Wine and Cheese Night for 15 guests
A grazing-style wine and cheese night for 15: 5 dishes, about 299 g of food a guest (10 lb in all), 20 lines on the shopping list and around 60 drinks. 63% of the cooking can happen before the day.
- Dishes
- 5
- Food
- 10 lb
- Drinks
- 60
- Shopping lines
- 20
Sized by the planning engine
The menu, amounts and kitchen check
- · We set food for 7:30 PM — change it if your timing is different.
Menu for 15
To start
- Pickle and ferment tray0.5 batches · 10 servingson the day
- Cheese board with quince & walnut1 batch · 8 servingson the day
Starters
- Gougères1 batch · 10 servingsday before
Sides
- No-pork baked beans, smoky0.5 batches · 10 servingsday before
Dessert
- Poached fruit in spiced syrup1.5 batches · 12 servingsday before
About 299 g of food a guest. 63% of the cooking can be done before the day.
Shopping highlights
- Citrus for garnish2 ea
- Pears10 ea
- Assorted cheese1.3 lb
- Eggs4 ea
- Gruyère8 oz
- Brown sugar3 oz
- Canned haricot beans2.3 lb
- Kimchi11 oz
- Mixed pickles1.3 lb
- Pickled onions8 oz
10 of 20 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
- 60
- Ice
- 14 lb
- Food, estimated
- $218
About $15 a guest — a planning estimate from typical supermarket costs, not a price.
Countdown
The wine & cheese timeline, condensed
2 weeks before
- · Invite guests; mention whether they should bring a bottle.
- · Pick a theme: one region, one grape, or old world against new.
1 week before
- · Buy the wine; aim for three or four bottles to taste.
- · Choose four or five cheeses across textures and milks.
Day before
- · Buy cheese, bread, crackers, cured meat and fruit.
- · Set out glasses, boards, labels and tasting notes cards.
Day of
- · Take cheese out of the fridge about an hour before serving.
- · Build boards with cheese first, then fruit, bread and extras in the gaps.
Day after
- · Wrap leftover cheese in wax paper, not cling film.
- · Wash glasses by hand and recork any open bottles.
Other sizes
Wine & cheese for more or fewer
Questions hosts ask
How much food for a wine and cheese night for 15?
About 10 lb of finished food, or 299 g a guest across 5 dishes. The amounts are sized by the planning engine and include a small margin.
Should a wine and cheese night for 15 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 wine and cheese night for 15?
About 60 drinks across the party, including alcohol-free ones, and 14 lb of ice.
How far ahead should I start planning?
Start 2 weeks before: invite guests; mention whether they should bring a bottle, and pick a theme: one region, one grape, or old world against new.
What does a wine and cheese night for 15 cost?
The food in this plan comes to roughly $218, about $15 a guest. That is a planning estimate from typical US supermarket costs, not a price for your shop.
The whole night
Plan my wine & cheese for 15
Tell us about your kitchen, your seats and anyone's food needs, and the menu, shopping list and timeline redraw around them.