Expert: Teri Davis Newman - 6/27/2008

Question
Hi Teri, We are having an open house graduation party for our daughter.  We have 18 adults and 11 children confirmed, I have an additional 43 people who did not send their regrets - so I guess we count them, also, kids now use facebook for inviting friends - 33 friends have confirmed but an additonal 51 said maybe.  By my calculations that's 156 people.  Do I plan on all the maybe's??  How many people would you plan for?

The menu is set (kids favorites, etc.)

Pulled Pork (20#)
Chicken fingers (20#)
Hamburgers (20#)
Ham (15# with bone in)

Is that enough?

Pierogies (How many dozen?)
Haluski (How much?  Do you have a recipe?)

A friend is making pasta salad.  I was planning on a fruit tray and a veggie tray as well as desserts.

Any thoughts?  Thanks in advance for your input.

Answer
Oh dear--you are an industrious lady!  First, get on the phone and find out how many you are going to have--just tell them you need a head count for the food.  People who don't RSVP should be banished from polite society in my opinion--it's rude not to let your hostess know whether or not you will be able to attend. You need to cut back on your menu items in a big way because if you don't, you are going to have tons of leftovers and waste.  Here's the rule of catering as to how much you will need per person:
7 ounces of cooked meat entree OR 5 oz of meat for each sandwich
4 ounces of each side dish up to 3
3 ounces of salad greens
1 4 ounce dessert serving
6-8 appetizer bites per person
16 oz of non-alcoholic beverage
2 oz of chips per person
1 oz of dip per person
Multiply the ounces times the number of guests and then divide by 16 to give you pounds of food and the beverage by 128 to give you the number of gallons of beverage you will need.
I know this may not seem like enough, but it will be, and you will still have some leftovers.