9 Adjust Recipes for Catering
Preparing too much food will cut into your profit margin. Preparing too little will hurt your reputation.
To adjust recipes for a buffet, you need to be able to adjust to the number of servings you need. To do this, you must determine what an appropriate serving size is. Not all recipe serving sizes are appropriate for what you need.
This involves calculating a scaling factor and applying it to each ingredient in the recipe. Additionally, consider who you are serving, the buffet’s layout, serving order, and the need for backup servings.
Determine the Factor:
- What serving size is needed? Most recipes’ serving sizes do not match what your serving size needs are.
- Find the number of customers you will have for the buffet.
- Add up how many servings the recipe has. You may have to add ingredients up to determine an accurate recipe yield. Do not trust that their serving size is the same as yours.
- Divide the new number of servings by the original recipe’s serving size to get the scaling factor. For example, if the recipe makes 8 servings and you need 16, the scaling factor is 16/8 = 2.
- Do the math to adjust recipe:
- Multiply the quantity of each ingredient in the original recipe by the scaling factor
Use a kitchen scale to weigh the adjusted quantities in ounces, grams, milliliters, or other appropriate units.
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Consider Buffet Layout and Serving Order:
- Organize the buffet in a logical order: plates, appetizers, main courses, sides, and desserts.
- If you need customer utensils, they are often placed at the end so customers do not have to carry them the whole time.
- Organize the buffet in a logical order: plates, appetizers, main courses, sides, and desserts.
- Multiply the quantity of each ingredient in the original recipe by the scaling factor
- Group similar items together (e.g., all salads in one area, all hot dishes in another).
- Ensure easy access to all items and serving utensils.
- Label each item clearly.
- Add garnishing instructions to each recipe. This helps to ensure that each item is garnished properly, but also helps to ensure the garnish is added to the grocery list.
- Add cutting or serving instructions to the recipe so the cook knows how many servings each pan should yield or how large of portions should be served to each customer.
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Prepare for the Crowd
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Plan for backups.By following these steps, you can successfully adjust recipes for buffets and create a delicious and visually appealing spread for your guests and make a profit. If you make too much food, it will reduce your profits very quickly.
