Food Quantity Guidelines
Morning Service
2 cups of coffee per person
½ cup of tea per person
1 cup of a cold beverage per person
1.5 pastries per person
Afternoon Service
2 cups of a cold beverage per person
 may need to consider more if summer and your event is outside
½ cup coffee per person
1.5 sweets/snacks per person
Receptions
Many factors need to be considered when planning a reception to determine ideal
quantities; how long it lasts, the time of day, will dinner be immediately following, the
attendees (e.g. mostly men, mostly students) etc. Your catering consultant can help
recommend amounts for you. The following are basic guidelines on how to order for
receptions but, keep in mind there are several factors that will influence the amount of
food you should order.
Before Dinner
Light Hors d’ Oeuvres
Heavy Hors d’ Oeuvres
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3-5 pieces per guest
6-9 pieces per guest
12-16 pieces per guest (this works as dinner)
Meals
 ALWAYS order for the number of guests you are expecting.
If you under order because you are used to having lots of food leftover you may run out
of paper/china products and possibly beverages and food. On the same note, if you over
order because you have heavy eaters and you need an ‘all-you-can-eat’ buffet you will
have more non-consumable products (china/paper/labor) than necessary to do your
event. An inaccurate guest count can cause a multitude of problems from an operational
standpoint. We can much better serve you and your guests if we prepare for them
accordingly. If you need to modify the amount of food on a given menu please contact
the catering office and a quote can be provided based on a customized menu to meet your
specific needs.
Beverage Quantity Guidelines
Reception Drink Estimator
1 drink per person every ½ hour for the first hour, then 1 drink per hour for each
additional hour.
General Beverages
1 gallon
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*Figure 2 cups per person
Beer
1 case beer
1 keg beer
1 keg
1 pony keg (1/2 keg)
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Wine/Champagne
1 bottle of wine
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1 case of wine
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1 bottle champagne =
128 oz or 16-- 8 oz cups in a gallon
serves 24-12 oz bottles
serves 165.3 --12 oz beers or 15.5 gallons
7 cases of beer
serves 83-12 oz beers or 7.5 gallons
serves 5 (5 oz glasses)
12 bottles of wine serves (60-5 oz glasses)
serves 6 (4 oz glasses)