Food

The next step in the planning process is to determine the type of food you plan on serving your guests and the amount to have on hand for the event. To do this you will want to have a good idea of the number of guests you will be hosting and what type of food you want to serve them. Do you want to serve a buffet of snacks and appetizers, grill out for your guests, order pizza, have a nice dinner party, or a combination of these. Once you have figured out the type of food, you will want to select several recipes or talk with a caterer about the menu for your event. A few tips for the amount of food you will want to have:


• For hor d'oeuvres: guest will generally eat 3-5 pieces if you are serving these before the main meal. If you are only serving a buffet of hor d'oeuvres, guests will generally eat 4-6 pieces per hour.

• With all foods, you will want to vary between hot and cold items,different textures, and always make larger quantities of popular items to make sure there is enough to go around.

• Also, you may want to consider special dietary options for your guests. For example, you might want to serve vegan or low carb options. If you do have guests coming that may want or require such options, it is a good idea to have at least 3 different options for them.

• If you are serving a buffet of appetizers or snacks as the main food options, you will want to keep in mind the length of the party and the size of the guest list to ensure that you have several options to sustain the party.

• A good rule of thumb is one pound of food per person.

When hosting a dinner party, the overall food portions may differ slightly. Here are a few things to consider when planning your menu:

• For the main course, you will want to plan to serve 6-8 ounces per person.

• If you are serving seafood for the main course however, you will want to plan to serve only about 5-7 ounces per person.

• For soups, or gumbos, you will want to serve about 1 1/2 - 2 cups per person.

• When serving pasta, beans, rice, or potato dishes for sides, you will want to serve 2-3 ounces per guest.

• If you are serving a side salad, you will want to serve about 3-4 ounces per guest.

• Each guest will probably 1 1/2 pieces of bread at a typical dinner party.

• Generally guests will eat between 1 and 1 1/2 pieces of desserts.

• A good rule of thumb is 1 1/2 pounds of food per guest.

Remember, when planning the menu it is always best to round up when preparing food for you guests. You always want to have more than enough than not enough. You surely won't have trouble finding someone willing to take home leftovers.