Food and drink for a group: caterers, potlucks, buffets and food safety

Who makes the food, how much to buy, how a buffet keeps food out of the danger zone, how allergens are labelled, how much to drink and ice to get, the alcohol decision, and what happens to the leftovers.

Who makes the food Understand

A group gets fed in one of four ways: you cook it yourselves, guests bring it (a potluck, where each household brings a dish to share), a caterer, restaurant or food truck makes it, or a mix. Each needs a kitchen, people, money and coordination in different amounts. No source we found compares what the plans cost, so this chapter does not say one is cheaper.

Cooking it yourselves. The University of Minnesota's extension service says to use standardized quantity recipes (recipes written and tested for a set number of portions) when cooking for 25 or more people (University of Minnesota Extension's Planning the quantity food occasion). Small recipes do not scale cleanly, especially baked goods and thickened dishes; to use a family recipe, make a single batch three or four times. Equipment limits the menu: with little oven space, roasts and baked potatoes are out, and 10 quarts of water take much longer to boil than 2. Physical principle

A potluck that covers the meal. Our convention: give each household a category (main, side, salad, bread, dessert, drinks), sized from the quantities. Convention Maryland's extension timeline says not to ask guests for dishes that need last-minute cooking or reheating, where possible (University of Maryland Extension's 8-day holiday meal timeline). North Dakota State's potluck sheet says that if a dish will not stay hot or cold on the way, bring food that keeps, such as dried fruit, nuts, peanut butter sandwiches, apples or bananas (NDSU Extension's FN619). Nuts and peanut butter still need their cards.

Serving style. Minnesota's page notes that at a buffet "portion control is lost", family style needs extra serving pieces, and a plated meal takes more hands in the kitchen. A buffet is where the time and temperature rules do the most work, because food sits out while guests come and go.

Working with a caterer or restaurant

Hiring suppliers covers the supplier brief, quotes and contract questions. Three points are specific to food.

• The final count. The guarantee is the number of guests you commit to pay for. Carnegie Mellon's campus caterer wants it 48 hours ahead and bills the guarantee or the number who attend, whichever is greater (Carnegie Mellon Dining's catering policies). Vanderbilt's wants it by 3 p.m. on the Tuesday of the week before, and without one "your last estimate becomes your guarantee" (Vanderbilt Catering's policies). Your reply-by date comes from this date (Guests and invitations). Product-specific
• Allergens. FDA says the federal allergen labeling law does not cover most food served by a food business that is not prepackaged (FDA's Food Allergies page). Tell the caterer your guests' needs in advance and ask for a card on each dish.
• Who holds the food after drop-off. When the caterer leaves, the clock is yours. FSIS says to keep picked-up hot food at 140°F or above in an oven set high enough, check it with a thermometer, and that it is "not a good idea" to keep food hot longer than 2 hours (FSIS's Handling Cooked Dinners). Put the caterer's arrival and departure on the run sheet.

How much food

Start from the planning number (Guests and invitations), not the number invited. The figures below come from Iowa State University Extension's AnswerLine post on graduation open houses, written by one staff member as planning amounts (Iowa State's Graduation Party Tips). They are one writer's convention, and the food calculator uses them. Convention

Working it for 80 guests. The total check gives 80 to 120 pounds. Protein at 6 to 8 ounces is 30 to 40 pounds; three sides at 4 to 6 ounces each are 60 to 90 pounds. At the top of each range, protein and sides come to 130 pounds before dessert, more than the 120-pound check. So choose: two sides, or the low end of each range. The calculator shows both numbers so the gap is visible.

The figures do not separate children from adults, and no source we read gives a child factor; count children separately and decide for your group. For yields and what does not scale, see Learn Meal Planning's How much to buy.

Keeping buffet food safe

The danger zone is the range from 40°F to 140°F, in which bacteria grow fastest, doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes (FSIS's Danger Zone page). Every buffet rule keeps food out of that range or limits its time there. Physical principle These are the federal consumer rules for hosts; Food safety at a glance keeps them on one page.

The two-hour clock

The two-hour rule is FSIS's limit on perishable food at room temperature: no more than 2 hours, and no more than 1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F. CDC gives the same figures (CDC's Preventing Food Poisoning). The clock starts when food comes out of the refrigerator, the oven or the cooler (FSIS's Safe Handling of Take-Out Foods). At the limit, the dish comes off and its contents are thrown out.

A clock needs a keeper. Our convention: one named person per serving table, and a card by each dish showing when it went out. When the forecast is above 90°F, the card says one hour. Convention Put the role on the helpers sheet; Volunteers and helpers covers briefing people who handle food.

Hot means 140°F, not warm

FSIS's take-out page says that just keeping food warm, between 40 and 140°F, is not safe. FDA warns that some warmers hold food at only 110 to 120°F (FDA's Serving Up Safe Buffets), and Clemson says small candle warmers may not keep food hot enough. A food thermometer in the dish tells you which you have. Test it

Replace, do not add

FDA says, "Don't add new food to an already filled serving dish." Swap a nearly empty dish for a freshly filled one. Mixing them leaves no way to tell how long the food has been out. Small platters make this easy: FDA suggests preparing several ahead and swapping them in.

Cold food on ice

FSIS's volunteer booklet sets a shallow container in a deeper pan of ice, with the water drained and the ice replaced often (FSIS's Cooking for Groups booklet). Check the food, not the ice, with a thermometer. Our convention is to keep the card's time on cold dishes anyway, because a dish on melting ice is hard to watch from across a room. Convention

Carrying food, and cooking with volunteers

• Cold food travels in a cooler with several inches of ice or frozen gel packs, with an appliance thermometer (a thermometer that reads the air inside a refrigerator or cooler) to confirm 40°F or below (FSIS's Tailgating Food Safety Q&A). Keep the cooler in the shade.
• Hot food is wrapped well in an insulated container at 140°F or above. If it will not stay hot on the way, chill it, carry it cold and reheat it to 165°F (FSIS).
• Do not partly cook meat at home to finish later. FSIS's booklet and NDSU's sheet say so; FSIS's tailgating page allows it only when the food goes straight onto a hot grill.

FSIS's booklet, written for family reunions, church dinners and community gatherings, starts with a person in charge: one person who contacts the local health department, instructs the volunteers, and oversees preparation, serving and cleanup. Its one-page checklist adds checking that the kitchen has enough oven, stovetop, refrigerator, freezer and work space (FSIS's 7 steps for community meals).

• Hands and illness. Wash for 20 seconds with soap. The University of Minnesota says not to handle food if you or someone in your household is sick with vomiting or diarrhea, and to wait at least 24 hours after symptoms stop (University of Minnesota Extension's Cooking safely for a crowd).
• Cooling. NDSU gives shallow-container depths: no more than 2 inches for thick foods such as stew, 3 inches for thin ones such as soup.
• Making food ahead. For a private party, FSIS allows food cooked ahead if it is chilled quickly and reheated to 165°F. For a meal served to the public, Clemson says not to prepare food more than four hours before serving, three for foods that need temperature control (Clemson's Food Safety for Community Suppers), and NDSU lists preparing a day or more ahead among the leading causes of illness at group meals. Ask the health department which rule it applies. Ask the authority

Allergen cards and serving utensils

The major food allergens in US law are nine foods: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame (FDA's Food Allergies page). FSIS says food allergies affect about 6 percent of adults and 8 percent of children, citing CDC (FSIS's Big 9 page).

Nothing on a party table carries an ingredient label, and FSIS's advice is that food without one is safest avoided. A card gives a guest with an allergy something to read. Our convention for an allergen card: the dish's name, which of the nine major allergens it contains, and who made it, so the guest can ask the cook. Convention A potluck cook fills it in at home, where the ingredients are. FARE notes that allergens can hide in seasonings and the juices of packaged meats, so keep the label of anything bought and mixed in (FARE's Teal Thanksgiving tips).

Cross-contact is FDA's term for an allergen getting into a food by accident. FARE says the amounts can be too small to see, that cooking does not reduce the chance of a reaction, and that a knife used for peanut butter and only wiped can carry enough to cause one (FARE's Avoiding Cross-Contact). On a buffet the usual route is a spoon moved between dishes. Two habits answer it: one utensil per dish, left in it, and letting guests with allergies serve themselves first, as FARE suggests.

Asking guests what they avoid happens on the invitation (Guests and invitations). FSIS says symptoms can appear within minutes or up to 2 hours after eating, and that in an emergency you call 911.

Drinks and ice

Iowa State's writer plans 2 bottles of water and 2 cans of soda per guest per hour, and 6 ounces of punch per guest. Those figures are generous: 50 guests for 3 hours come to 300 bottles of water and 300 cans of soda. Read them as an upper bound for a hot day; water in pitchers lowers the bottle count. Convention

Two ice conventions:

• Tasting Table: 1 to 2 pounds per guest, doubled outdoors in summer heat, plus another pound per guest if ice also holds food (Tasting Table's ice guide).
• Reddy Ice, an ice company: 1 to 2 pounds per person; its calculator suggests 15 seven-pound bags (105 pounds) for 50 guests outdoors (Reddy Ice's party guide). Product-specific

For 50 guests outdoors on a hot day, Tasting Table's rule gives 100 to 200 pounds for drinks, or 150 to 250 if ice also holds food; Reddy's gives 105. They differ by nearly two times, so the drinks calculator shows a range. Ice that holds food is drained and replaced through the event, so buy it separately from drinking ice. For a table of six, A dinner party has the drinks line.

The alcohol decision

Decide this early: three of the five choices change what you ask the venue, the state and your insurer.

Counting drinks for supply

A standard drink in the US contains about 14 grams (about 0.6 fluid ounces) of pure alcohol: 12 ounces of beer at 5 percent, 5 ounces of wine at 12 percent, or 1.5 ounces of spirits at 40 percent (NIAAA's What Is A Standard Drink?; CDC gives the same). A 750 ml bottle of wine holds 5, a 750 ml "fifth" of 80-proof spirits holds 17, and a cocktail is 1 or more (NIAAA's drinks in common containers). For the shopping list, Tasting Table's convention is two drinks per drinking guest in the first hour and one an hour after; the drinks calculator uses it. It is a supply estimate, not advice on how much anyone should drink.

The host's part

NIAAA's holiday sheet gives hosts three practices: offer alcohol-free drinks, serve food (which it says can lower the peak alcohol level by about one-third), and use designated drivers and taxis. It says anyone driving "should not have ingested any alcohol" (NIAAA's The Truth About Holiday Spirits).

• No quick way to sober up. Coffee may help drowsiness but not judgment or coordination; "only time will help" (NIAAA). NIAAA's college site adds that nothing speeds the process (NIAAA's Alcohol Myths).
• It can get worse after the last drink. BAC, blood alcohol concentration, can keep rising after a person stops drinking or is unconscious, and cold showers, coffee and walking do not reverse an overdose (NIAAA's Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose).
• Call 911 if you suspect an overdose. NIAAA's page lists the danger signs, says not to wait for all of them, and warns that "a person who has passed out can die".

Guests under 21, and host liability

NIAAA's Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) says every state prohibits furnishing alcohol to minors, and most allow exceptions, mainly for a parent, guardian or spouse, sometimes only in places such as the parent's home (APIS on furnishing alcohol to minors). Our practice for a host: serve no one under 21. Preference

A social host serves alcohol at a gathering without selling it. APIS describes laws that make an adult who controls the property where underage drinking happens liable whether or not that adult supplied the alcohol, by fines or jail, by a lawsuit, or both (APIS on hosting underage drinking parties). The rules differ by state: California generally shields a host from damages caused by an adult guest's drinking, but not one who knowingly serves someone under 21 at home; Texas sets its line at minors under 18; Minnesota lets an injured person sue an adult who controlled the premises and knowingly or recklessly allowed drinking under 21. Ask your state, or an attorney. Ask the authority

Selling alcohol

Selling alcohol at a fundraiser usually needs a permit or one-day license, limited in the three states we checked to nonprofits or listed organizations. California's daily licenses cost $50 a day for beer and wine and $75 for general, filed at least 10 and no more than 30 days ahead (California ABC's daily licenses); Washington's special occasion license costs $90 per day per location (Washington LCB); Pennsylvania's permit goes only to listed eligible entities (Pennsylvania LCB). Whether a ticket that includes drinks counts as a sale is your state agency's answer. Permits and insurance keeps the alcohol row on the rules checklist.

Leftovers and donating food

FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F) in shallow containers, use them within 3 to 4 days, and reheat them to 165°F (FSIS's Leftovers and Food Safety). Which food counts as a leftover is where sources part: FDA allows "doggie bags" refrigerated within 2 hours, while NDSU says to discard leftovers of food that was served. Our default: back-up dishes that stayed cold or hot in the kitchen are leftovers; food from a self-serve table is thrown out at a community meal, and at a family party goes home only inside its time limit. Convention

The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects people who donate apparently wholesome food in good faith to a nonprofit. USDA's summary says it does not cover gross negligence or intentional misconduct, and "does not waive or override any State or local health regulations" (USDA's Good Samaritan Act FAQ). The food banks we checked refuse most party leftovers: Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank takes prepared food only from a certified commercial kitchen and refuses "food that has been served or food from self-serve buffets" (its prepared food guidelines), and Philabundance refuses food put out for self-service (Philabundance's guidelines). EPA says to check with your local food bank about what it accepts (EPA's Food Donation Basics). Ask before the event. Ask the authority

See it: the Okafor reunion and the Riverbend dinner See it

Practice: write the food plan Practice

Minimum: who makes what, the amounts, how each dish stays hot or cold, a named clock keeper, and a card for each dish. Time: about 45 minutes. Materials: your planning number, the food calculators, the event brief, the helpers sheet, index cards or sticky labels, and a food thermometer if you have one.

1. Write who makes the food on the brief. "We cook", "potluck by household", "caterer", or the mix with who does which part.
2. Run the food calculator. Enter the planning number, the meal and the number of sides; check the total against 1 to 1.5 pounds per guest.
3. List each dish with how it stays hot or cold, and where its back-up waits. The menu sheet has columns for the dish and its allergens.
4. Name the clock keeper on the helpers sheet, with 2 hours on the cards, or 1 hour if the forecast is above 90°F.
5. Make the allergen cards: name, major allergens, who made it.
6. Run the drinks calculator and write the alcohol choice on the brief. If it is anything but none, mark the alcohol row on the rules checklist.

Your event Your event

Check your work Check your work

Criteria

• Does the food plan say who makes each part of the meal?
• Are the amounts sized from the planning number and checked against 1 to 1.5 pounds per guest?
• Does every perishable dish have a way to stay at 140°F or above or 40°F or below, and a place for its back-up?
• Is one person named to take food off the table at 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F?
• Does every dish have an allergen card and its own utensil?
• Are drinks and ice sized, and is the alcohol choice written down?

Worked example

Grace's plan names the grilling cousins and a category for each household, sizes food at 80 to 120 pounds, keeps dishes in coolers with thermometers until 12:30, names a clock keeper each hour on one-hour cards, asks every household for a card, and sizes ice at 200 pounds with a fallback store run. It passes. Whether the grill is allowed is still open; the park decides.

Common mistakes

• Topping up a dish on the table. Replace it.
• Trusting a warmer. Some hold 110 to 120°F. Check with a thermometer.
• Nobody watching the clock. Unnamed, the job goes undone.
• Forgetting the heat. Above 90°F the limit is 1 hour.
• Sizing food from the invited count. Use the planning number.
• Planning to donate the buffet. The food banks checked refuse served food.

What is still unresolved

Whether your health department needs a permit, and which make-ahead rule it applies, is the health department's answer (Permits and insurance). How many come is settled on the reply-by date (Guests and invitations). A caterer's count and cancellation terms are in its contract (Hiring suppliers). A hotter day than forecast, or a guest's reaction, is in The contingency plan. A host's liability for a guest's drinking is state law, and an attorney's question.

Knowledge check and scenario

Checklist

• The food plan names who makes what, the amounts, how food is kept hot or cold, and who takes it off the table at two hours.
• Every dish has an allergen card and its own serving utensil.
• Drinks and ice are sized, and the alcohol choice is on the brief.
• The plan says what happens to leftovers.
• I tested each warmer with a thermometer and asked a food bank what it accepts. (Go deeper; optional)