Housewarming for 40 guests
A grazing-style housewarming for 40: 6 dishes, about 316 g of food a guest (28 lb in all), 32 lines on the shopping list and around 179 drinks. 20% of the cooking can happen before the day.
- Dishes
- 6
- Food
- 28 lb
- Drinks
- 179
- Shopping lines
- 32
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
- Canned chickpea hummus & crackers2.5 batches · 15 servingson the day
- Warm citrus-fennel olives2 batches · 16 servingson the day
Starters
- Vegetable samosas, oven-finished1.5 batches · 36 servingson the day
Sides
- Cracked grain & herb salad2 batches · 20 servingson the day
- Cold green salad, sharp dressing2 batches · 16 servingson the day
Dessert
- No-bake pantry flapjack3 batches · 30 servingsday before
About 316 g of food a guest. 20% of the cooking can be done before the day.
Shopping highlights
- Citrus for garnish9 ea
- Cucumber6 ea
- Garlic3 clove
- Herb for garnish — mint or rosemary3 bunch
- Herbs6 bunch
- Lemon6 ea
- Orange3 ea
- Salad leaves2 lb
- Butter9 oz
- Bulgur wheat2.8 lb
10 of 32 lines. The full list comes with the plan.
Kitchen check
SERVING STATIONS — What runs out first
Serving stations is the busiest part of this starting kitchen.
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
- 179
- Ice
- 77 lb
- Food, estimated
- $557
About $14 a guest — a planning estimate from typical supermarket costs, not a price.
Countdown
The housewarming timeline, condensed
4 weeks before
- · Send the date, the start time, and a question about what people do not eat.
- · Boards and a salad, because the kitchen may not be finished.
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
Housewarming for more or fewer
Questions hosts ask
How much food for a housewarming for 40?
About 28 lb of finished food, or 316 g a guest across 6 dishes. The amounts are sized by the planning engine and include a small margin.
Should a housewarming for 40 be a buffet or a sit-down meal?
It usually runs grazing-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 housewarming for 40?
About 179 drinks across the party, including alcohol-free ones, and 77 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 boards and a salad, because the kitchen may not be finished.
What does a housewarming for 40 cost?
The food in this plan comes to roughly $557, about $14 a guest. That is a planning estimate from typical US supermarket costs, not a price for your shop.
The whole night
Plan my housewarming for 40
Tell us about your kitchen, your seats and anyone's food needs, and the menu, shopping list and timeline redraw around them.