How to cater for 100 guests on a budget (2024)

FAQs

How to cater for 100 guests on a budget? ›

Serving budget-friendly cuisines like salads, sandwiches and pasta dishes can be a very cost-effective choice. Or, if you're looking for a more casual option, how about a barbeque? Burgers, hot dogs and other grill-oriented foods are sure to be crowd favorites, and they won't rack up a big bill.

Serving budget-friendly cuisines like salads, sandwiches and pasta dishes can be a very cost-effective choice. Or, if you're looking for a more casual option, how about a barbeque? Burgers, hot dogs and other grill-oriented foods are sure to be crowd favorites, and they won't rack up a big bill.

Cheap catering food ideas include rice or pasta-based dishes, hot dogs, burritos, tacos, cookies, and muffins, which are loved by everyone and are often more affordable than sophisticated seafood or meat dishes.

$15–$35 per person

That would mean a total cost of between $1,500 to $3,500 to feed 100 people — not too bad.

The number of full trays of food needed for 100 guests can vary depending on the type of food and serving style, but a rough estimate would be around 10-12 trays.

Handy Sandwich Platter Catering Tips

As a general rule, ordering 1.5 sandwiches per person is the perfect number. If you're ordering a salad or an accompanying platter, 1 sandwich per person is the preferred portion size.

Pasta dishes, like spaghetti and meatballs or lasagna, are an excellent option for buffet-style meals as they are easy to prepare in large batches and can feed many people. Salads are also a great option as they are inexpensive to prepare and can feed many people.

Though it's virtually impossible to make an apples to apples comparison between home and restaurant meal prices without recipes, and our per week grocery spend data is based on household sizes instead of individual budgets, making your own food generally costs less than ordering catering.

Generally, an adult will eat about 1lb of food per seating. So if you are serving 4 portions of food, you need about 1/4 lb per person. If you are offering 3 portions of food, you need about 1/3 lb per person of each item.

How much food do I need to cater for 100 people? ›

Pasta is one of the cheapest and most filling pantry staples you can buy, and that's exactly why it's the perfect food to feed to a crowd! Plus, everyone loves a good pasta dish.

As a general rule, ordering 1.5 sandwiches per person is the perfect number. If you're ordering a salad or an accompanying platter, 1 sandwich per person is the preferred portion size.