Catering for a crowd checklist
Quantities below are built for thirty. The real skill isn't the cooking, it's the timeline that gets it all hot at the same moment.
21 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- Numbers confirmed and dietary needs collected before shopping startsA single vegetarian or allergy sorted in advance is easy; discovered at the table, it isn't.
- Menu chosen with reheating in mindStews, curries and most sauces improve a day later — cook what you can well before the day.
- Main course, quantities for thirty
- Protein per person, allowing for seconds×40
- Rice, potatoes or bread as the main filler×6
- Vegetables and sides
- Vegetable dishes, at least two kinds×3
- Salad, for anyone wanting something lighter×3
- Bread or rolls, more than seems necessary×40
- Dessert, at least one that needs no last-minute attention×3
- Large pans or trays, more than the recipe suggests×4Cooking for thirty needs more surface area than the hob has burners for.
- Serving spoons and tongs, one per dish rather than shared×8
- Oven and hob space mapped out the day beforeWork backwards from serving time — the most common failure is two dishes needing the oven at once.
- A way of keeping food hot once it's cookedFoil, a warming drawer, or a slow cooker on low — otherwise the first dish is cold by the time the last one's ready.
- Ice, more than you think×4
- Serving plates and bowls, enough for every dish at once×10
- Table settings for the numbers expected×30
- Bin bags for the amount of packaging thirty portions actually generates×6
- Leftovers containers, ready before the meal rather than searched for after it×10
- Someone other than the cook helping with serving and clearingWhoever cooked the meal is rarely the person who should also be running the buffet table.
- A timeline written down for the dayWhat goes in the oven when, worked backwards from the moment everyone's meant to be seated.
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- How much food should I actually plan per person?
- Roughly a third more than a normal meal at home suggests, because a buffet always runs shorter than a plated dinner and second helpings are expected.
- How far in advance can I cook?
- Anything that reheats well — stews, curries, most sauces — is better cooked a day or two ahead. It also frees the day of the event for the things that genuinely can't be done early.
- What's the piece of kit people underestimate needing?
- Oven space and a way of keeping food hot once it's cooked. A brilliant dish cooling on a side while the last one finishes is the most common complaint about food for a crowd.