Your caterer or wedding advisor will help you get the details in the correct order – but you still want some control over quantities of food and wine to order.

Here is a check list of how to plan, and the questions you need to ask yourself:

1. Beverages – We estimate from ½ bottle of wine per person to 1 bottle. However many other factors come into play such as

a. Lunch time or dinner.

b. Age of group – younger men will prefer beer/women often prefer non-alcoholic beverages for lunch etc.

c. How many guests are driving?

d. If champagne is served as an aperitif then this should count towards total wine ordered.

2. Food including canapes – Standard portion sizes for meat and fish for plated meals are easy to find using a site such as http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfect_portions. However canapes at the start of an event are more difficult to gauge. Here are our tips.

a. Canape party without dinner

i. 5 canapes in the first 30 mins and then 3 per hour up to a total of 10 per person.

ii. By adding nuts and olives you can decrease the number of canapes

b. Canape party with dinner

i. No more than 5 canapes per person.

ii. Consider just having olives, crisps and dips.

3. Buffets – This can be a traditional buffet served from a set table or enhanced canapés-twice the size of a finger canapé.

a. Traditional buffet – The ratio of meats to salad/starches will be for every portion of meat or fish (175gr per person) provide 240 gr of salad/starch. This means that if you have a poached salmon or breast of chicken you will provide 100gr of potato or pasta salad and two portions of other salad each weighing around 70gr each. If you think about this logically there is a total volume or weight of food a person can eat.

b. Finger buffet – Enhanced canapes. The standard is 10 per person for a party lasting 2 hours. If your guests are known as ‘good eaters’ err on the heavier side when you choose your finger canapes. A hummus with carrots or mini baguette will be more filling than a delicate smoked salmon on toast!

3. Dessert portions – go all out in this area – remember the last food your guests eat will be remembered best. So variety and good display are very important. A tower of profiteroles (croque-en-bouche) would be spectacular with a rich chocolate mousse and perhaps a tropical fruit salad.

Final thoughts – do ask your outside catering professional to explain how they have arrived at their portion sizes – they will be happy to explain and you will feel more in control.

An article in a series published as a blog for South London Outside catering users.

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Contact us at Mimosa for all your outside catering needs. We are located in Herne Hill and are happy to cater for functions held further afield in South London, such as Dulwich and Brixton.

1. A wedding reception,

2. Christening or naming ceremony

3. Birthday party

4. Bar Mitzvah

5. Major Birthday

6. Or just a gathering of friends

There are a number of points that you should consider:

1. Plan ahead. Parties always take longer to organise than you initially think. This is because your ideas often change as you seek advice from friends and family. Another factor is that the venue may have restrictions on timing or on what you can serve. Most South London venues give you a set of rules to follow that are very helpful.

2. Whatever your event(christening, wedding, significant birthday or corporate) take time to meet with the venue manager to understand how to best use the space and how to work with a caterer.

3. Make an action list and ask yourself the following questions?

a. Is the occasion going to be informal or a rather more formal sit down occasion?

b. How many people will attend? Take into account school holidays and other times when people are away so as to avoid declines on your invitation. Once invitations have been sent out you can call every one and gauge their enthusiasm for the party and ability to attend.

c. What is your budget? Unless you make a clear and detailed list you will certainly be surprised when you add up all the costs. Therefore plan ahead. You can vary the cost based on the type of event.

4. Now you can get into other details

a. Will you serve canapés or perhaps a buffet?

b. Maybe a sit-down dinners which is certainly more intimate especially in the evening.

c. How about an ethnic meals, such as Thai or Moroccan themes concepts. So will it be a Thai Green Curry or a Moroccan Tagine?

d. Other concepts for parties include summer barbeques

e. Whole roast hogs or lambs.

f. Summer is also the time of cold buffets featuring whole poached salmon, Moroccan tchouchoka, babaganoush and of course European fresh salads.

g. Establish the preferences or special requirements of your guests. For example, will there be any vegetarians, or do any of your guests have any food allergies?

5. What about drinks?

a. . What variety would you like to offer? Most caterers offer a full wine and spirits section. Often the caterer will be very competitive and more convenient that an off licence. And the service is usually on a sale or return basis. Wine lists today give an international range of New World and Old. Rose wines are good choices for Summer functions.

b. Are you going to match the food and drink to the décor and entertainment?

6. How much involvement do you personally want to have, or do you want to have a caterer that can take all that pressure off you, even when it comes to passing around the canapés? The services of a professional caterer will be invaluable. Local caterers who know the South London area are often a better match and of course you will be buying local!
Will you be having a cake and who will make it for you?

7. What about equipment.

8. Do you really have enough glasses, plates and even chairs? Again your caterer can point you in the right direction or can quite simply handle all the details right down to place cards and printed menus.

9. Some of the terms out there can seem confusing so here’s a brief rundown of the type of catering you can choose:

a. Canapés / Finger buffet: offers guests bite-sized portions without the need for cutlery

b. Fork buffet: guests can help themselves or be served individual items. Requires crockery and cutlery

c. Sit down dinner: You can decide on the number of courses for your guests and the food you want to serve

Caterers located in South London in the Dulwich and Herne Hill areas have helped many satisfied clients with their special occasions.

We hope this helps you with the first steps in planning your successful party.

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Contact us a Mimosa for all your outside catering needs.