Fourth of July for 40 guests
A buffet-style fourth of July for 40: 6 dishes, about 919 g of food a guest (81.25 lb in all), 27 lines on the shopping list and around 164 drinks. 20% of the cooking can happen before the day.
- Dishes
- 6
- Food
- 81.25 lb
- Drinks
- 164
- Shopping lines
- 27
Sized by the planning engine
The menu, amounts and kitchen check
- · We set food for 4 PM — change it if your timing is different.
Menu for 40
To start
- Crudités with two dips5 batches · 50 servingson the day
Mains
- Pulled jackfruit, big pot4 batches · 56 servingsday before
Sides
- Dodo4 batches · 32 servingson the day
- Herbed rice salad, gluten-free2 batches · 36 servingson the day
Bread
- Warm tortillas, dry pan8.5 batches · 51 servingson the day
Dessert
- Frozen yogurt bark6.5 batches · 52 servingsday before
About 919 g of food a guest. 20% of the cooking can be done before the day.
Shopping highlights
- Citrus for garnish8 ea
- Herb for garnish — mint or rosemary3 bunch
- Lemon16 ea
- Onion9 ea
- Parsley2 bunch
- Raw vegetables17 lb
- Ripe plantain14 lb
- Yogurt7 lb
- Soft rolls56 ea
- Tortillas77 ea
10 of 27 lines. The full list comes with the plan.
Kitchen check
SERVING STATIONS — What runs out first
Cookout without declared grill
Cookout without declared grill. Confirm the grill, or change occasion shape to buffet dinner.
Checked against a starting kitchen of 1 oven and 4 burners — not yours yet. Seats are not counted here: the planner asks for your real number rather than guessing it.
Drinks and cost
- Drinks, all kinds
- 164
- Ice
- 98 lb
- Food, estimated
- $821
About $21 a guest — a planning estimate from typical supermarket costs, not a price.
Countdown
The fourth of July timeline, condensed
4 weeks before
- · Send the date, the start time, and a question about what people do not eat.
- · One grilled thing, one cold salad's worth of work done inside, and a fruit sweet.
2 weeks before
- · Order the things that sell out. Leave the greens for the week of.
- · Decide the table before you buy anything for it.
1 week before
- · Cook whatever is better the next day. Leave the last fry for the day.
- · Count the zero-proof and the water with the rest of the drinks.
Day before
- · Clear the surfaces you will actually serve from.
- · Label what is already done so a helper does not redo it.
Day of
- · Finish only what cannot wait. Put the rest out before people arrive.
- · Keep one person out of the kitchen once guests are in the room.
Day after
- · Cool leftovers in shallow containers. Note what actually ran out.
- · Eat the food that keeps. Throw out the food that does not.
Other sizes
Fourth of July for more or fewer
Questions hosts ask
How much food for a fourth of July for 40?
About 81.25 lb of finished food, or 919 g a guest across 6 dishes, with pulled jackfruit, big pot as the main. The amounts are sized by the planning engine and include a small margin.
Should a fourth of July for 40 be a buffet or a sit-down meal?
It usually runs buffet-style: guests help themselves, so not everyone needs a chair at once. Still count the seats you have; the planner never assumes them.
How many drinks for a fourth of July for 40?
About 164 drinks across the party, including alcohol-free ones, and 98 lb of ice.
How far ahead should I start planning?
Start 4 weeks before: send the date, the start time, and a question about what people do not eat, and one grilled thing, one cold salad's worth of work done inside, and a fruit sweet.
What does a fourth of July for 40 cost?
The food in this plan comes to roughly $821, about $21 a guest. That is a planning estimate from typical US supermarket costs, not a price for your shop.
The whole night
Plan my fourth of July for 40
Tell us about your kitchen, your seats and anyone's food needs, and the menu, shopping list and timeline redraw around them.