AboutChef Todd Mohr Expertise I'd be glad to answer your questions about how basic cooking methods apply equally to cooking for two in your home, or 1000 for an event.
Experience Executive Chef at a large hospital, feeding 3000 people three times daily over 8 different menus. Chef at The National Security Agency in Washington, DC, part of a team feeding 15,000 people twice daily.
Publications I am a featured author at Ezine Articles (ezinearticles.com, ideamarketers.com, articlecity.com, buzzle.com, selfgrowth.net)
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts, Long Island University
Associate of Arts, Baltimore International Culinary College
Past/Present Clients My catering company boasts many of the nations largest companies as clients over the past 8 years.
Question I need to feed about 80 high school football players plus about 80 parents. The menu is Chicken Alfredo and green salad. How much pasta and sauce should I plan on for each person?
Thanks.
Answer The average portion for adults is 4-5 ounces of protein (chicken), 3-4 ounces of starch (pasta), and 2-3 ounces of vegetables (or salad).
However, you have football players, so you may want to increase those portions by about 20 percent. You don't say how you're preparing the chicken, but in general, at a 6 ounce portion per person, you'd need 60 pounds of chicken, 30 pounds of dry pasta, and about 30 pounds of salad mix.
The important part is to begin your planning with a calculator, and have a mathematical plan for your production and portioning. Don't just guess or "eye-ball" it.
More questions you might ask of yourself: What is your production method? Will you cook all the pasta ahead of time, shock it in ice water, then re-heat for service in boiling water? Or, will you have enough staff to batch-cook. Do you have means to keep your food warm and safe? Will you use chafing dishes for buffet service, or is it plated? If plated, what is your procedure for filling plates and delivering them before the food gets cold?
Lastly, be cafeful of that Alfredo sauce, it can break and separate if kept too warm for too long a period of time. Tomato sauce is more stable. Perhaps Chicken Parmesan would be worth considering.
