Catering for a party????

LilacLillie

I am having a 'Tea Party' that won't start till 5pm (just found out can't have hall until 4pm).
I've always gone way over the top with food at parties, what I call real food.
This time its a buffet type and the more I think of it the more I don't want just teatime stuff, can't bear people to leave hungry.
So need idea's, usual buffet stuff with a bit of a posh end range.
Also how do I know how much to cater for each person?
I'm trying to be a good MSE and not turn to Waitrose/M&S to do it for me.
I'm looking at around 70 people at the moment, mostly adults.
Help please.
I just know someone on here will have the knowledge I need, Please share.
Thank you in advance
LL

LilacLillie

Do I need to move this?
LL

Possession

I'm a caterer. Do you want to serve hot food, or just cold? And will it be a fork or finger buffet?

Any

Important questions Possession asked..
70 people is a lot! Getting it from M&S would be hell of an expensive affair.. Caterers would surely come out cheaper for this number?!

I think good party food - massive meat potato pie, roast ham, whole baked salmon, chilli con carne for the main food.

lots of different open sandwich/canape kind of things (good about these is that they can be made a little in advance), mini quiches (those I get at Costco, they are nice, if you have access that is)...

Pink.

Hi LilacLillie,

These existing threads may give you some ideas:

Ideas for really cheap easy Buffet food please!!

Buffet Ideas

Help ! Planning small buffet birthday party for 17, NEVER done anything like this ? !

Need ms ideas for buffet for 50

buffet ideas for 100+ on a budget?

budget buffet help!!

help ideas for party food

party food for 80+ help!

Ideas for really cheap easy Buffet food please!!

Buffet Ideas

Christening Buffet ideas?

Wedding buffet for 150 people...!!!

How to work out quantities for a buffet?

If you do a search on buffet or party food, you'll find lots more threads with loads of advice.

Pink

bupster

Work out how much you're willing to spend! Just last weekend I catered a lunch for 20 for £3 a head - that was more than enough with a bit of imagination and flexibility. Also, are you doing all the prep and cooking yourself? Do you have help? How much time do you have? When you say 'tea' party, does that mean finger food, or is it just a description of the time of day you want to shovel food down them ?

If it's Proper Food, you've got an easier job; if it's tea party type stuff for 70 you've got some work on your hands but it's not impossible. Do you have freezer space or are you trying to prep it all in one day?

Off the top of my head, on the info you've given, I'd say do a fair few plates of sandwiches, and bake a few cakes and other easy sweet things like brownies and flapjacks. Then you could use the spare money and time to do canapes (but nothing too complicated). Sausage rolls are easy, and you could do a vegetarian version too, or roulade type things. Bowls of salads and rice are easy and look good, plus yer standard chicken drumsticks etc, and some roast potatoes (everyone loves roast spuds) if you can serve things hot (that was another question I meant to ask!). Also, will you have the use of a kitchen on site or does it have to be prepped in advance?

snowleopard61

Scones (homemade if poss, bought if need be) halved and topped with jam and cream are extremely cheap to make, can be made in advance and frozen (obviously without the jam and cream!), look pretty and nearly everyone loves them.

Pasta salads are dead easy, filling and very cheap. Potato salads likewise, if a little more expensive.

hilstep2000

I catered for 100 people at my daughter's engagement party for £2 a head. We went to Asda and bought their sandwich fillings, used finger rolls. Iceland provided the Indian/Chinese snacks. They have loads of stuff for £1 and £5. Large gateaux and a trifle was dessert. There was a lot left, nobody was hungry and I was pleased with it all! (Adults seem to like bowls of Haribo too!!)

LilacLillie

Some great ideas, thanks, especially the links provided by Pink-Winged. I need to rope people in and get busy it seems.
LL

chubbster_1

Chicken wings/drumsticks always go down well I think, if you don't want to cook them yourself and don't want to buy pre-cooked from the supermarket try somewhere that sells spicy chicken wings (local versions of kfc for example). I've bulk bought from places like this for parties before and it's worked well to add to things I've made myself.

Skewers of things are quite nice too - look good and are easy to eat with fingers. chicken/mushroom/pepper/onion drizzle with honey and sprinkle with sesame seeds and bung in the oven on baking trays. Can be served cold and go down just as well cold I've found.

spike7451

Here's my posh nosh sausage rolls...

Take a sheet of Jus Roll puff pastry
A pack of cocktail sausages or good Herta hot dogs (if using the coctail sausages,cook them first & alow to go cold
Jar of red onion chutney.
Egg to glaze

Measure out strips of pastry about 1cm longer at each end & wide enough to wrap around the sausages or hot dogs,brush the middle of each sheet with onion chutney,lay a sausage or hot dog on top of the onion chutney & roll up,seal the ends & the side with the egg & wash the top also with the egg.Make small diagonal slits in the top to allow the steam to escape & bake in the oven.