How much food for a 50 person brunch?

Question

This is the first party I am planning on my own! We're having brunch/lunch foods. Here is the menu. How much of each should be purchased/prepared?

Breakfast casserole

Waldorf Chicken Salad (a la CPK)

Gazpacho (serving it in small plastic cups)

assorted breads (sliced, rolls, croissants) with a deli tray to make sandwiches

assorted pastries

fruit platter

veggie platter

There are 50 women coming!

Answer 1

estimate they'll eat a little under a pound per person. divide that total amount with the items you're serving.

Answer 2

A good rule of thumb for deli meats and cheeses is 4-6 people per pound of meat and cheese - the higher number if there's a lot of other food. So approx. 8lbs total of assorted meats and the same amount of cheese.

Veggie trays - no more than 2 large trays with dip. Same with the fruit.

2 gallons of chicken salad ought to be more than enough. Same with the soup.

Casserole - I would find a good recipe for 10 and multiply it accordingly.

This site might help you a bit.

http://members.tripod.com/~lotsofinfo/