Church hall 50th birthday

[MargoChanellingBarbara]

Very much the start of preparations. Venue with kitchen facilities, guest list of c60. Ideas please for a pre prepared buffet (minimal last minute prep, plenty of time beforehand to plan and prepare). Ideas so far are:
baked potato bar
mexican burritos
make your own ramen
given the number of people, we will have the usual food lifestyle choices as well as allergies ( including nuts, gluten and chillies - the last maybe an intolerance rather than an allergy, but suffered by a key player in this scenario- so important that it is taken into account).
all suggestions gratefully received
TIA

The ramen bar possibly v messy and if boiling water is used could result in burns

Middle eastern food would be suitable for this set up.

I do love the baked potato bar idea, you could do baked sweet potato too. Also the middle eastern food idea above is great too

Depends on your guests really I'd personally love a ramen bar but I know my older relatives would absolutely hate it and probably just eat plain noodles and some protein and complain about it afterwards.

I think a baked potato bar is the way to go. I have done similar before, I allowed for 2 potatoes per person and only had about 5 leftover (40 guests). I did baked beans, chilli con carne (or a veggie chilli depending on guests), chicken curry, tuna mayo. There were also bowls of grated cheese, coleslaw, salad, crispy onion, sweetcorn and cucumber. I also had wraps,slices of baguette and cold cuts incase anyone didn't want a potato. Borrow a few slow cookers to keep the warm fillings warm.

I’d go old-fashioned cold buffet: salmon, ham, cheeses, bread, salads, crisps & dips, sausage rolls, desserts.

Bread rolls, big bowls of apple sauce, slow cooked shoulders of pork.
Maybe pulled jackfruit for veggies.

Dessert table.

Thank you all. I am leaning towards the baked potato bar, but intrigued by the Middle Eastern suggestion. Could you recommend particular dishes which would suit a buffet.
If I do go for the baked potato bar, any suggestions for special toppings ?
thanks again.

There's a reason this is done so often !

Baked potato toppings
Roasted veg and feta
Tuna Mayo with red or spring onions
Cheddar, sour cream and bacon bits
Smoked salmon, cream cheese and dill.

I would really not like a baked potato bar. You have to sit down to eat it, you can’t socialise.
I have done mini potatoes as part of a buffet. Tiny baked new potatoes topped with Brie and cranberry and smoked salmon, hollandaise and chives but they were literally small enough to be picked up with fingers and gone in two bites.

This sounds perfect and definitely the way to go OP. Keep it simple you can add a few pots of Pringles and have a lovely cake.

A baked potato bar sounds like a dreadful idea. As a PP said not only do you really have to provide somewhere for people to sit down to eat them, and cutlery, the logistics of having 60-odd baked potatoes all ready at the same time (or even within a few minutes of each other) are impossible without proper large-scale commercial facilities. Most church halls I've seen aren't much better than a domestic kitchen.

I'd stick to a cold buffet - salads can be prepped in advance and kept topped up as necessary, and platters of charcuterie, smoked salmon usually go down well. Sandwiches are a funny thing - they can dry out very quickly if you do them yourself in advance. But they are easy to buy in.

If you must have hot food, something like a chilli in a large slow cooker, chickpea curry in another, and a couple of rice cookers is the way I've always done it.

Just the usual stuff - dips like hummus, baba ganoush, tzatziki; greek salad, bulgar wheat salad with mint and pomegranate seeds, tomato and red onions salad; felafel; grilled halloumi; spinach and feta filo parcels; chicken or lamb skewers; pitta bread; nice olives.

mmmmm..... yes. I was going to say something like this too.

Plus it's boring and fiddly while making but i really love an old fashioned sandwich triangle - egg mayo, poached salmon and coriander mayo; beef and horseradish etc.

Sorry but I don’t like the sound of any of those - they’re all faffy and messy.

I really like the suggestion of a Middle Eastern style buffet.

Otherwise I like the idea of some slow cookers of ‘casserole’ type things with bread and salad.

If you go Middle East themed, avoid halloumi though. It’s disgusting unless freshly cooked.

What’s the set up / will guests be eating from a paper plate standing up or will seating and proper crockery be available?

What time of year is it?

For 60ish people, I'd set up 8 tables of 8, and do some kind of platter/selection that would be served at each table.

If it's summer, a picnic basket of baguette, camembert, pate, cherry tomatoes, pork pie, grapes, strawberries, celery etc.

Or a big mezze platter per table of falafel, pita, tzatsiki, taramasalata, hummus, olives, dolmedes, feta or halloumi, baklava.

Or a big anti pasti selection, with charcuterie and cheeses, olives, cherry toms, fresh bread, EVO oil & balsamic etc.

Things I'd hate and wouldn't eat would include jaxket potatoes (sorry), bloody chilli con carne or a hot dog station.

Any make your own type things carry a huge cross contamination risk if you have guests with allergies. People using the wrong spoons, lifting things over open dishes and dropping bits everywhere, fingers in everything. I'm having the heebie jeebies just thinking about it. You would need either preplated meals for those people or a separate station with allergen control.

Thank you all for the suggestions.

there will be crockery and cutlery. Tables to eat at will be considered based on space v numbers - so a decision has not been made as yet. Again that will have an impact on the type of food to be served.
Pre-plated for those with allergies is a good shout. Thank you.

It’s not really suitable for a standing up / perching situation. I’d only go with your ideas if people are sitting down at tables.

Otherwise it should be things people can pop on a plate really easily and use just a fork.

Depending on the size of the hall it may feel quite empty with 60 people. I recently went to a kids party, approx 40 kids and 20 adults (60) and it was sparse. So you might do well to have plenty of tables/ chairs.

I went to a lovely party where each table had a cold meat, crudités and cheese platter. They served it with a selection of breads and flatbreads and chutneys in vintage glass bowls. Was gorgeous and the host said it was great to get all the grandparents glass dishes out of the cupboard and actually use them!
Afternoon tea might be good too? Everyone loves a finger sandwich and a bit of cake.

Cold meats, quiches, coleslaw, baguette , crackers, chutney, cheeses, pate, couple of big hearty salads.

Then plenty of dessert: brownies, carrot cake, lemon meringue pie, strawberry cheesecake.

How are you going to get 120 baked potatoes ready at the same time ????
And you would need tables and chairs and enough sit down seats for everyone to eat together..or hold some potatoes back and eat in sittings but
They go nasty if reheated ,they loose the crisps ness
I'd personally do cold buffet so people can pick and nibble while wandering around chatting..do people want to be sat down eating potatoes.
I'd also focus on a dessert bar and cocktails.mini desserts you can enjoy after . otherwise I'd do a pizza delivery from the local pizza place and only provide nibbles to go with it ..lots of fizzy and desserts .
.yum ..I think I'm hungry😜 ...I have too many ideas

Oh
A burger bar ,,where you go along and build your burger ..oh gosh I am definitely hungry