Buffet style party for 15 people on a budget!

cookiedough38

For our wedding we are going to do big pot of curry and chilli, served with jacket potatoes.

kerik4

do a birthday cake made up of fairy cakes on tiers - looks amazing

maltesers_2

What is the budget?

paigexstewart

Budget is about £100/£150 for ten. (This may seem a lot, but my partners family are the greedy type LOL. Sorry I mean they love their food).

That does not include drink, have that sorted.

Thanks guys

ascot64

One idea rather than sandwiches is to do open rolls. Makes it easier to decorate them and less fiddly than cutting sarnies into interesting shapes! Less waste too. For toppings how about :-

Cream/Soft Cheese topped with strips of smoked salmon and a little dill
Blue cheese and chopped bacon
Pate and cucumber twirls (ie slice of cucumber with a slit in and opened up to stand on top)
Tapenade & coriander
Hummus & chilli

Any

paigexstewart wrote: »

Budget is about £100/£150 for ten. (This may seem a lot, but my partners family are the greedy type LOL. Sorry I mean they love their food).

That does not include drink, have that sorted.

Thanks guys

Hi,
I normally prepare party for 40-50 on budget of £200-250 (including a little beer). Though last time around 60 people turned up and I still managed...

I usually prepare 1-2 hot foods - Either beef goulash or Chilli Con Carne with rice and hot ham. Ask away for recipe if you need too.
For goulash I usually buy meat at Cosco, don't know whether you have the option. Usually cook from 2.5-3kg (6-7lbs).

Then I buy little baguettes pre-baked (finish in the oven), tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, ghurkins (not everyone eat those), salami, cheese....

Bake the baguettes and let them cool down. Slice them into circles, about 0.5inch thick. Put butter or garlic butter or Philadephia on and pieces of salami and cheese/or just cheese if you have vegeterians and then decorate with bits of tomato, pepper or cucumber. I usually prepare about 100-120 of those. The leftovers I decorate on plates which I then just put around the room. I also buy lots of crisps, doritos and dips - again, leftover pepper and cucumber and some carrots I cut into sticks and put near the dips.

Then for later on at night I get some pizzas - I usually just buy margheritas and decorate them with stuff myself, I think it looks better and fresher then bought pizza.

I also prepare salad bowl and tomato and mozzarela plate or two.

If you can go to Cosco, it is a huge relief as you can buy in bulk there and even with few ingrediences you can make miracles.

notenoughcash

I always seem to be the one out of a group of us that ends up doing the entertaining at birthdays, christmas, halloween etc. I tend to do a rice or pasta salad in a big bowl that can be eaten cold whenevr anyone fancies it, sausage rolls and breaded chicken strips always go like lightening and I tend to cook those a few minutes before people are due to arrive so they have something warm to snack on. Pie and peas or jackets and chilli have always been popular and I usually have a couple of pizzas in the fridge for later when everyone's had a few drinks and gets peckish. Also cucumber/carrot sticks, breadsticks and dips. 'kiddy' stuff always seems to be enjoyed the most!

GardenMillie

I make cherry tomato & brie bites - cut a cherry tomato in half and cube some brie sandwich the brie inbetween the cherry tomato and secure with a cocktail stick - it looks and tastes great. Also you can thinly slice and toast french stick to make crostini and top with dips/pate or cold meat.

Good luck.

Patchwork_Quilt

My Mum always makes some salmon rolls - buy a small tin of red salmon and mash up. Spread on thin brown buttered bread and roll up like a Swiss roll. Slice into 1" lengths after cutting off the crusts. Serve on a bed of lettuce. Can be made with cream cheese and chives.

Any

paigexstewart wrote: »

Yes cosco opened up a few months ago near me, can I get a card there?

Im just worried that I wont have enough food! Everytime I cook for a dinner party I do tons, but never done a buffet before!

You have to be self employed trader or from one of special occupations to be able to get discounted card. Maybe you know someone who has one? People with card can take guest with them. But I think now you can get Private member card as well, it just costs more (annual fee).

At Cosco I also buy Salmon Gravadlaxx - I think it's about £5 or £6, but it's a lot of it and it's very posh.

The salami big packs cost about £5 - that is for 500gr, you make lots of canapes out of that. The same goes for sliced cheese. They also have Forest ham - oooh, everyone always fights over that one. That is about £8, but is lot of it.