Critique my lunch menu please

[FarrowAndBaller]

Looking for critique on my lunch menu - both for range/appeal and also quantities.

It’s an informal garden lunch for 16 ish adults and 10 ish children (aged baby - 7 ish). Fork buffet style, invited from 1pm - so I’m expecting most of the kids will have had lunch beforehand. A couple of vegetarians and gluten free guests but no other dietary needs. The menu currently looks like:

Snacks (1-2pm):

• Olives (600g, with more available)
• Manchego cheese, sliced (400g)
• Focaccia (x2, each made with 500g flour)
• Crisps (600g - 4 sharing bags, with more available)

Lunch (2-3:30pm)

• Sliced piri piri chicken breast with roast peppers on spinach. (2kg chicken, est.16 breasts), 1kg roasted red peppers, 200g spinach)
• Chickpea, feta & mint salad (3 200g packs feta, 3x 570g jars of chickpeas)
• Potato tortilla (5x500g ready made packs)
• Caponata (5 aubergines, 3 courgettes, 2 red onions, 6 sticks celery, 300g olives in a tomato sauce)
• Herby chicken breast skewers for kids (using mini fillets from 2kg chicken above)
• Caprese skewers for kids (300g mini mozzarella balls, with some cherry tomatoes and basil)

Pudding (4pm):

• Lemon possets served in lemon halves (1.2kg cream)
• Giant strawberries (2.4kg)

Any suggestions for things to consider changing?

I’d like to know if lunch was going to be that late - I would also be eating ahead of time

far too much meat , insufficient salad and carbs

Perhaps a big green salad alongside but it all sounds lovely.

Snacks at 1pm and food at 2pm sounds great timing to me

Menu is fine but kids or not, if you are invited to lunch at 1pm you won’t have eaten. I’d bring it forward until 1.30 at latest for starters, really you need to be serving at 1 because it messes with people eating mid afternoon, they may have plans to eat that evening plus medication is often food dependent, mine is - 30 minutes before food and need to not eat for 3 hours prior or 3 hours before bed!

I’d add one more focaccia and add more antipasti if it were me (mini bruschetta with mackerel pate is great as you simply make with precooked ingredients and assemble

Sounds good, though I agree a leaf salad might be good too.

I think children will struggle to wait until 2pm, and won't like olives or manchega very much so I'd add some breadsticks, carrot and cucumber sticks, maybe some humous for them, and maybe some plainer cheese slices - cheddar or port salut.

I’d swap the cheese with dips and crackers. Maybe vine wrapped dolmas too. I’d add a sweet light biscuit to go with the lemon possets. Add potato salad to main menu.

Menu sounds lovely to me. Maybe another salad, and served everything together at 1 or dot the snacks around for people to have whenever rather than a service time.

Feels like not enough at all, maybe just me?

The meat eaters will eat the vegetarian food but not vice versa. You need more veggie options.

2kg of chicken surely isn't enough. Overall it doesn't sound a lot.

If you invited my children and I for lunch at 1pm ish, my children will not have eaten beforehand - they are coming to you for lunch.

I wouldn’t put food for kids that little on skewers, it’s a safety risk. I’d buy more crisps (they keep if you don’t open them), and add a green salad. Maybe something easy like chocolate crispy cakes for the kids dessert.

Sorry, OP, but I don’t think that’s enough food. I also think you need to serve it sooner if you invite people for lunch at 1pm. And I think you need some plainer food for the children because some kids are REALLY fussy e.g. basil in the tomatoes will make some kids refuse the tomatoes even if they normally love them.

Nice menu
Something to dip the focaccia. Oil and balsamic maybe.
A massive cake. Bought. Maybe a Cheesecake or something from Costco.
Basic ice creams such as mini magnum knock offs for the children.

I think you are planning on serving food very late. If I was invited for lunch at one with ny children I wouldn't have fed them before hand.
I don't think it sounds like enough food. And not enough 'children friendly' food. And no one from my house would like lemon possette.
The meats and salads sound nice though.

Say kids on average eat half portions, that's 20 people. I think you need about double the food quantities you've listed. And to serve 1.30 latest.

Will the kids be walking/running about with skewers in their mouths? {Wincing}

Fork buffet style so will they have anywhere to sit or be eating with one hand from a plate? How will people eat caponata in tomato sauce with a fork?

I'll caveat that I don't have my own children, but going my relatives and friends kids- would many under 7yr olds eat herby chicken? Or chicken with visible green 'bits' on it? Caprese skewers for kids I also wouldn't be serving under 7yr olds skewers nor do I think all will eat basil!

What about burgers, meat and veggie/bean options? Sausages?

The dessert options are are bit odd- lemon posset and 2.4kg of strawberries! What about fruit salad, jelly and ice cream or a strawberry meringue and jelly for the kids?

Also 2 foccaccio for 26 people isn't going to go far.
And the skewers are only for children so not enough for the adults to have any?

Not if their parents parent them.

Menu sounds really good, but I’d add fresh bread not just focaccia, and make sure there’s enough caprese skewers for everyone as adults will like those too. Then add some more child friendly food as you have younger children, some may not like the skewers or herby chicken, and they will need more snacks.

provide lots of bread and agree on the leafy salad. I’d keep it more simple for the kids. Just sausage in buns and slices of peppers, cherry tomatoes and cucumber. It will be easier for you and cover the fussy eaters.

Either ice cream in cones or ice cream in wafers for the kids always goes down well.

2 kilos of chicken for 16 adults is not nearly enough. I’d add a second salad and also more bread.

You need much more kid friendly food available shortly after arrival.

Agree with the above and the biggest thing for me would be the timings. It’s not lunch or tea. So either move back or forward.

The skewers could be problematic for kids, and do make sure you’ve halved the cherry tomatoes (choking hazard).
Some cheese and crackers, mini pizza and crudités and hummus type snacks and fruit would go down well with the kids.