Need help urgently please guys

gilly1964

MIL passed away on Monday and as the only female in the family the guys are relying on me to organise the funeral food.

What on earth do I do?

No idea of numbers or anything.

The meet afterwards is from about 5pm onwards at the house and potentially there could be people from 200+ miles away.

Please help
Gilly

Nicki

Sorry to hear about your loss.

On the practical front, I suspect you need things which can be served cold if necessary, or otherwise reheated quickly in a microwave, kept in the fridge until needed and frozen for another meal later if not needed. So quiche would be a good one, sandwiches, scones, vol au vents, and industrial quantities of tea, and if it would be appropriate in your family maybe something a bit stronger to drink.

Can you not make an educated guess as to numbers based on the number of people that your men are phoning to pass on the news? Depending on how well known your mil was in the community, add a few on to this to account for friends and neighbours who will have heard the news and come along too to pay their respects.

Pink.

Hi Gilly,

I'm sorry to hear about your mother in law. I have no recent experience of organising something like this but there are a couple of older threads that might be useful to you.

Help in ideas for a funeral tea

How Cheap can a Funeral Be !

Pink

floss2

Sorry for your loss :grouphug:

Maybe an idea to consider not to have alcohol - people may be driving.

How about something like soup in mugs (carrot & coriander is cheap & easy to make) and plenty of rolls, with some salad & a selection of sliced meats & cheese to make sandwiches with? That's simple, not too expensive and easy to handle for guests.

HTH
Floss x

Bitsy_Beans

As the others have said easy buffet food would probably be best. You can prepare in advance and then just unwrap after the funeral. Sandwiches, quiche, crackers and cheese, sausage rolls etc.

I am sorry to hear of your loss. Thoughts are with you and your family [hug]

RAMBLER

okay here goes

theory is don't know the numbers, for how long, and don't want to waste food or time and effort to go in the bin.

as it is "tea time" we did for my granddad's funeral plates of buttered scones on plates with dishes of jam for people to add.

slices of fruit cake in, we get from costco and is lovely, easy to slice.

allthe above freezes well and canbe used for packed lunches in the future

try to aviod food whichcan not be frozen and would have to be chucked

also another point, how long do you want people there, as it is great seing everyone and remonising on the good times (hopefully) but you also might want time to yourselves as family

can be served with tea and coffee so that people can drive afterwards (important) milk can be frozen or cartons.

use your freezer to have in pre prepared/ boought or homemade

pizza (meat and veggie) and chips. bowl of salad

these went down so well, people loved the chips, it is token meal, without going overboard and having to deal with a lot after an emotionally tyring day.

you could if needed have bread, meat to make a sandwich wrap a scone for someone to take away if NEEDED. quite a lot of people normally want to make a quick dash. so that gives you options, without waste both time and money

remember this is a day to remember the person who died, not for you to run around like a blue arsed fly , getting so exaustred you can not pay your last respects/share memories

finally a big hug!!!!

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi Gilly!

Sorry to hear of your loss.

If it was me, I would keep it as simple as possible as the last thing you want to be doing is running around with this food and that food. Alot of people dont eat much food at funerals anyway but do expect something:rolleyes:

I would serve for about 20/25:

1 x medium sliced (about 22 slices) loaf buttered, then half grated cheese (goes further) and the other ham and cut in triangles. Have available a jar of pickle, then they can help themselves.

2 x 8 packets of large value sausage rolls and cut them in half of 3

2 x 12 Value mini savoury eggs

3 x Quiches and cut into 6

Few bags of crisps and open them in bowls

Few bags of value salted nuts and open in bowls

Sweet-I would get a selection of Kitkats, Twix and muffins

Buy disposable plates, then they can be binned after and serviettes (sp) and plastic cups for soft drinks. You can buy these in poundland.

Normally tea and coffee is served, somake sure you have enough cups and borrow if you can. Ask a couple fo friends to give you a hand making sure everyone has a drink and plate etc...then you can go and chat with visiotors.

Try not to worry though....people will be there to grieve and pay their respects...not to eat food.

Please ask if you need any further advice.

Take Care

PP
xx

Ben84

I'm sorry to hear about your mother in law too.

I also agree with the keep it simple suggestions. It's not really a time to get carried away with fancy food anyway, so I'd go for classic buffet food.

I'd make sandwich platters, which if made with a selection of good fillings and different breads, as well as presented nicely look good and are always enjoyed. Cut them in to triangles and arrange them in rows, they look very smart on the platters. Keep meat, seafood and vegetarian separate and you've catered for just about everyone. Plates of sandwiches tend to all get eaten up, but most can be frozen for eating later if you have left overs. Cheese straws are good too, and you can do a lot with a box of assorted crackers and some cheeses, possibly smoked salmon. Quiche too.

Add some tea and coffee with sweet biscuits and you have a nice selection which can be made earlier and simply set out on the table for people to help themselves.

I hope everyone's advice helps and all goes well for you

Olliebeak

Sorry to hear about your m-i-l. I've nothing much to add - all the advice is what I would be thinking of myself.

Only thing I would say is, borrow a couple of extra kettles - one will NOT be enough. Also a couple of teapots wouldn't go amiss either - or you'll finish up with lots of squeezed teabags (what a waste!) all over the kitchen surfaces. Plastic teaspoons are useful - often people don't have enough stainless steel ones to go around.

pigpen

Paper plates and napkins that can simply be thrown in the bin.. you don't want to be spending 3 hours washing dishes after everyone has gone.. just bin it and forget about it.. not very 'green' but very much saving time.

And don't do everything yourself.. delegate!!!! You cannot be expected to run yourself ragged.

Sending love to you all..

Shytalker

Sorry to hear of your loss. When my dad died a few years ago, I went to a quiet local pub and asked what they could do.

I live in a friendly corner of South Yorkshire where local people know each other. Made a guess at numbers and added a few more. The landlord was very pleased to be asked to help. He brought his cook in and put on a good spread with tea and coffee and those who needed something stronger were sorted too. What's more, they did it cheaply and some of the mourners wanted to contribute.

I had nothing but praise for the arrangement and it saved me a load of trouble. The landlord was pleased to help and everyone thanked him for such a good spread.