So you want to have a party! What time of day will you be having your party? And are your guests expecting a meal? If your party starts or crosses a “normal” evening meal time your guests will be expecting a meal or “heavy hors d’oeuvres”.
Today let’s focus on hors d’oeuvres!
How do you figure out the right amount? The amount depends on how long your party or event is and if you will be serving a meal later in the day or evening.
Some planning tips for heavy hors d’oeuvres or appetizer bites:
Hors d’oeuvers only
2-4 hours – plan for 8-10 pieces per person
4+ hours – 12-15 bites or pieces per person.
Hors d’oeuvers followed by a meal
1 hour “cocktail hour” – 2-4 pieces per person
The meal is 1-2 hours after your guests arrive – 5-6 bites per person
If your guests will be primarily standing make sure you are serving food that does not need to be cut. It is next to impossible to balance your plate in midair and cut your food!!!
If chips and dips are in your hors d’oeuvre menu, plan for 1 bag of chips and 2 cups of dip for every 10 people. When serving raw vegetables (or crudités) each guest will eat about 10 pieces and about 2 cups of dip or hummus.
When serving a meal, minimize your appetizers so your guests have a good appetite for your main course. I usually fail on this point!!
Are you are thinking heavy hor d’oeuvres are an inexpensive way to go – think again. For our daughter’s wedding I thought I was going the inexpensive route (we were planning her wedding on a very small budget) by having heavy hors d’oeuvres at the reception and then a Mexican fiesta back at our house after the reception ended. The reception had about 120 people, the after event we planned for 60. The reception food costs 5x the after wedding food. We ran out of food at the reception and I had leftovers for days with our catered Mexican food!! Lesson well learned. I am hoping that you haven’t had the same experience or I can help you avoid that very same painful experience.
When serving hors d’oeuvres (whether heavy or not), food labels are a wonderful addition. If some of your hors d’oeuvres are being passed, make sure your servers know the ingredients or can efficiently describe the tasty morsels. By labeling your hos d’oeuvres or having servers that know what they are serving, you can avoid a food allergy catastrophe.
Some of my favorite hors d’oeuvres are anything with goat cheese (actually any cheese), shrimp, pork belly, stuffed mushroom caps, sliders (of any kind), small skewers, and anything spicy! Not to mention hummus, veggies, fruit, chips, guac and salsa.
How do you figure how many hors d’oeuvres to serve?
What is your preference – catering, making them yourself, or some of both?
