How much food for 30 people?

Mrs07

Hey, this my first time posting on this board, so I hope this is an appropriate question for it!

I'm throwing a birthday party and was planning to do only hors d'oeuvres for the menu.  How many pieces do you think I need to prepare?

I was thinking a big salad or maybe two, one with meat (like a seven-layer) and also several bread/pita and dip options.  I had heard 12-15 heavy apps per person on a post about a wedding reception - does that sound correct for a bday party at 6pm on a Friday? And do servings of bread and dip and salad count towards that 12-15 pieces?  

This isn't a party crowd, it will be mostly co-workers, some with small kids, so I expect to do cake at 7.30 and have people filter out after that. 

lsgarver

I think that sounds about right and you could count the salad and bread toward it but underestimate their value.  Salad doesn't go nearly as far toward making a meal as chicken skewers, sliders or other heavy apps.

6fsn

I agree with counting them toward the total and that sounds about right for the count.

Maybride2

6 pm is dinner time - you're going to have a lot of hungry people, if you're not going to serve an actual meal I'd count on at least 12-15 pieces per person.

Mrs07

You know, I was thinking I had gotten myself in far over my head, but I don't actually need 15 recipes, do I?  I can just do 5 recipes in big batches, like 6 dozen, plus salad and dips, right?

Mrs07

fyi This website has lots of amounts listed as you scroll down: http://www.greatpartyrecipes.com/cooking_for_large_groups.html

6fsn

5 recipes of 6 dozen would be good.  You might want to up either the easier or heartier one to add another dozen. 

BlackDiamond3201

5 or 6 recipes would be fine. But as a PP stated - that's dinner time and unless the invite says otherwise, you will probably have a lot of hungry people.

sjb&apa

I would probably plan on the high side - 15 per person - if the party is from roughly 6-8 p.m. since that's when a lot of people eat dinner. Otherwise, can you move the party to 5:00 so it's more like happy hour time instead of dinner time? Or have it start later like 8:00 so people have time to eat dinner before coming?

Mrs07

Thanks for all the advice!  I really don't know anyone who has cooked on this scale and what I was thinking sounded alright, but I definitely wanted some other opinions to make sure I wasn't way off base.

The party isn't until late August but this week I realized that I will have zero time to work on it after this weekend with holiday commitments and stuff.  I will try to post a potential menu this week and any and all feedback would be welcomed!