Easy afternoon flexible catering range of dietary requirements

[CharlieChaplin99]

Some family members are coming to visit next weekend to see DD who has a birthday. I want them all to feel welcome, well catered for whilst minimising my stress levels on the day.

One member is coeliac, one is a very restricted eater but does like pizza and is veggie, one eats high protein, low calorie and low carb (always on a diet/fitness kick), a couple of others have very big attitudes, MIL (is staying with us) is a picker and if I do a buffet she will wind me up touching it and picking at it (encouraging others to do the same so half of it has vanished before I have even finished prepping it). My DM may also drop in and I want her to feel welcome and not feel like she is interrupting but she may only stay for a cup of tea.

So a couple may just drop in for a quick visit to drop off a present and a quick five minute chat, a couple may drop in for tea/coffee and birthday cake, others may stay for an extended period of time either around late breakfast/brunch time and stay until mid afternoon. As half of them are DH’s family and don’t like to pre plan be tied to a time, staying in a hotel over night its always hard to tell whether some will turn up between 10am and 11am and may head home after an hour or whether they may stay well into the afternoon expecting to be fed and watered before heading home.

DH thinks get some frozen pizza in and thats it job done. But we can only cook three pizzas at a time and I will feel like I haven’t made much effort. Another option is to make a big chilli in the slow cooker and have it ready on the side so anyone who wants it can help themselves. If any left I can freeze it. But then a faff messing about with rice and bread. Or baked potatoes might work better. Any suggestions please?

We have a similar range of dietary requirements in my extended family and something that works quite well is sausages with rolls (hot dogs I suppose but with actual sausages).
Do a tray of veggie and a tray of meat sausages and both gf and non gf rolls. Serve with cut up veg sticks, crisps, something like a potato salad or coleslaw, fried onions and selection of sauces. It’s easy to prepare and eat and any leftovers keep relatively well in the fridge.

The chilli sounds great. If necessary you could do one with beans and veg only and one meat?

Then a couple of salads (or ask people to bring those) maybe a few cheeses and nice bread? And ask others to bring pudding? Or do a big fruit salad and people can have cream or yoghurt on it?

Does your DD have a favourite food? Seeing as it’s her birthday event, I would put that above high protein, low carb!

Big slow cooked joint of pork , apple sauce and nice baps for diy hog roast vibes , maybe some stuffing . Will happily sit around a few hours
gluten free buns for the coeliac
veggie sausages or chili for the veggie
and lots of traybake type cakes

You can hire those huge soup kettles. Have a vegi gluten free soup then finger foods?

Do a nice lentil and veg soup with baguettes and butter (whatever GF thing you like), plus cold roast chicken, ham, deviled eggs, crisps, dips and crudites. Literally all of it can be prepared ahead and you just whack it out/reheat when the time comes.

Yes she likes pizza, chocolate and cheese and crackers.