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Question by lilmissmiss: How much food for 100 people?
I am planning a wedding for 100 guests.
1. Appetizers
– Cheese, Fruit, Nut Display
– Vegetable, Dip, Spread Display
– Bread, Cracker Display
– Shrimp Cocktail
– Sushi
– Pancetta Wrapped Scallops
– Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
– Chicken, Tomato Crostini
– Cheddar Broccoli Quiche
– Tomato, Potato Knish
2. Soup
– Pumpkin Soup
– Lobster Bisque
3. Salad
– Tomato Mozarella Tossed Salad
– Parmesan Caesar Salad
4. Intermezzo
– Lemon Ice
5. Entree
– Creamed Onions over Fire Grilled Filet Mignon with Herb Garlic Mashed Potatoes
– Oven Broiled Lobster Tail with Newberg Sauce and Lemon Cream Risotto
– Crab Cake Stuffing over Baked Salmon with Sugar Sweet Carrots
– Crispy Eggplant Parmesan with Angel Hair Pasta and Roasted Squash
– Encrusted Chicken with Cheese Macaroni and Sugar Sweet Tomatoes
6. Hot Beverages
7. Dessert
– Mini Pies
– Mini Cheesecakes
– Mini Cakes
– 5-Tier Wedding Cake
I need to know how much of each item I will need to serve 100 people. How much appetizers, soup, etc. Please help!
I merely wanted to convey to people what, specifically, I am serving. That way, I can get the most detailed responses possible. I need to know how much food to prepare, and I feel that it is very important that responders take into consideration what I am serving. It’s very easy to give me a formula for the amount of appetizers; however, when I’m serving a cheese platter as part of my appetizers, I need to know how many ounces per person, etc. Forgive me for attempting to be detailed in an attempt to obtain a proper response.
I’ll take that as a compliment. No, I’m not a culinary student. I’m in medical school. Peruse my recent answers; you will find that most of them are related to weddings.
The entrees are dishes from our relationship. On our first date, my fiance had filet mignon, and I had salmon. When he proposed, we both had lobster tails. The chicken and the eggplant are family dishes that his grandmother and I swapped!
I’m sorry if you feel that some of my other choices are plebian, but, as far as I’m concerned, cheese and veggies are decent standards! Suggestions otherwise would be greatly appreciated.
100 guests is still a small amount. I know each of those guests very well, and I know, for a fact, that there are only two vegetarians and two diabetics. No one is allergic to anything.
Lastly, I am serving additional desserts, because I, personally, hate cake, and I know others who do too. I’m serving cheesecake because I love it, and I’m serving pies because I make amazing pie.
This is about questions and answers, not berating people. I asked a question, and I would like an answer- just like many other people on here would like answers. That’s what this site is about. If you can’t answer the question, then don’t write anything. Especially, don’t write anything rude.
Berating and rude:
You didn’t answer my question, yet you posted anyway.
You proceeded to tell me I’m a fraud by suggesting I’m a culinary student.
You then gave me a “bad grade” on an imaginary culinary project.
You bashed MY menu for MY wedding day.
You won’t leave the question alone to be answered by people who are serious.
You continue to believe that I care about your opinion, when all I wanted was an exact answer to an exact question.
You won’t stop posting.
I don’t want your “very well educated and very experienced culinary font of knowledge,” as it is apparently not educated and not experienced enough to give me a proper response. In addition it comes with a high price- your uppity attitude!
Best answer:
Answer by krustykrabtrainee
Whenever I have to help plan a large event, I refer to this page for information on amounts to serve. There are several links down the side to give you serving amounts. Hope this helps!
http://members.tripod.com/~lotsofinfo/
Give your answer to this question below!
Hundreds of tomatoes
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This little orange cherry tomato plant produced a LOT of sweet little tomatoes!
Related Sweet Tomato Articles
oh so now you publish your menu.
OK The 25 watt light bulb that is sometimes my level of intelligence just went off; You are in fact a culinary arts student who is taking catering this semester and this is your project. Cool You should have just said so, some of us have been there.
How do I know ? Your menu is far too ambitious . You have five entree’s , three of which are using premium product.
You flat out have too much food.
You have a lobster bisque which given the possibilty a guest being alleric to shellfish is a very questionable choice and your plan B soup is also a questionable choice
On your appetizers you also managed to mix the plebian – knishes , crudites and dip w/ the upscale sushi and pancetta wrapped scallops. You can do one , you can do the other but you shouldn’t do both.
Lastly since you will be serving wedding cake do you really need additional desserts?
OK
I judged your menu from the point of a student doing it .
I like seeing menus that are coherent where one item naturally ties into another and of course compliment each other.
Two questions before I go for the day
Who is going to actually cook these items ?
How did you do on the match ?
Time out :
I will allow you continued access to my very well educated an very experienced culinary font of knowledge if you explain berating and rude. So there.
Have a good day
I must admit, I had to print everything out before being able to answer the question!!! LOL! Okay, to my answer …
Appetizers:
These numbers are solely going to depend on how long your cocktail hour is going to be … if you’re like most brides, then 1.5 hours is the maximum time your guests should be mingling before the reception starts. Since you’re going to be serving a full, slightly heavy, dinner I would definitely suggest doing a max of 6 pieces per person. When I say piece, I really mean ounce. Each piece should be no bigger than 1 ounce each. No need to make anything bigger than a bite, because then it just becomes a hassle.
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms and the Tomato and Chicken Crostini will be relatively easy to do … I would recommend 150 pieces each.
Shrimp Cocktail will also be another easy option … go for a larger shrimp cocktail … it is always a crowd pleaser and with the proper display can be a real WOW factor (think individual shrimp in small plastic shot glasses set on stacked ice sculptures)!!! Think about doing 200 of these little guys.
Sushi, although a FABULOUS idea, should be left to the professionals!! My mother is Japanese and I can tell you (from many years of watching her in the kitchen) that sushi is not something that should be tackled by just anyone. Hire a sushi chef and make a complete station out of this!! It is always good to keep your guests involved so they don’t get bored. You may be taking pictures and having a great time, but talking to Aunt Gertrude can be interesting for only so long.
Scallops are a fickle thing to deal with … overcook them and you’ll be chewing on rubber … under cook them and your guests will have the tummy-ache of the century!!! The best thing to do is shy away things that can cause trouble (there is no need pulling your hair out on your big day!!!). Although, if you do decide to go with this dish anyways, I recommend using bacon in place of panchetta. The only reason I say this is because bacon has a little more fat than panchetta … it will be able to keep the scallops moist while cooking. That way if something else does come up and you overcook just a little, they will still be slightly more moist than had you used panchetta. I would suggest doing a display of 50-75 of these (just to cut back on the headache they might cause you).
Quiche is going to be another finicky item. Although very easy to make, they are very difficult to keep warm and un-soggy. No one likes a soggy quiche!! You might want to think about making these for the day after brunch … that way they are still on the menu somehow, just not for the wedding.
I’ve never done a Knish, so I’m not sure how it will react to being prepared ahead of time. It does sound like it might be better served as a brunch type food instead of at the reception though. Keep things as easy as possible for yourself.
Soup:
Soup is generally a bad idea if you decide to prepare everything yourself. I would definitely rethink this course. I’m not saying it can’t be done … but I wouldn’t tackle it if I were you. Keep things simple. If you still want to do the soup … think about doing it plated. You’re going to have to hire staff either way, so why not make it a huge production??? Have a pre-plated bowl at each setting. Put something like a dollop of herb mousse in each bowl. When your guests are seated, the server will then ladle a serving of warm pumpkin soup into the bowl … it will be a feast for the eyes as well as the palate!!! Just remember, you eat with your eyes first …
Salad:
It sounds like you’re going for something simple in this category … a caesar salad and a caprese salad are very easy to make and can be played with to look very interesting. Instead of giving guests an options, plate both on the same plate and they can choose to eat both or just one.
Intermezzo:
Lemon Ice is very easy to make … again a good choice. However, for 100 people it is almost impossible to have enough room to store it all. Not to mention the time it will take to hollow out enough lemon halves to serve it in … use glass to make it easier. An ounce or 2 per serving is more than enough.
Entree:
Sweet carrots would be a good side also … asparagus is also a good choice for a veggie which goes well with just about anything. If you’re going to have a buffet set up, then you’ll need about 8-10 ounces per serving total and 1 serving per person. Should you decide to pre-plate your meal then go for 6-8 total ounces per serving (again 1 serving per person).
Although they all sound absolutely wonderful (honestly, they really do) five choices are just too many for any wedding or any function at all. The most you should do is pair 2 together. Most people choose to do a seafood and beef, but you’re going to have a lot of seafood apps, so stick with the filet and the chicken, or eggplant. What you could do is offer the eggplant to the vegetarians that you know of … if there aren’t any, you might want to think about taking that one off the menu. I would not recommend the risotto, unless you’ve got your grandmother’s recipe that you’ve tried over 500 times. Risotto is a dish that can easily be ruined if it isn’t done properly (just a tid bit that I recently learned … risotto should be at such a consistency that, if placed in the center of a large soup bowl, it should take 25 seconds to evenly distribute over the entire bowl surface. If your risotto is standing still, chances are it wasn’t done properly.) … the mashed potatoes are always a hit so I would say those are a go. Easy to keep warm and most tasty with truffle oil
Dessert:
Be very careful with this one … it sounds like you’re going to be overdoing it (a lot) with the amount of sweets. Instead of doing the 5-tier wedding cake, go for the minis. Cut a cheesecake or a pie instead since you said yourself you weren’t a fan of cake. Not to mention a 5-tier wedding cake is far too large for only 100 people … a full sheet would be plenty to feed that many, especially with all of the little extras. Again, go for only a few ounces a per serving and only 1 or 2 servings per person.
I am aware that this answer might not be exactly what you’re looking for … I know that you specifically asked for weights and exact amounts, but it is really a precise science. There is no real way to calculate how much everything will cost and how much of everything you’ll need. Some things are going to be less expensive depending on the season. You’re just going to have to trust your tastes and go from there.
I must admit that this is quite a risky menu … there is definitely something that can be said about your character in wanting to do all of this, for 100 people, while you’re attending medical school. The best advice I can give you is to hire a professional. I know that you might not want to hear that either, but it is always best to leave the big things to the pros. If you want to cater a small anniversary party, that is one thing … but a wedding reception for 100 is something COMPLETELY different. I wish you the best of luck, honestly. Feel free to email me again should you have any further questions or concerns.