Buffet and nibbles checklist
Built for food that survives two hours at room temperature in a room where nobody's sitting down to eat properly. Quantities here are planned for twenty.
21 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- A firm headcountEverything below scales from this number. Guess low and there's nothing left after forty minutes.
- Sausage rolls or vol-au-vents×30
- Cocktail sausages or skewers×30
- Cured meats, a couple of different kinds×2
- Cheese, cut into pieces that don't need a knife×3
- Crackers and breadsticks×4
- Olives, nuts and something salty
- Dips: hummus, something cheese-based, something spicy×3
- Crudités, cut small enough for one hand
- Sandwiches or wraps, cut into quarters×40
- Something vegetarian that isn't just the crudités
- Sweet things, small enough to eat without a plate×30
- Fruit, cut small
- Napkins, far more than seems necessary×100
- Small plates, for anything that genuinely needs one
- Cocktail sticks for anything skewered
- Serving platters and something to raise them off the tableHeight makes a buffet look fuller than the same food laid flat.
- Labels for anything containing a common allergenNuts, gluten, dairy — a small card saves twenty separate conversations.
- A plan to top up rather than lay everything out at onceA table that looks bare after forty minutes is worse than one that was never fully loaded. Hold half back.
- A bin nearby for napkins and cocktail sticks
- Drinks: wine, something soft, and ice×2
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- How much food per person at a standing buffet?
- Around eight to ten pieces each if there's no sit-down meal either side, less if cake or a proper meal follows. People eat more than they expect while standing.
- What goes first?
- Anything held in one hand, like a sausage roll or a skewer. Bowls of dip and anything needing a plate get left for a calmer moment once the room's less crowded.
- What actually keeps for two hours out?
- Cured meats, hard cheese, olives and breadsticks hold up well. Anything creamy or with mayonnaise is better brought out in smaller batches and refreshed than left.