Buffet suggestions please!

[Megatron]

Hello ladies, it's DH's 40th next weekend and we're having a few friends over for lunch (including children) and I really want to do a nice buffet. Can you give me some suggestions please? There will be about 22 of us and I want to keep things fairly simple but tasty! I would also really appreciate some suggestions for a really good cheese board. Thanks in advance.

loads of bread, nice meats from the deli, oilves, dips, salado,perhaps a couple of pizzas for the kids , have big quantities of a few things rather than tiny amounts of massess of different thing IYSWIM

Whole salmon as the centrepiece, and a variety of cold meats, cornonation chicken and quiche.

Salads - pasta, cous cous etc

Hot mini baked potatoes (small potatoes with an onion/garlic dip filling), Chilli con carne, French bread.

Posh bread, big brie as centrepiece for veggies, nice salad, olives, humous, posh crisps, jacket spuds (could do tiny baked new potatoes with a blob of philly), little tortillas (bake omlette mixture in jam tart tins with slices of tomato/courgette/boiled potato).

Strawberries and ice cream or cream.

Do a kiddie buffet too, on a seperate table - Babybels, veg sticks, triangle sandwhiches, fairy cakes, twiglets, frubes...

I love a whole salmon as centre piece.

Cheese and figs always look and taste good.

I always have a plate of large sliced tomatoes and mozerella circles kind of overlapping each other in a big circle with olive oil and basil. and a lambs lettuce salad in the middle with walnuts crushed on top.

Oh and little brusettas are easy to make and look impressive. Toppings could be goats cheese and pesto.. chopped tomato and basil.

A good cheaty table filler is hodgepodge quiches.. they look home made.

Do the kids buffet on a separate table, they always mess it up!

Oh I once did brusettas with a slice of apple and some stinky cheese on top... mmm...

I agree with whole steamed salmon for centrepiece - you can either order one ready-cooked from Waitrose or possibly M&S or do it yourself.

blini type things
quiche of various types, including vegetarian (spinach and feta cheese always seems to work well)
crisps and crackers with a variety of dips and cheeses

potato salad - homemade is better than shop-bought
mixed salad vegetables (but don't include grated carrot as it can go brown quite fast and looks unsightly)

mini pavlovas with fruit & cream filling, just in case anyone is wheat-intolerant (this is always a life-saver for me!)

Alternatives to salmon centrepiece, although that does sound lovely, are a Beef Wellington or roast ham, equally nice hot/warm/cold.

Jersey royals, really good french mayo and mustard, simple green salad, maybe cold cooked asparagus on a plate with parma ham, nice bread, some roast tomatoes/peppers/artichokes (home done or deli/combo) in a bit bowl with good olive oil.

Posh cheeses for sure. Go big rather than lots of little ones - whole camenbert/brie, whole stilton, whole something harder (Loosehanger are a nice size, google to buy online). Or take a look at Neals Yard online too, although they are pricey. Go to a nice cheese shop if you have one nearby and pick their brains! Figs sound terrific. Good chutneys. Maybe port to go with it?

Presume you'll be doing a cake, but a mountain or profiteroles, or just really good strawberries with a sprinkling of mint and some thick cream on the side would be a good pudding options.

ooh coronation chicken....I LOVE coronation chicken.....

Megatron, do you have a Costco nearby?

I would say that 22 is a lot to cater for, and as the wife of the birthday boy, you need to enjoy the day too.

At Costco, you can buy mega sized quiches, beautiful cooked meats and cheese platters, as well as the cooked salmon and other yummies, such as olives and dips.

I catered a party for 50 from Costco last year and it was a case of just assembling the food on the day.

Ok this is what I am doing for our leaving party next week [most is prepared in the freezer though, to help with the workload and the cost]
Sausage rolls, cocktail sausage, chicken satay dippers, black and white pudding wrapped in bacon, prawns in garlic and ginger [all are in the freezer to be defrosted the night before and only take 20 min or less in the oven] smoked salmon on brown bread and dips.
Quiche ham, cheese, broccoli or feta Mediterranean [all made and in freezer].
Platter of baked ham, Beef, Stuffed Turkey sliced will be cooked the day before we will have hot meat sandwiches for dinner to check it is all ok.
Mixed leaf salad, sliced tomato, cucumber and red onion.
Potato salad, coleslaw, pasta salad [pasta bake for kiddies]
Cheese board not sure but will be whatever is in the shop and looks nice.
Big basket of different breads again whatever looks nice on the day.
Desserts are Apple and berry crumble [in freezer]. Fruit pavlova, Cheesecake, Chocolate fudge cake [in freezer]
Jelly and ice cream and a white chocolate trifle.
I may have over done it but hopefully it will feed us the next day as well.
We are doing Pimms for the adults and a non alcoholic one for the drivers but am also thinking of doing one for the kiddies along with some of BikeRunSki ideas for the kiddies
Enjoy your party.

Roast a ham - always goes down well on a buffet table IME and its very festive. You could do it in the oven or in the slow cooker. Plonk it on the table with a carving set and let folks help themselves.

Hot bread is always nice - Aldi do fab part-baked ciabatta. They also do a fab cheddar - the kind so strong that it will take the skin off the roof of your mouth - called Bishopsland for your cheeseboard

Home made coleslaw always goes down a storm - very bargainous to make, and its a squillion times nicer than anything you can buy in the shops.