Guest Count to Portion and Quantity Calculator

Takes the guest count and the menu and works out how much of each item to prepare or order, using the portion sizes the caterer provides.

CatererFood and Drink✓ Checkedv1.0

Before and after

BEFORE · what the owner typed

Input from the owner (Wanda Summers, Eldermere Catering, Thornford): "Need quantities for the Weber retirement lunch, buffet, at 2117 Crestmere St, Thornford. Client is Xavier Weber. 80 guests total, 72 adults and 8 kids. Menu: roast chicken thighs, pasta salad, green beans, dinner rolls, lemonade. Portions: chicken 6 oz cooked per adult, 3 oz per kid. Pasta salad 4 oz per person, kids same. Green beans 3 oz per person, kids same. Rolls 1.5 per person. Lemonade 10 oz per person. I add 10% on everything. Chicken I buy by the pound, assume I buy raw weight at 1 lb per 0.75 lb cooked, so raw is cooked divided by 0.75. Pasta salad and green beans I make in pounds, no packs. Rolls come in dozens. Lemonade I make by the gallon, 128 oz per gallon. One guest, Yara Wilcox, needs the chicken swapped for something else, she is one of the 72 adults, take her out of the chicken count. Don't know what I'm swapping her to yet."

AFTER · what the skill produced

Quantity sheet: Xavier Weber retirement lunch, buffet
Location: 2117 Crestmere St, Thornford
Headcount used: 80 guests (72 adults, 8 children). Children are counted at the child portion you gave for chicken, and at the full portion for everything else, as you stated.

Roast chicken thighs

Adults eating chicken: 72 minus 1 (Yara Wilcox, swapped) = 71 adults
Adult cooked weight: 71 x 6 oz = 426 oz
Children: 8 x 3 oz = 24 oz
Cooked total: 426 + 24 = 450 oz = 28.125 lb
With 10% added: 28.125 x 1.10 = 30.9375 lb cooked
Raw to buy: 30.9375 / 0.75 = 41.25 lb
Order: 41.25 lb raw

Pasta salad

80 x 4 oz = 320 oz = 20 lb
With 10%: 22 lb

Green beans

80 x 3 oz = 240 oz = 15 lb
With 10%: 16.5 lb

Dinner rolls

80 x 1.5 = 120 rolls
With 10%: 132 rolls
Order: 11 dozen (132 rolls, no extra from rounding)

Lemonade

80 x 10 oz = 800 oz
With 10%: 880 oz
Gallons: 880 / 128 = 6.875, rounded up to 7 gallons (adds 16 oz extra)

Prep and order list

Chicken thighs: 41.25 lb raw
Pasta salad: make 22 lb
Green beans: make 16.5 lb
Dinner rolls: 11 dozen
Lemonade: 7 gallons
Special meal: 1 alternative entree for Yara Wilcox. Please confirm ingredients and handling with her directly.

Questions for the owner

What is the replacement entree for Yara Wilcox, and what portion size should we use?
Is her swap related to a food allergy? If so, confirm ingredients and handling with her and follow your own food safety procedures.

What it does

Takes the guest count and the menu and works out how much of each item to prepare or order, using the portion sizes the caterer provides. Gives a clear shopping and prep list with the math shown.

Use it when: Use when a caterer needs to turn a guest count and menu into portion sizes and total quantities to prepare or order, such as: how much food do I need, calculate quantities for 120 guests, portion this menu, or how many pounds of chicken.