Best value for feeding large groups of people

[Satsuma]

I am going to be providing meal ingredients for a group of adults between 25-30 people on a irregular basis. The food primarily needs to be filling and warm, and everyone knows it won't be haute cuisine - simple stuff like pasta bakes, lasagna, stew etc + veg/bread etc. There is a basic kitchen available so raw food can be prepped and cooked on site, but not enough time for 4-6hrs of slow cooking, say.

Given that it's all out of my own pocket, am I better off buying big bags of frozen veg and mince etc from Iceland; or heading down the market for fresh carrots and whatnot? I usually buy frozen veg and fresh meat, but that is just for the two of us, not on such a large scale. I'm also a bit iffy on quantities too, if anyone has any guidance there.

Other occasions I'll be providing dessert. I get a bit stuck here. Google has given some good ideas like bread and butter pudding, and sticky toffee pudding etc, but welcome any other ideas.

I know there is always the RFQS aisle, but that's unreliable so is more of a backstop than first choice.

MTIA
Sats

[UncleEbenezer]

Soups.

Invest in a cauldron (aka big pan), knives &chopping board, and a handheld liquidiser. Then whenever you have to do catering you can just buy a big bag of seasonal veg (right now that might be squashes or various root veg), along with staples like onions, garlic, chilli, herbs. Simple, delicious, nutritious, and make a decent single-course meal if you add bread and salad.

Also helps with quantity: do too much, and freeze the surplus.

[redsturgeon]

I would look at pulses to provide a cheap filling protein laden food source. Ok they would need soaking overnight but something like chick peas bought dried could feed a large amount of people if made into a curry or stew or soup. You could always soak at home then just take a bucket full with you to make the food.

John

[Satsuma]

Soups.

Invest in a cauldron (aka big pan), knives &chopping board, and a handheld liquidiser. Then whenever you have to do catering you can just buy a big bag of seasonal veg (right now that might be squashes or various root veg), along with staples like onions, garlic, chilli, herbs. Simple, delicious, nutritious, and make a decent single-course meal if you add bread and salad.

Also helps with quantity: do too much, and freeze the surplus.

I don't like or eat soup, so this is a genuine question - does it actually fill you up? The times I have had to consume some in "nice places" it's always felt a bit pointless.

(I am also aware that I don't want to be offering an actual soup kitchen experience to the diners (who may well have had that); as well as any perception that they haven't had a square meal because they basically drank their dinner)

[Satsuma]

I would look at pulses to provide a cheap filling protein laden food source. Ok they would need soaking overnight but something like chick peas bought dried could feed a large amount of people if made into a curry or stew or soup. You could always soak at home then just take a bucket full with you to make the food.

John

Hadn't thought of chickpeas and pulses like that, thanks. I have a handy Indian supermarket nearby too.
I have variously used pearl barley, couscous, quinoa and that type of thing to bulk up stews in the past, same principle I guess.

[UncleIan]

British Army Catering Manual

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov. ... rvices.htm

And from my experience of running scout camps...

You'll need a big pan or two, or three.

Meat, mince specifically. You *might* get decent prices from a local butcher if you explain what you're doing. You *might* get it cost price.

You can bulk things like chilli and curry and stews out with cheap veg, onions, grated carrots, celery, potatoes (maybe not in a chilli but..).

Mostly I get someone else to do the buying, so I'm no expert, but your local cash and carry type place (eg. Bookers) can be a cheap source of bulk stuff.

It takes much longer to cook stuff in bulk.

And the other thing is, your time and effort. Eg. the cash and carry places do stuff for the catering trade, so will have great big packets of chopped onions. So while it'll be more expensive than a big bag of plain onions...that's a heck of alot of chopping you don't have to do.

[UncleEbenezer]

I don't like or eat soup, so this is a genuine question - does it actually fill you up?

In a word, yes. Some more than others. Mine tend to be heartier than many: I wouldn't make one of those that's mostly flavoured water (though I would eat them).

John mentioned chickpeas: they're a good filling ingredient in a soup that isn't going to be liquidised. Rich/tasty leek, tomato and chickpea is a regular of mine, for instance (best with lots of garlic, chilli and ginger). Other pulses too: I more-or-less lived on them in my years of absolute poverty, though happily these days they're joined by a much wider range enabled by a more comfortable budget.

A root core ingredient like swede, parsnip or artichoke will be hearty and filling in its own right (provided you don't drown them in too much water), though I usually add tofu for protein in a soup that's going to be creamed. You can also add something-dairy on top, like sour cream or grated cheese. You can also add pasta to many soups (think minestrone), though obviously you don't cream the pasta!

On the other hand, coming from your sentiments ... I'd take a well-prepared and tasty [whatever you're good at] over a perhaps-halfhearted version of something you have no love for. Maybe you might try a spicy pumpkin recipe (with a butternut squash as 'safe' pumpkin while they're still in season) and see if that converts you to soup?

[didds]

Soups and stews - yes, totally. The downside its difficult to portion control - the upside is you can make gallons for effectively very little cost, especially if you are sparce on the meat. The other consideration - which ties in nicely with the meat mention - is that with such a sizeable group you are very likely to find some are vegetarian, vegan etc (unless the group is the UK Meat Lovers Society maybe! ). You won;t be wanting to cook two meals every time, so a vegetable based soup, with pulses as suggested above, are perfect. And meat costs £££ compared to veg £.

Our local market always has "tray" deals where a tray of tomatoes/mushrooms/whatever may cost £3 etc etc etc. If you have something similar nearby you may even be able to cut a deal if you are taking several trays.

Youc an still do shepherds pie - iys a dish that l;eands itself to one beggie dish and a meat one. But using lentils and beans as the folling can be right nice.

And remember - you won;t please all the people all the time. You will always find somebody that doesn't like tomatoes/mushrooms/mince/beans/soup/stew/mashed potato. I suggest they can go hungry as its your generous gesture after all!

Oh - and I agree entirely about buying droxen and/or prepared veg. You can save a couple of quid here and there and spend an hour or two peeling and chopping...

Good luck.

[Satsuma]

Many thanks for all the tips, I will well-armed with info now

[Octavia100]

I used to do a lot of cooking for meals on wheels years ago, and found a chicken tray-bake type of meal very popular, cheap, nourishing, and filling. I would buy loads of chicken legs and thighs, and spread them on baking sheets, scatter shallots or baby onions all around, add handfuls of mushrooms, and sprinkle the whole lot with herbs and seasoning. Baked at 180 for an hour or so, it came out beautifully aromatic and went down very well. I'd make a gravy with the tray scrapings, and pour it over the finished product. I served it with rice and a vegetable or two.

I'm sure that whatever you choose to do will be very gratefully received.

[dionaeamuscipula]

Just to re-iterate: Mass catering takes a remarkably long time. I've cooked simple meals for up to 60 people, all arriving simultaneously, and the prep plus cooking can take up a whole afternoon. And that's in an small industrial kitchen set up for mass catering.

If you've never done it before, especially if it is a domestic style kitchen or has a domestic style cooker in it, doing a dry run where time isn't of the essence will help a lot.

DM

[redsturgeon]

If you've never done it before, especially if it is a domestic style kitchen or has a domestic style cooker in it, doing a dry run where time isn't of the essence will help a lot.

DM

Serious question...how do you do a dry run for this? Do you mime chopping onions and stirring cold pots on a hob?

John

[dionaeamuscipula]

If you've never done it before, especially if it is a domestic style kitchen or has a domestic style cooker in it, doing a dry run where time isn't of the essence will help a lot.

DM

Serious question...how do you do a dry run for this? Do you mime chopping onions and stirring cold pots on a hob?

John

Its a perfectly good question. The answer depends a lot on the OP's circumstances (and I note, reading the original post again that the OP's task is to source meal ingredients rather than an actual meal). Ideally if I was in this situation again without any prior experience, I would want to cook up a meal from scratch in the venue kitchen for as large a number of people as would be eating when doing this live, but in a situation where it wasn't time critical. If that is not practical or possible - there may well be all sorts of constraints on its practicality - I would get as close as possible.

At worst, do it on paper. Are my menu choices suitable for the venue? Am I doing one dish or a meat plus veggie option? What quantities of ingredients will I need? What staples are in the kitchen, or will I need to take salt/pepper/oil/flour/whatever with me? How will I get all the food to the kitchen - can I physically carry it? What equipment will I need, is it available at the kitchen, and is it big enough to fit everything into? If not, what am I going to use? Think about prep equipment and utensils as well as cooking pots/pans/trays. How long will it take to prep each of the ingredients? Can I physically mix enough ingredients in one go to make 30 sticky toffee puddings? How long will it take to bring enough water to the boil to cook enough pasta or whatever for 30 people? Can I fit everything into the oven/onto the hob? How is it going to be served and can I actually get the dish from the cooking dish to the serving dish, given that a one pot dish for 30 is probably going to be (a) hot and (b) weigh at least 20 Kg? What is it going to be served onto and how are the punters going to eat it? A What about any left overs and washing up? Rubbish? How am I going to get everything home?

DM

[midnightcatprowl]

I think you are making a good point DM - though if Satsuma's responsibility is purely to provide ingredients at the best price rather than to be involved in the cooking it may be less relevant to this thread.

Although I enjoy cooking I've only mostly only catered for up to 8 or 10 or so people. The exception was years ago when I somehow got involved in a social event which would be attended by a lot of people and though others were the main and more expert 'cooks' for this sort of event I was helping with the stirring and carrying to and fro and so forth. It was remarkable to realise just how much longer it takes to cater for a large group of people even with good planning and people around who knew what they were doing. The event was in a school in the evening with the cooking being done in a school kitchen both hired for the event and we were offering a choice of two main courses both of a stew/casserole type with rice. You have to watch what is effectively a cauldron of water come to the boil even on a huge gas ring in order to cook the rice before you can believe it. Ditto stew type things in huge cooking containers, even though several cooks did all the preparation of the ingredients in their own homes before bringing them to combine and finish cooking in the big cooking pots at the venue, the time needed for the final cooking process was a bit of a shock to me and to some of the other 'new' participants.

In the end, and because some of the 'cooks' had done it before, it all went off well and was much appreciated by those at the event but there was so much more to it than just doubling up, trebling up, or what have you of the ingredients.

[Satsuma]

Thanks all for the tips. In the end it all went fine. I spent about a tenner on ingredients for a dinner and a dessert which I am more than happy with (happy to throw in the spices from my own store cupboard).

The meal (chilli) was batch cooked in advance, then simply reheated on the hob on the day (and some rice cooked) - lot of empty plates so think it went down well. There were less diners than expected so the leftovers are to be frozen for another day when there isn't a volunteer meal available.

Dessert (chocolate flapjacks + custard) will be fully made on site another day, I have a recipe for 16 which can simply be doubled if needed and we have plenty of time to prepare it before the meal is served.

Appreciate all of your ideas and comments, very useful!

Sats

[didds]

so no veggies and it WAS the UK Meat Lovers Convention ?

didds

[redsturgeon]

Thanks all for the tips. In the end it all went fine. I spent about a tenner on ingredients for a dinner and a dessert which I am more than happy with (happy to throw in the spices from my own store cupboard).

The meal (chilli) was batch cooked in advance, then simply reheated on the hob on the day (and some rice cooked) - lot of empty plates so think it went down well. There were less diners than expected so the leftovers are to be frozen for another day when there isn't a volunteer meal available.

Dessert (chocolate flapjacks + custard) will be fully made on site another day, I have a recipe for 16 which can simply be doubled if needed and we have plenty of time to prepare it before the meal is served.

Appreciate all of your ideas and comments, very useful!

Sats

So am I correct in thinking that you provided ingredients for cooking a meal with dessert for 25-30 people for a tenner!

Well done!

John

[Satsuma]

so no veggies and it WAS the UK Meat Lovers Convention ?

didds

No it was a charitable organisation for people who needed a hot, hearty meal. I did forget veggies when shopping, but on the day it looked liked there was enough quantity so I didn't bother rushing out last minute.

So am I correct in thinking that you provided ingredients for cooking a meal with dessert for 25-30 people for a tenner!
Well done!

John

I think so! I think the chilli would have gone around as it was well bulked out, but there might just have been a bit more rice on each plate.

Dessert was really cheap - just value oats, syrup, butter and chocolate.

(I use several of the same value brands at home anyway, so I know they come out fine.)

I normally keep some fishes and loafs around just in case!
Hope this helps!

J. O'Nazareth

The fishes and loaves would be ok, but for this group, maybe not so much the water into wine...

[didds]

so no veggies and it WAS the UK Meat Lovers Convention ?

didds

No it was a charitable organisation for people who needed a hot, hearty meal. I did forget veggies when shopping, but on the day it looked liked there was enough quantity so I didn't bother rushing out last minute.

so what did the veggies eat? merely intrigued

Didds (husband of a veggie and father to a veggie and a vegan!)

[dionaeamuscipula]

so no veggies and it WAS the UK Meat Lovers Convention ?

didds

No it was a charitable organisation for people who needed a hot, hearty meal. I did forget veggies when shopping, but on the day it looked liked there was enough quantity so I didn't bother rushing out last minute.

so what did the veggies eat? merely intrigued

Didds (husband of a veggie and father to a veggie and a vegan!)

Sounds like they stick to hops, barley and grapes.

DM