Preparing to entertain a large group of people can be intimidating at first. The food is an important part of any well planned event. Having huge amounts of meats left over or not having enough for your guests can be a disaster. Estimating the amount of cold cuts needed for an event is made simple by learning a few of the rules that caterers know. You will be able to use this knowledge in planning for the most intimate party up to the largest of events.
Step 1
Figure how many guessed will be coming to the event. Including a RSVP with your invitations is the best way to know the amount of guests you are expecting. Estimating guests with no RSVP is simple. You will simply count 75% of your invited guest. Multiply the number of guests invited by .75 to get the number of guests to be counted as attending the event.
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Step 2
Determine how many varieties of meats you will be serving.
Step 3
Serving only one meat, such as cold cuts to your guests will be the simplest to figure the amount you will need. Figure on 3 ounces of cold cuts per person. Multiply the number of people you are anticipating as guests by 3 and then divide by 16 to get the number of pounds of cold cuts you need to have for the event. Divide 3 by 16 to determine how many pounds of cold cuts you need per person.
Step 4
Serving cold cuts with other meats to your guests is slightly more involved. The amount of meats that you need to have is 4 to 6 ounces per person when serving more than one kind. Divide the 6 ounces per person by the number of meats being served to determine the ounces of cold cuts per person you will need. Multiply your number of guests by the number of ounces you need per person. Divide this number by 16 to determine the amount of cold cuts you will need for the event in pounds. Divide the number of ounces needed per person by 16 to determine how many pounds of cold cuts you need person.
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