hammer it the day before maybe and even put things in their fridge .
my mom has offered to help make stuff up too but I hate asking she’s older lol

i feel I have never been to a party writing this 😅 your train of thought just goes out the window

Olives and pickles always get snapped up. Nuts (though not cheap) are filling.

Popcorn is cheap to make and can bulk out the rest of the offerings.

Oven and fridge space are going to be your biggest challenges. How were you planning on cooking the chips oven/deep fat fryer/air fryer. Pizzas take up a lot of oven space. If you are set on chips I'd be tempted to see if there are any fish and chip shops/Chinese restaurants/kebab restaurants that could supply you with hot chips.
Cheese boards with crackers, grapes, celery, chutneys would take less prep and less fridge space.

How are you going to cook enough pizza, pakora, chips etc and keep it hot for 70 people. Allowing for a quarter of a pizza per person that's 17.5 pizzas. Your oven would do a max of 3 at once and that's before anything else. I would probably ditch the hot and just go for cold for everything. I would do.

Cheese, crackers, salami, chutneys.
Cook a large ham and a beef joint and thinly slice.
Large bowl of couscous salad
Large bowl of coleslaw or pasta salad
Halved cherry tomatoes, cucumber, carrot sticks
breadsticks
Cheese twists
several dips, salsa, houmous, sour cream
4 or 5 large bowls of crisps.
6 large quiche
6 large pork pie
Several French sticks and butter
Olives, pickled onion, stuffed peppers etc
Couple of large trays of brownies
Couple of other sweet traybakes
Large fruit salad

Large bowls of cous cous, pesto pasta and leafy salad. Frozen sausage rolls you can cook the day before. Cheese and crackers. Part bake rolls. Pate. Chicken thighs marinated and cooked the day before. Quiche.

Agree with this. Hot for 70 people is unrealistic.

We are having the hot food delivered ,
so that’s why I didn’t want to pay out slot more for a cold buffet type thing

Big salads: rice salad, pasta pesto salad, potato salad, tabbouleh, Vietnamese noodle salad.

Sausage rolls and cocktail sausages cooked the day before and served cold. You could put out bowls of ketchup and sweet chilli sauce for dipping.

Hummus and cruditees.

Do you have a Morrison’s? They have packs of the most amazing mini samosas and onion bhajis.

Bags and bags of crisps!

Oh that makes sense, I'd do roasted veg and cous cous salad (plenty of fresh parsley and pomegranate seeds will make it look good), homemade coleslaw and potato salad.

A feta and watermelon salad is nice and gives another source of veggie protein.

Make some mini chicken skewers, just chop and marinate chicken breast in tandoori paste mixed with natural yoghurt, thread on cocktail sticks and bake, maybe marinade some in lemon and garlic for those less keen on spice.

Instead of sandwiches I'd just get a load of French sticks and slice them up with real butter, pate and a selection of cheeses and chutneys.