Wake food ideas?

carrieparkinson

hi, ive agreed to hold my mother in laws wake on monday at my house.. ive never done one before, What food is approprate for one?? money is short and so is time as im working until 6:30pm on sunday and the cremation is monday morning.i was thinking open basic sandwiches, sausage rolls, pork pie. cold chicken drumsticks are an option however im thinking slimy hands... (have already bought napkins, anti bacterial wipes etc so not too fussy but i dont know what other peoples views are)
i also have no idea on how many im catering for,allergies , vegetarians etc... all i get advised is i dont know... :mad:
thanks in advance, im beginning to stress!!!

Fruball

Unfortunately, the problem with funerals/wakes is that they aren't by invite so nobody knows how many may come along.

In addition to what you have planned already, I would grab a few french sticks, cheddar and another cheese, block or two of pate and maybe some ham (ald! do good cheap ham for £1.75 and you get loads) plus a bowl of pickle and pickled onions so if everything else goes, you can bring those out for people to help themselves.

The cheese/pate/pickle will keep for xmas if they are not needed so the only waste would be the bread but you could freeze that in halves/quarters and then warm in the oven to go with soups over the next few weeks

You could do a soup (smooth/blended) and keep it out in a SC if you have one with a load of paper cups so people can help themselves to that - it would go well with the french sticks too A friend of mine does this for gatherings and it works well. (Not plastic cups as they get too hot to handle, paper cups are not as bad)

Don't have too many crisps/peanuts as they make people thirsty so they are likely to drink more

Dunroamin

Fruball wrote: »

Unfortunately, the problem with funerals/wakes is that they aren't by invite so nobody knows how many may come along.

In addition to what you have planned already, I would grab a few french sticks, cheddar and another cheese, block or two of pate and maybe some ham (ald! do good cheap ham for £1.75 and you get loads) plus a bowl of pickle and pickled onions so if everything else goes, you can bring those out for people to help themselves.

The cheese/pate/pickle will keep for xmas if they are not needed so the only waste would be the bread but you could freeze that in halves/quarters and then warm in the oven to go with soups over the next few weeks

You could do a soup (smooth/blended) and keep it out in a SC if you have one with a load of paper cups so people can help themselves to that - it would go well with the french sticks too A friend of mine does this for gatherings and it works well. (Not plastic cups as they get too hot to handle, paper cups are not as bad)

Don't have too many crisps/peanuts as they make people thirsty so they are likely to drink more

The funeral itself isn't by invitation but coming back for freshments certainly is, even if given informally after the service. If that weren't the case you could have a dozens descending on your house for the "baked meats"!

Need2bthrifty

As Fruball says depends on how many you are catering for.

Those that I have been to
1. In the house - soup, sandwiches, biscuits, cake and tea/coffee.
2. At a hotel, Quiche, sandwiches, biscuits, cakes and tea/coffee

Maybe think about how much crockery you have and that may dictate what you can offer - paper plates/cups are a good idea.

ariba10

Dunroamin wrote: »

The funeral itself isn't by invitation but coming back for freshments certainly is, even if given informally after the service. If that weren't the case you could have a dozens descending on your house for the "baked meats"!

It might be where you live but not in this area.

Seakay

traditionally you seem to get pork pies cut into small wedges at funerals I've attended, no idea why as no one seems to eat them!
A lot does depend on the time of day and if people are travelling a distance to get home on the same day.
I have been involved in organising two family funerals and most people were too upset to eat much, we had the funerals in the early afternoon and most people had to travel long distances. We just had a few plates of things in the house/in the church hall.

Hiring/borrowing a tea urn and a catering sized teapot is really useful. We didn't offer coffee or anything else at the church hall, basically someone went around saying "would you like a cup of tea?" and most people said yes

People are rubbish at RSVP ing so (for instance) we allowed 3 sandwiches each for 50 people, 120 showed up, we had at least 50 sandwiches left (supper for us plus some in the freezer) but there were at least 200 cups to wash up (this one was the church hall)

At home we offered tea and coffee - I premade the latter in batches, kept it in the biggest pan we had and used a ladle to 'pour' it into cups as another family member came back to the kitchen with orders (there was an aga in that house so easy to keep warm) and then added milk & sugar to individual cups (we borrowed urn, cups and saucers and huge teapot from the church and made a donation to say thanks)

We had egg and cress, ham, cheese and tomato (most at this funeral were 50+ and traditional tastes) a couple of plates of sausage rolls and some biscuits. Most people had loads of tea and a few biscuits.

THe main thing to remember is that you are not hosting a party you are providing a venue for people to chat and share memories and giving them a soothing cuppa to refresh and a mouthful to eat in case they want it. You are not feeding anyone as such. you are a close relative in mourning and why should you be expected to do more than is useful for you to keep your mind and hands occupied during the possibly distressing events of the day.

If anyone is so unaffected to want more food that a light snack to ward off faintness, then they can jolly well take themselves off and get themselves a proper meal, it really isn't your job to provide one and don't let anyone tell you different!

carrieparkinson

id forgotten about pate!!!!
breadsticks are a good think too ..... they get eaten by my lot regardless so wont go wasted if not eaten.
i have got a slow cooker... soup hadnt crossed my mind tbh!! good thinking !!!

(cant do pickles or pickled anything, ive got issues with them as they stink vile and im not being made uncomfortable in my home because someone wants to eat them)

but liking the bread idea!!! thanks

carrieparkinson

id also forgotten about quiche.... i can make that surely??? i have the dish thingy... will it keep if i make it saturday night ??... (also working til 6.30 then.. im there now but shhhhh :P).. got plenty of tea bags etc in, i hadnt thought about drinks... d'oh!!!

msb5262

Hi OP,


You very wisely mention the issue of sticky fingers etc.....I think the key is to decide whether it's a finger buffet or a fork buffet - then stick to your decision. Think through the logistics of how people can help themselves to food, and how they can eat it.


Hope it goes well


MsB

[Deleted User]

CARRIE if you are having quite a few people in a small space it might be a good idea to have things cut into small enough to eat pieces rather than having to use cutlery. People will be holding drinks too and there won't be much manoeuvering room. Bite sized things that can be eaten in one munch would save your floors from much mess and disposable plates and napkins would save you much clearing up too. I hope it goes well for you, it's a difficult time and we'll be thinking of you all, Lyn xxx.

Pitsypoolisa

Seakay wrote: »

THe main thing to remember is that you are not hosting a party you are providing a venue for people to chat and share memories and giving them a soothing cuppa to refresh and a mouthful to eat in case they want it. You are not feeding anyone as such. you are a close relative in mourning and why should you be expected to do more than is useful for you to keep your mind and hands occupied during the possibly distressing events of the day.

I have to agree here. I'd be thinking along the lines of an afternoon tea and stick to tea, coffee, cakes, biscuits and maybe a few sandwiches. Whatever you choose, I hope it all goes well x