Experienced party hosters - please share your wisdom!

[Mysteise]

I’m hosting my first ‘proper’ party soon and need to put on a buffet for around 20–30 people. Mostly adults, couple of teens and a few very little ones. It’s in the afternoon so I’m thinking cold, fairly traditional style.

I’d really love it to look (and taste!) as nice as poss but I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Where’s best to buy good quality buffet food? Are there things that are worth making yourself that aren’t too time consuming? What tends to fly off the table and what usually gets left?

Also, how do you work out budget/quantities when you don’t have exact numbers?

I’ve seen people mention buffet risers, centrepieces etc - will these give it a “wow” factor or is that going overboard?

Or is it better to just outsource it all?

Any tips very gratefully received!

Check out Emily Norris on YouTube. I've seen a few of her videos where she tells you about hosting parties, what to serve, how to make it cheap and impressive :)

My favourite buffet is cheese & charcuterie boards. Loads of fresh crusty bread & crackers. Olives etc. Grapes & berries, hummus & nachos, nuts. Chutneys & chilli jam too. I usually add some smoked salmon blinis.
Look at Grape & Fig on Instagram for ideas on how to present the platters. almost everything can be prepared in advance & stored in the fridge.
The centre of the table can be “raised” with upturned pots, covered with a table cloth.
I usually put half out initially & keep half in the fridge to replenish when needed.
The best thing is that you don’t need cutlery for everyone (just lots of cocktail sticks & small paper plates).

For 30 people I’d be looking at local caterers

Local caterers. That's a huge job otherwise

You can do it . Take all offer of help . See if you can farm out three deserts . Do a hot dish and and carb eg chilli and rice , or lasagne and a veggie option if needed .

First, plan your fridge space. Hire a fridge if you have to. Food hygiene is your top priority.

Buy toilet paper and handwash. Do not run out of these.

Serving spoons and tongs. Running out of these is a pain.

If you are going to make fifty rounds of sandwiches, whisk your softened butter with a teaspoon or two of milk to make it spreadable. Any leftover butter can have some garlic and herbs mixed in for baked potatoes or steak or something later.

Have a plan for spills and breakages. Mise en place is prep before cooking. The same can be applied to cleaning. Have some newspaper in the house if you don’t normally so you can wrap broken glasses before putting it in the bin.

Check where your power points are and decide ahead of time what you will plug into them. Power cords can be a hazard on a busy day.

Too many separate dishes is a recipe for trouble. A few dishes but plenty of each is easier. It’s like a wedding. If you feed them plenty, no one will be unhappy. And a cold afternoon tea is almost the easiest thing to cater for.

I know you want to do a cold thing but if one thing can be hot, like chicken wings or baking your own bread, then the house will smell amazing when people walk through the door and everyone will have a smile on their face.

Thank you so much all - some really great tips here I wouldn’t have thought of! Mise en place is a great philosophy I ought to adopt in all my cooking not just this event!

-Is this a finger food type buffet with people standing or do you have enough tables/chairs/cutlery/plates for everyone to sit and eat?
-If its finger food, ensure its things that are easy to eat with one hand
-Consider paper plates unless you have enough porcelain ones
-There was a similar thread yesterday and costco, M&S and morrisons all do platters
Here is a thread from yesterday. Slightly different ask, but you might get some good ideas from it.
www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5497506-buffet-for-40-people-ideas-needed?page=1

Home made quiche goes down well as does chicken satay and smoked salmon side. You can practice dishes by including them in
your regular meals.
Or do something easy. Jacket potato bar different toppings including a massive chilli.
Slow cookers are your friend here.

M&S sandwich platters are great, as is their picky/snacky food. You could make a huge lasagne too.

No way on earth I’d make loads of sandwiches.