Party food calculator
Enter how many guests are coming, whether it is a sit-down or buffet dinner or an appetizers-only party, and how hungry your crowd is. You get a starting shopping list based on common caterer rules of thumb, with a spare allowance on top.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Enter the number of guests.
- Pick Dinner or buffet or Appetizers only. For a dinner, set how many appetizer pieces each guest gets first (0 for none).
- Choose how hungry the crowd is and how much spare to allow.
How it works
Per guest at normal appetite the calculator assumes 170 g (6 oz) of cooked main dish, 250 g (9 oz) of sides, 2 bread rolls and 1 dessert serving; for an appetizers-only party, 12 pieces. Light appetite multiplies these by 0.75 and hearty by 1.35. Everything is then multiplied by the guest count and by 1 plus your spare allowance, and counts are rounded up.
Worked example
20 guests at a dinner, normal appetite, 10% spare: the multiplier is 20 × 1 × 1.1 = 22 portions. Main dish: 170 g × 22 = 3.74 kg (8.2 lb). Sides: 5.5 kg. Appetizers: 4 × 22 = 88 pieces. Rolls: 44. Desserts: 22.
Tips
- These are rules of thumb. A long event, a late hour or a very hungry group all push the numbers up.
- Offering several mains lowers the amount of each: split the total between dishes.
- Keep the spare allowance for dishes that are cheap to over-order, such as sides.
Frequently asked questions
How much food do I need per person?
A common caterer rule of thumb is about 6 oz (170 g) of cooked main dish and 9 oz (250 g) of sides per guest at a dinner, 12 appetizer pieces each when appetizers replace the meal. This calculator uses those figures; they are starting points, not measured data.
Is this the same as a catering quantity calculator?
Yes. It works out the same per-guest quantities a caterer would use. Choose the event type, set the appetite and keep a spare allowance, then use the totals to order or cook.
Is the main dish weight raw or cooked?
Cooked, ready-to-serve weight. Meat loses a quarter or more of its weight when cooked, so buy more raw meat than the number shown. Check the cooking loss of your recipe.
How much extra should I allow?
The default is 10%. Add more for events where guests can take food home or where the number of guests is uncertain, and less for a plated meal with a fixed head count.