How Caterers Plan for an Event
I bet you’ve always wondered how caterers have the right amount of food and drinks for their guests. The worst thing for a caterer is to run out of food. So we strategically prepare the amounts needed not to have that happen. Here are some basic rules:
How many hors d’oeuvres per person?
Generally, we plan for 2 – 4 pieces per person for a 30 – 60 minute cocktail hour. If you are having an event with heavy hors d’oeuvres for 2 – 4 hours, we plan for 8 – 10 pieces per person.
An easy way to think about it is to take 12 pieces per person times the number of people divided by the number of different hors d’oeuvres.
How much alcohol and mixers should I plan for?
We estimate each guest will have an average of 2 drinks for the first hour and 1 drink each hour after that. A one-liter bottle of alcohol yields approximately 22 mixed drinks, so you can easily figure out how much liquor you’ll need.
One 750-ml bottle of Champagne fills 6 regular Champagne glasses.
Depending on your guests needs, in general guests will drink more white wine then red. But you should know your guests the best. One bottle of wine serves approximately 4 glasses.
Garnishes for your drinks are relatively cheap, so always buy extras. Plan on ½ lemon and ½ lime and 2 each of olives and cherries per guest. This means if you have 24 guests, you’ll need at least 12 lemons, 12 limes, 48 olives and cherries.
Plan on one and a half pounds of ice per guest. This will provide enough ice for the drinks. Add a bit more so there is enough to keep the beer and wine chilled.
But to make your event even simpler, instead of taking all of this on your own, let In Good Taste Catering & Events by Stacey handle it for you!