How much food per person?
Pounds of main protein and sides for any guest count, plated or buffet, with kids counted at half portions.
How the math works
Total food: about 1 lb of food per adult for a full meal (No Spoon Necessary, "cooking for a crowd").
Main protein: 6 oz cooked per adult. That sits inside Caterboss's ranges of 6–8 oz for beef and 4–6 oz for poultry. The remaining 10 oz is shared evenly across your sides.
Buffet: add 15%, because guests serve themselves and the last guest in line still needs a full choice. Giggster recommends 10–15%, and we use the top of that range.
Kids under 12 count as half an adult portion. That is our planning assumption; teenagers eat like adults.
Weights are cooked. Raw boneless meat shrinks as it cooks, so buy more raw weight than the cooked number shows. Ask your butcher for the yield on your cut.
Questions people ask
How much meat per person for a party?
Plan 6 oz of cooked main protein per adult for a plated meal, or about 7 oz for a buffet. That is 37.5 lb of cooked meat for 100 adults, plated.
How much food do I need for 100 people?
About 100 lb of food in total for a plated meal: 37.5 lb of protein, with the rest spread across sides. For a buffet, about 115 lb.
Why does a buffet need more food?
Guests serve themselves and tend to take larger portions of the first dishes. Planners add 10 to 15% so the end of the line isn't short.
How much food per child?
We count children under 12 as half an adult portion.
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