How much food per person: catering quantity tables

The quick answer

How much food per person depends on three questions: is this event replacing a meal, how long does it last, and how will the food be served? A one-hour welcome before a plated dinner and a three-hour party from 6 to 9 p.m. can use the same canapé menu and need three times the food.

These are planning figures, not rules. The adjustments section below explains when to go higher or lower.

Canapés and hors d'oeuvres per hour

Guests eat most in the first hour of a reception and slow down after that. The pattern is predictable enough to plan by the hour: about 6–8 pieces in the first hour when people arrive hungry, then 3–4 pieces per hour after that.

How many different canapés? For under 50 guests, 4–6 varieties; for 50–150 guests, 6–8; above that, 8–10. More varieties than that means each tray runs out before most guests see it. Keep the mix roughly one-third vegetarian or vegan, include at least one gluten-free option, and make the substantial pieces (a slider, a skewer, a mini taco) about a third of the count if the event runs through dinner time.

Passed or stationary? Passed canapés are more controlled; guests take about the planned number. Stationary platters are eaten faster by the first half of the room, so add 10–15% or replenish in stages. Our canapé menu lists pieces by type so you can build the mix, and the cocktail party page covers timing for home and venue parties.

Dinner quantities: protein, sides and bread

For a sit-down dinner, portion weights are set by the plate. For a buffet or family-style dinner, guests serve themselves and take a little of everything, so the total goes up while each item's share goes down.

At South Asian and Middle Eastern style buffets, rice and bread quantities go up and salad goes down: plan about 180–200 g of cooked rice and two pieces of naan or pita per guest, because they carry the curries, stews and dips. On a hot buffet, the vegetarian main is often eaten by meat-eaters too, which is why we prepare it for a third of the room or more rather than for the guests who ticked "vegetarian".

Lunches, breakfasts and grazing tables

Office lunch

Boxed lunches are one per person, which is their appeal. For platters, plan 1.5 sandwiches or wraps per guest (three halves), 80–100 g of each salad when there are two, and one sweet. Hot lunch buffets follow the buffet column above.

Breakfast and coffee

Plan 1.5 pastries or bakery items per guest, 100–120 g of cut fruit, and one yogurt parfait for every two or three guests if offered as an extra. Coffee is where morning meetings run short: plan 1.5 cups per guest for the first two hours. A standard 96 oz coffee box pours about twelve 8 oz cups, so a 30-person breakfast needs three boxes of coffee and one of decaf or hot water for tea.

Grazing tables

As a pre-dinner spread, plan about 50–60 g of cheese and 40–50 g of cured meat per guest, with bread, crackers and produce making up the rest. When the grazing table is the main food, roughly double the cheese and meat and add dips, grilled vegetables and something warm. Our grazing table menu is sized this way.

Desserts, late-night food and drinks

• Wedding cake as the only dessert: one slice per guest, cut smaller (about 1 x 2 inches) than a birthday slice.
• Dessert table instead of cake: 3–4 small pieces per guest.
• Dessert table plus cake: 1.5–2 small pieces per guest.
• Late-night food: one portion for 60–75% of the guests present at dinner.
• Water: about 2 servings per guest for a 3-hour event, more in summer and outdoors.
• Soft drinks and juice: about 1 per guest per two hours, plus more if there is no bar.
• After-dinner coffee and tea: about 70% of guests take one.
• Ice: about 1 lb per guest for drinks, doubled for a summer tent.

Alcohol quantities, and the permit rules that come with them, are in our Special Occasion Permit guide.

When to plan more, and when to plan less

Plan more when:

• The event overlaps a normal meal time (11:30–1:30 or 6–8 p.m.) and guests are not eating elsewhere.
• Guests come straight from work or a long ceremony and have not eaten.
• Alcohol is flowing for more than two hours.
• The crowd is young or physically active, such as a sports team banquet or a site crew lunch.
• Food is self-serve on a stationary display.

Plan less when:

• It is hot, especially outdoors; appetites drop in July heat.
• A large meal follows within two hours.
• The program keeps people seated or busy (speeches, a presentation, dancing).
• Many guests are older or children (count children under 10 as roughly half a portion).

Do not pad every item by 20% "to be safe". Food safety sets a hard limit on what can be saved: hot and cold food should not sit outside temperature control for more than two hours, so over-ordering mostly becomes waste. Instead, keep a reserve of the two most popular items in the kitchen, held hot at 60 °C or above or cold at 4 °C or below, and bring it out if the room needs it.

A worked example: 80 guests, 6 to 9 p.m., at home

An 80-guest milestone birthday in a Midtown house, running through dinner time with an open bar. Guests will not eat dinner elsewhere.

• Canapés: 10 pieces per guest = 800 pieces across 8 varieties (100 each), passed through the first two hours. Three of the eight are substantial: lamb kofta skewers, chicken tikka on naan crisps, mushroom and gruyère tartlets. Three are vegetarian, two are vegan, three are gluten-free.
• Station at 7:30: a warm mezze table with falafel, grilled halloumi, roasted vegetables, hummus and pita, planned at about 150 g per guest, because canapés alone would leave people hungry by 9.
• Dessert: 2 small pieces per guest = 160 pieces, plus the birthday cake cut for 80.
• Non-alcoholic drinks: 160 waters and sparkling waters, 60 soft drinks, and coffee for 55.

That comes to about 14 savoury items' worth of food per guest over three hours, in line with the table at the top of this guide. If you want us to run the numbers for your own guest list, send the details through the enquiry form.