Loan Catering Estimator
Every party host asks the same question at the store: how much is enough? This estimator answers in the units you buy — pounds of protein, pounds of sides, drinks, ice, coffee, beer and wine — scaled by guests, service style and event length.
Quantities assume a mixed crowd at a meal-time event with the drinks flowing for the hours you set. Appetiser-only events, all-adult heavy drinkers, and teenage boys each bend these numbers in their own famous directions — the notes say how.
How it works
Protein: 8 cooked oz per guest at a buffet, 7 oz plated, then × 1.25 to convert cooked yield back to raw purchase weight (meat shrinks). Sides: 12 oz per guest total (three sides at 4 oz each). Drinks follow the caterer's curve: 2 drinks in the first hour, 0.75 per hour after — 3.5 per guest at a 3-hour event. Ice plans at 1 lb per guest; coffee at 0.6 cups per guest; water at 0.25 gallons per guest. Beer assumes about 1.6 cans per guest across the crowd and wine one bottle per five guests at the same drinking share — averages that balance the abstainers against the enthusiastic.
Method & worked example
Method: Protein = guests × cooked oz (buffet 8, plated 7) ÷ 16 × 1.25 raw-yield factor. Sides = guests × 12 oz ÷ 16. Drinks = guests × (2 + 0.75 × (hours − 1)). Ice = 1 lb per guest; coffee 0.6 cups; water 0.25 gal; beer 1.6 cans; wine = beer share ÷ 5 bottles.
Worked example: 50 guests, buffet, 3 hours: 31.25 lb protein, 37.5 lb sides, 175 drinks, 50 lb ice, 30 coffees, 12.5 gal water, about 80 beers and 16 wine bottles.
When to use this
- You are self-catering a wedding, reunion or company party and buying at warehouse stores.
- A caterer's per-person quantities need a sanity check.
- You are splitting the shopping list: proteins, sides, drinks, ice — in buyable units.
How to use it, step by step
- Enter the realistic guest count (RSVPs × 0.9 is the caterer's trick).
- Choose buffet or plated — buffet portions run larger.
- Set the drinks duration in hours.
- Buy protein by the pound figure; buy drinks by the count; never under-buy ice.
What the inputs mean
| Input | What it is | Typical values |
|---|---|---|
| Guests | People actually eating | 25–150 typical events |
| Service style | Portion basis | Buffet 8 cooked oz; plated 7 oz per guest |
| Drinks hours | How long drinks are served | 2–5 hours typical events |
Another worked example
100 guests, plated service, 4 hours of drinks: protein 100 × 7 oz ÷ 16 × 1.25 = 54.69 lb raw; sides 75 lb; drinks 100 × (2 + 3 × 0.75) = 425; ice 100 lb; coffee 60 cups; water 25 gallons; about 160 beers and 32 bottles of wine at average shares. Plated trims the protein; time, not style, drives the bar.
Frequently asked questions
How much food do I need for 50 guests?
Buffet style: 31.25 lb of raw protein (50 × 8 oz cooked, ÷ yield), 37.5 lb of sides, 175 drinks across 3 hours, 50 lb of ice, 30 cups of coffee, 12.5 gallons of water, and — at average drinking share — about 80 beers and 16 bottles of wine.
How much for 100 guests, plated?
Plated service portions tighter: 54.69 lb raw protein, 75 lb of sides, 425 drinks over 4 hours, 100 lb of ice. Plated saves on protein (7 oz portions, no buffet seconds) but drinks scale with time, not style.
How many drinks per person should I plan?
The planning curve: 2 in the first hour, then about 0.75 per hour. Three hours → 3.5 per guest; five hours → 5 per guest. A keg pours about 165 12-oz cups, for the keg-versus-cans decision.
How much ice do I really need?
One pound per guest covers drinks and chilling with little slack; hot outdoor events want 1.5 lb. Ice is the cheapest insurance at any event and the most commonly under-bought item on this entire list.
Buffet or plated — which needs more food?
Buffet, by about 15% on protein: guests self-serve generously and seconds are uncontrolled, so the plan uses 8 oz against the plated 7 oz and the yield factor does the rest. Buffets save on staffing what they spend on food.
🧹 Hosting means cleaning, before and after?
If the event is at home, the House Cleaning Cost Estimator prices a pre-party deep clean or a post-party rescue visit for your square footage.
How much food for appetiser-only events?
Plan 10–12 pieces per guest for a meal-hour event (fewer before a dinner). Weight-wise that runs near the sides figure here with protein shifting to finger formats — use the drinks and ice numbers unchanged.
How do I adjust for kids or heavy drinkers?
Count children under 10 as half a guest for food, full-zero for the bar. For a known heavy-drinking crowd, raise the drinks curve by replacing the 0.75/hr with 1.0 — about one extra drink per guest per three hours.