Should I buy food at a friend's party?

JasX

Echoing comments earlier about decent chefs easily managing a decent meal for £3.50 I'd say £7 a head is pretty extortionate. Can this host actually cook or is he simply grabbing a load of M&S pre-packed steaks and sauces?

When I do something like this cooking for friends from scratch (with selective local market and lidl-raiding) I get nowhere near that.

I also tend to rationalise the cost like this:
-Say I've spent £40 for the afternoon/evenings food for everyone
-I've spent no more than i'd have needed to spend on myself only had we all gone 'out' to a pub/restaurant
-I usually over catered so included in that cost leftovers will cover me for half a weeks food/lunches anyway
-In that £40 which I could have spent only on myself eating out I've actually fed 7 of my friends rather well on top, so I've easily banked 4-5 reciprocal invitations where I'll be fed elsewhere, oh and earned brownie points/got to show off cooking.

I'll usually suggest people bring a bottle of something and if there are offers to go beyond that I might suggest they contribute to a pile of pre-'main food' snacks with something zero-effort like crisps/dips (or an extra dessert if I know it's someone who can/likes to cook)

Sneaky charging at the last minute of 'wayy ott' sums of money seems like said friend needs to have a few people club together and have communal words with them

skintpaul

Could always respond to the host, asking how much they want to pay for the wine you might bring..

Petaldust

Some friend... :cool:

Pollycat

Petaldust wrote: »

Some friend... :cool:

No friend.....:rotfl:

RuthnJasper

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Any pillock who admits to having a "signature dish" when they aren't a professional chef is deserving of derision. As is a "host" who wants to charge their guests for the food provided. This is one party I'd be giving an extremely wide berth. In fact, I'd be giving said pillock a wide berth permanently.

I was going to say this! What sort of self-absorbed braggart has a "signature dish"?!? What's he making, weed-filled biscuits?!

If the £7 had been mooted at the point of invitation that's still odd but passably acceptable. Not now though; absolutely not. You can have a cash bar at a wedding reception, not dinner at a mate's.

I like to make a nice beef wellington with a good piece of fillet for a "special" meal, and it's quite expensive, but I would never consider even suggesting that people contribute financially or otherwise; if they want to bring some wine or flowers that's their choice, not mine. Their company and their enjoyment of the meal is my reward.

What a kn*bjockey...

good_advice

Not an easy answer - is this £7 per adult and children under 18 FREE.
Does this include wine and beer/larger?

Prehaps it would be better for everyone to bring a dish and any drinks you want that are not tea, coffe or squash.

This should have been said with the invite and not later so people can decide to come or not.

Talent

Fuzzy_Duck wrote: »

I've had a friend do this- we were charged for the costs of a BBQ and a Christmas meal. Honestly, I think if you can't afford it you shouldn't host. In my experience people tend to bring some meat to a BBQ and a bottle of something for the host anyway so it seemed totally unnecessary and rude to me.

More fool you for paying!

Talent

wallbash wrote: »

Will be hosting a BBQ for some golfing friends ( third year running) There will be 20/24 adults. Last couple of years it was bring a dish and a bottle.
But we had too many deserts. So only this morning we had a little get together and will all give a £10 and the food will be bought centrally.

Now the OP has a point about the switching and now the request for cash, but our BBQ is late July and everyone seemed positive.

You can't have too many desserts!!
I think 'agreeing to host', especially where golfers are concerned :cool: is much different.

Talent

RuthnJasper wrote: »

I was going to say this! What sort of self-absorbed braggart has a "signature dish"?!?

Whoa, hold on a minute, some of us have signature dishes and don't have to be Michelin starred chefs!

Mine is Alphabetti Spaghetti on toast that lets you spell out my name, luckily there is never an anchor, plenty of W's though.

Cimscate

I belong to a social group and if someone hosts a party they charge at cost; for £7 I can provide 2 or 3 main courses, salads, bread, nibbles, dessert etc. I'm not sure why people have invented a 'signature dish' - it just make it sound more than it probably is!! If I say my signature dish is Lasagne it still wouldn't cost £7.


If I was hosting a party for friends I wouldn't dream of charging and they would never charge me unless it was an event in aid of Charity for example. Get some new friends!!