Cooking is part of the fun when you are planning a party but some people get into a panic, worrying that they have under- or overestimated the amount of food required, whether the food they are making will be enjoyed by everyone or whether their party food recipes will turn out right.
Guessing How Much Food for a Party
Unfortunately, there is no scientific formula for working out how much party finger foods. It is more of an art and the more parties you cater for, the more you will be able to estimate the right food amounts. Here are a few tips that will allow you to estimate how much food for a party and will help you to relax rather than panic!
Have you only invited adults to the party or is there a need for some child-friendly recipes as well? How long will your party last for and at what time of day is it going to be? You would need a lot more food for an afternoon barbecue than for an after dinner cocktail party, for example.
Make more of the potentially popular dishes. Almost everyone loves boneless chicken recipes, so make a lot of those because there will be other dishes, such as international recipes or seafood recipes, which will not appeal to everyone.
If you offer a lot of different dishes, each guest will have less of each one. If you have twenty dishes, your guests will probably take a spoonful of each one they like the look of. If you only have five dishes, they will eat a lot more of each.
You can estimate the amount of food required by working out how many guests you have and how much of each food they will eat. Remember to round your estimations up, not down. It is infinitely better to have some food left over than run out of things to eat halfway through the celebrations!
Have some bulk food items on hand, like bread for a sit-down meal or nuts and olives for a buffet. These are filling foods, which people can eat if they are still hungry afterwards.
The Right Portion Sizes
With appetizers, you should allow six bites per person. With the main meal, you should allow about six to eight ounces of meat or fish, an ounce and a half of grains, five ounces of potatoes, four ounces of vegetables and an ounce of undressed salad per person. For dessert, you should allow one slice of cake, four ounces of creamy dessert or five ounces of ice cream per guest. These measures are approximate because different people have different appetites of course.
Other Party Food Cooking Tips
Guessing How Much Food for a Party
Unfortunately, there is no scientific formula for working out how much party finger foods. It is more of an art and the more parties you cater for, the more you will be able to estimate the right food amounts. Here are a few tips that will allow you to estimate how much food for a party and will help you to relax rather than panic!
Have you only invited adults to the party or is there a need for some child-friendly recipes as well? How long will your party last for and at what time of day is it going to be? You would need a lot more food for an afternoon barbecue than for an after dinner cocktail party, for example.
Make more of the potentially popular dishes. Almost everyone loves boneless chicken recipes, so make a lot of those because there will be other dishes, such as international recipes or seafood recipes, which will not appeal to everyone.
If you offer a lot of different dishes, each guest will have less of each one. If you have twenty dishes, your guests will probably take a spoonful of each one they like the look of. If you only have five dishes, they will eat a lot more of each.
You can estimate the amount of food required by working out how many guests you have and how much of each food they will eat. Remember to round your estimations up, not down. It is infinitely better to have some food left over than run out of things to eat halfway through the celebrations!
Have some bulk food items on hand, like bread for a sit-down meal or nuts and olives for a buffet. These are filling foods, which people can eat if they are still hungry afterwards.
The Right Portion Sizes
With appetizers, you should allow six bites per person. With the main meal, you should allow about six to eight ounces of meat or fish, an ounce and a half of grains, five ounces of potatoes, four ounces of vegetables and an ounce of undressed salad per person. For dessert, you should allow one slice of cake, four ounces of creamy dessert or five ounces of ice cream per guest. These measures are approximate because different people have different appetites of course.
Other Party Food Cooking Tips
- Avoid repeating the main ingredient if you are having a dinner party. Do not serve a boneless chicken appetizer followed by a boneless chicken main course, for example.
- Have both warm and cold foods on offer if you are serving a buffet meal.
- Offer different food textures with the buffet or meal, so you have a range of soft, hard, crispy, and crunchy food items.
- Using different colored foods is a great way to make your dinner table or buffet table look exciting.
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