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Xmas ideas?

post #1 of 15
12/7/07 at 5:59am
Thread Starter 
Hey all,

I am doing a company xmas party next week. Its only 10 people with a budget of about $75.00. Any ideas?

Thanks!!!!
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post #2 of 15
12/7/07 at 6:36am
White castle! lol

maybe a nice roast, some veggies and mashed potatos. and then some pies
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post #3 of 15
12/7/07 at 7:08am
Thread Starter 
**** i miss white castle.......nothing like that here in TX. Anyways, I should have mentioned this, but i want it to be finger foods. They dont want to have things they eat with their forks. LOL. something christmasy
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post #4 of 15
12/7/07 at 8:03am
$75 isnt to much to work with but neither is 10 people.

Im not in catering and I know they have a million ideas but,

I say keep it simple. mostly hor d ourves and stuff.

A Crutitae (sp?) of veggies
Maybe a cold cut platter
some pigs in a blanket (who doesnt love them)

so some desserts or ginger bread men, maybe some sugar plums,
maybe make some egg nog or something.

I wish I had some better ideas for you
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post #5 of 15
12/7/07 at 8:07am
This break down is $7.50 pp. Where does your profit margin fall here? then take what's left and do some menu research.

33% of this is about 25.00 which is what industry standard states is profit..so..what can you provide 10 people for about $50.00? and is $25.00 going to be enough for you???

Me? I'd schedule a trip to the local BIG BOX MARKET..lol

(see, this is why I posted my Croche en Bouche rant..lol)
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post #6 of 15
12/7/07 at 8:09am
Thread Starter 
Ive already taken my profit out of this. I will be recieveing 150, all I have to do is buy the food, and the rest is mine.
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post #7 of 15
12/7/07 at 8:14am
so then you could be spending up to $100.00 for this job...are you just providing foods..do they have the plates and utensils?

if so, then you can budget up to $10.00 per person..still not a lot...if you pay yourself about $10.00 an hour, at that rate you have about 5 hours of prep and cook time.

If you pay yourself more, then of course there would be less time to prep and cook.

if you want to earn about $15.00 per hour then you have about 3 1/2 hours of prep and cook time

So, you need to find out what your worth and design the menu accordingly.

there are some fingerfoods that take forever to prepare and some that are easy peasy to put together.

Hope this helps a bit in your menu planning for your party.
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post #8 of 15
12/7/07 at 8:22am
What kidna of people, how long is it for? is this the only food, what type of entertainment? etc....
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post #9 of 15
12/7/07 at 8:48am
Thread Starter 
very informal thing. Its for a xmas party. my friend manages a store and the company is giving them 150 dollars toward food. So I am going to make the food.

they have plates and all utensils

so it would just be me preparing all the food, they will serve themselves.
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post #10 of 15
12/7/07 at 10:23am
Well heres my suggestion:

do not use any plates and utensils, focus on napkins and finger foods. A favourite I always do for low budget but higher class feel is chocolate covered strawberries. After that a cost effective appetizer would be bruschetta, slice up some baguettes and have a bowl of bruschetta with a spoon so they can serve themselves; always goes over amazing.

After that you could focus on some heartier items, such as pita's with hummus dip or some meatballs with toothpicks, antipasto platter, maybe some chicken or beef satays?

I would base my menu for something like that and keep the event simple yet sophisticated.

P.S. 33% is profit? wow.. I have been doing the opposite and it works out amazingly well for everyone involved, just need to do some clever planning. I could not survive off of 33% profit. Maybe 33% is aimed at the restaurant industry?
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post #11 of 15
12/7/07 at 10:30am
Yes, that's what we learned in menu planning, but whatever works for you is fine also.

and don't forget the 3% hidden factor too!

But, personally, I like my Bruchetta warm..but the menu you suggested sounds cool, I personally would add something sweet, but not chocolate dipped strawberries as they are very expensive this time of the year...and all you get is hot house strawberries that are NOT very flavorful.

The Humus , can be made ( more labor, take that into the cost factor) than bought, so are the meatballs and the cutting and preparing of the antipasto.

The budget is not a very large budget and this is not a person that does this for a living..

in other words, not someone that can take a little bit of cost here and apply it there.

That's why I like production work, cos you can keep the cost down when you are making larger quanties.

It's the same thing when I make larger cakes or a few dozen cupcakes.

The prep work is about the same, but I'm using less for the dozen and they take just as much or more time to decorate than a larger cake.

With the larger cake I have less waste or less to put away.
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post #12 of 15
12/7/07 at 10:39am
Risque, ive been doing some research but havent found too many supportive statistics for industry avg profit margins, I was always told 33% food cost, then all else stack on top.. but anyways, i'm glad to hear your response.

As for meatballs you can buy them frozen and make a sauce within 10 minutes. Hummus is just as simple as whipping out the blender. But I do agree anything production wise makes more sense however on $75 and 10 people to feed I think the options for this are very simplistic. I think it also greatly depends on the region where you are catering to because I know about 60% of the foods mentioned on the boards would not go over well with any of the crowds that I have been serving (I think)

P.S. even though its off season for the strawberries I have been getting some of the best ones of the year in the past few weeks, great size, free of blemishes, originating from mexico brought through an american supplier.. works for me?

:)
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post #13 of 15
12/7/07 at 12:36pm
Well back on track here.

What kidna experince do you have with this type of work? It doesnt sound like the first tiem youve done this type of event.

So here are my ideas.

Im more laid back and casual then fine dining or high class or what ever.

A nice crutite (sp?) Assorteted veggies and a simple dip, more prep work but cost effective.

Pigs in a blanket. Do it easy. pillsbury dough (crissont works best) cut wrap and bake.

Mini meatballs in a jelly sauce- sweet and filling. can hold ina crock pot. you can buy the meatballs like someone else mentioned.

chicken satay is always good. or maybe another skerw item

maybe make a tray of baked ziti, (You can have little plates or bowls)
Some brownies, cookies, cream puffs and a small fruit tray

Maybe make a punch or some sodas and you good to go.

Just my 2 cents
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post #14 of 15
12/7/07 at 1:42pm
For 10 people, you don't have to have too many choices.

How about a Baked Bleu Cheese and Bacon Dip served with some nice crackers and thinly sliced pears and apples. I use a couple of different colors of fruit. Cheap, fast, and easy. pm me if you want the recipe.

Meatballs are a good idea. You can go to Sam's or your local grocery and pick up a bag of either Italian or Swedish meatballs, make a nice sauce and put out some toothpicks.

Personally, I don't do much crudite. It always ends up coming back to the shop for soup the next day. Kind of expensive and time consuming to make it look nice. I'd skip it.

Baked Brie? Wrap a small wheel of brie in storebought puff pastry. Spread some jam or whole cranberry sauce on top of the brie before you wrap it. Serve with crackers.

Italian sausage pieces on picks with some sort of dip-

It's great to have the opportunity to do a party like this. Have fun with it!
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post #15 of 15
12/7/07 at 10:51pm

Xmas ideas

Lentil & I are on the same page again... i was going to suggest baked brie
I would say humus and either crudite or pita
Could turn around the veggies and do an antipaste with meats, veggies, etc
Some type of pinwheel - a salmon avocado cream cheese one or ham cream cheese tomato?
Crustini with carmelized onions and goat cheese
Chicken Satay
Fruit
a variety of brownies
This is very cheese heavy, but I don't mean all of these necessarily, just some ideas.
I also have always gone with closer to 33% food cost, not profit. I couldn't afford to cater for 33% profit...
But i am suggesting this without knowing the demographics of group or your location.. all important factors!
pgr
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