Order too little and the room notices by half past one. Order too much and you are paying for trays nobody touched. After twenty years of work lunches, launches and all-hands days, this is the maths we actually use.
Start with the headcount, then the clock
The number on the invite is not the number that eats. For a weekday event inside office hours, plan for nine in ten people turning up. After six o’clock, or on a Friday, make it eight in ten.
Then look at the clock. People eat more the longer they stand around, and far more if there is a bar. Three things move the order up or down:
How long the event runs, and whether it crosses a normal mealtime.
Whether guests sit down, stand up, or drift between the two.
What they did before: a morning of talks makes for a hungry room.
Our rule of thumb
These are the quantities we quote for a two-hour standing lunch. Scale them up or down for your numbers.
20 guests: 160 canapés, 24 mains and 2 staff.
80 guests: 640 canapés, 92 mains and 6 staff.
300 guests: 2,400 canapés, 330 mains and 18 staff.
When to order more
Add a fifth if the event runs past two hours, if there is an open bar, or if the crowd skews under thirty. Take a tenth off for breakfast events, where half the room only wants coffee. And if you are still not sure, tell us the numbers and we will do the sums for you.
Sam Achebe
Events lead
Your first call and your calm voice on the day. Knows every loading bay in the five boroughs.
