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hubby's 40th buffet help

bluepricey
Posts: 809 Forumite
hi im organising a party for my hubby's 40th 4th sep i've sorted venue and dj but saving money by doing the buffet myself with friends help getting cake from costco hopefully around 70 coming any help in what to do for buffet would be great
iwas going to do open barm sandwiches chicken legs quiche etc all the usual stuff but just need some ideas thanks in advance:beer:
iwas going to do open barm sandwiches chicken legs quiche etc all the usual stuff but just need some ideas thanks in advance:beer:



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Comments
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Cooked meats and Cheese's always go down well with crackers and crusty bread. Dips, bread sticks, tortilla type chrisps, carrots sticks for dipping.
Not sure where you plan on shopping but Aldi do a good selection of fancy cheeses and cooked deli style meats from as little as 99p. Asda, Tescos and Iceland do good party selctions in the freezer department, I've always found the Iceland ones really good value, although for 70 guests might work out a bit expensive, but worth a look as you may get some ideas as to what you could adapt yourself
HTH
Sarah
x:D:D:D:D
Where's the Coffee?? Show me the Coffee NOW!!0 -
if your going costcos anyway, i bought recently for my 30th, double pack of ham , beef and chicken, bread and wraps to do soandwiches and wraps, cut the wraps in half you can also fill with tuna and sweetcorn, as long as they are laid out nice with a bit of fresh veg the trays look nice. we also bought from there a couple of boxes of indian bites and mini frozen cakes all reasonably priced (cheaper than icelands) although hardly anyone touched the vegetarian indian bites they were a bit tough, they also had mini cup cakes £2.39 for 12 which we placed in between the food. other food was chicken satay sticks, mini sausages, quiche, chicken breast bites and i cant remember what else of the top of my head. we had a black tablecoth with the little sparkly 30th things, looked really effective. you have to decide wether you want a knife and fork buffet or just finger food. we also hired an ice cream van for the kiddies (ok for the adults too as they did slushes and we just added vodka from the bar) the ice cream van was a £20 deposit and you could either give them money to supply ice creams or let people buy thier own.now proud mum to 3 handsome boys :j latest one born 10/10/11:j0
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Making sandwiches for 70 would be really hard work! I would do what Sarah has suggested above and supply meats and cheese with some veg, bread and crackers so people can have what they like and how they like it.
I can vouch for the large birthday cakes in Cost Co. Prices are very reasonable and the cake is lush!
Love the idea of hiring an ice cream van!!!:wave: If you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain :wave:0 -
2 meat, cheese and tuna & egg mayonnaise - sandwhiches. We always do open bap sarnies ie 1 bread bun makes 2 sarnies by leaving it open and not putting a top on it.
Sausage rolls, mini sausages, quiche, pizza, chicken nuggets or goujons - can all be done in advance in the oven. or shop bought for ease.
tomatoes, cucumber, celery, carrot sticks sliced for people to add to sarnies or dip themselves if they wish.
Salad, bread sticks, crisps or pringles or dorritoes, or ritz crackers, various dip. Dont forget the tomato and brown sauce, branston pickle.
Leave foods simple but provide these extra's for guests to add to their own liking.
Crispy cakes are easy to do, so is jelly, you could always do a simple fruit salad.
A buffet wouldnt be a buffet without the good old fashioned cheese and pineapple on a stick but another variation is cheese and tiny pickled onion on a stick.
My mum always makes vol au vents. Using the pre made ones from the freezer and then adding a spoonful of campbells condensed mushroom or chicken soup to each (do not water the soup down keep it concentrated). If there's a buffet and no vol-au-vents in our family its like having a party without cake and booze.:TIs thankful to those who have shared their :T
:T fortune with those less fortunate :T
:T than themselves - you know who you are!:T0 -
Don't forget to check for veggies, at a recent party the only thing my aunt could eat was cheese sarnies, every other item provided had meat in it (and she said it happens at a lot of parties)0
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Maybe a few pasta dishes? We always have tuna+sweetcorn, smoked sausage and pepper mixed with chilli sauce and maybe a cheese savoury for the veggies. Also, cous cous is very cheap to buy and can be adaped by adding different veg, etc. You could also make up a tray of mac+cheese or a curry if you have somewhere to keep them warm. All these can be done for pennies0
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I am a caterer and often see people catering for their own party. I have no problem with this and it will def save you money. But people always always overcater!! The table is always overflowing with sandwiches... we do one sliced loaf for 10 people and this will guarantee that this is more than enough. Buy a block of cheese and grate it to go further. If you want something a little more exciting than grated cheese sarnies for veggies, try brie/mango or costco sell falafel (sliced with tomato salsa). Ham, tuna etc are the cheapest and can't-go-wrong options!
Chicken wings are the cheapest form of chicken to serve and can be bought cheapest in supermarkets - add some marinade i.e. soya sauce and roast.
If there are any kids, Costco chicken nuggets are the nicest available with proper breast.
Greek salad always goes down well... for 70 people = two bags of Costco mixed salad (about £2.29 each), 1 box of feta, black olives and mini tomatoes. Add lemon and olive oil as a dressing and some black pepper on top... always goes down well! As does new potato salad.
If you have the option to keep warm, hot food can be the cheapest i.e. chilli con carne, chicken curry/balti, 5 bean chilli for vegis... served with rice, although cooking rice in quantity can be hard as many overcook until it is like porridge! Add tortilla chips or the mini naans from Costco.
Giant Costco pizzas? Cheap and goes a long way?
Potato wedges, frozen veg oriental selection with sweet chilli dip, falafel balls or meatballs served with spicy tomato salsa. Instead of cheap cocktail sausages, use their chipolata sausages in fresh section and twist them in half and cut. Toss in mustard and honey and roast, then add sesame seeds if you want... a million times better than the cheap ones you can get from Asda.
The trick is to choose a few nice things rather than a million cheap ones. Imagine one of each on a plate. Will they all go together? Something meaty, something vege, some salad, bread and butter... oh, and the best is a cheese board. Stick to three cheeses (cheddar, brie, stilton?), some chutney and bread.
Use Costco disp plates/cutlery as it is the strongest on the market... essay over!!0 -
Thanks Mel
We are catering a shower for my cousin in a couple of weeks. This is very helpful as we are worrying whether there will be enogh food for about 40 people. We were thinking of ordering beef for about £100. Are we going overboard??????0 -
melsuggett wrote: »I am a caterer and often see people catering for their own party. I have no problem with this and it will def save you money. But people always always overcater!! The table is always overflowing with sandwiches... we do one sliced loaf for 10 people and this will guarantee that this is more than enough. Buy a block of cheese and grate it to go further. If you want something a little more exciting than grated cheese sarnies for veggies, try brie/mango or costco sell falafel (sliced with tomato salsa). Ham, tuna etc are the cheapest and can't-go-wrong options!
Chicken wings are the cheapest form of chicken to serve and can be bought cheapest in supermarkets - add some marinade i.e. soya sauce and roast.
If there are any kids, Costco chicken nuggets are the nicest available with proper breast.
Greek salad always goes down well... for 70 people = two bags of Costco mixed salad (about £2.29 each), 1 box of feta, black olives and mini tomatoes. Add lemon and olive oil as a dressing and some black pepper on top... always goes down well! As does new potato salad.
If you have the option to keep warm, hot food can be the cheapest i.e. chilli con carne, chicken curry/balti, 5 bean chilli for vegis... served with rice, although cooking rice in quantity can be hard as many overcook until it is like porridge! Add tortilla chips or the mini naans from Costco.
Giant Costco pizzas? Cheap and goes a long way?
Potato wedges, frozen veg oriental selection with sweet chilli dip, falafel balls or meatballs served with spicy tomato salsa. Instead of cheap cocktail sausages, use their chipolata sausages in fresh section and twist them in half and cut. Toss in mustard and honey and roast, then add sesame seeds if you want... a million times better than the cheap ones you can get from Asda.
The trick is to choose a few nice things rather than a million cheap ones. Imagine one of each on a plate. Will they all go together? Something meaty, something vege, some salad, bread and butter... oh, and the best is a cheese board. Stick to three cheeses (cheddar, brie, stilton?), some chutney and bread.
Use Costco disp plates/cutlery as it is the strongest on the market... essay over!!0 -
Thanks Mel
We are catering a shower for my cousin in a couple of weeks. This is very helpful as we are worrying whether there will be enogh food for about 40 people. We were thinking of ordering beef for about £100. Are we going overboard??????
What kind of beef were you thinking of? Something to slice? Or will it already be sliced? Pre cooked or DIY cooking?
Whilst it is always nice looking to have the price of beef unsliced and let people carve themselves, it tends to cause a bit of a hold up in the queue! People take forever to carve and slices tend to be very thick!
It is also better to cook it quite well as, although pink beef is nicest, people tend to avoid it at buffet/parties - just being wary really! And blood all over a buffet plate isn't the best look!
Not sure what beef you are choosing to say whether £100 is too much or not.0
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