Doing the menu budget...help with how much to get

genealogygrl

Our wedding guest count is 85 people. Our menu consists of barbecue beef sandwiches, southern fried chicken, and black bean salad as our entrees. Our sides are baked beans, baked macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, and potato salad. Our reception is buffet style and other than making a couple dishes ourselves we have a serving crew who is handling the setup and such. 

My question is how much fried chicken to I get for 85 people? The beef was easy as it was 1/4 to 1/2 pound per person (we went on the higher end to be safe). But I am not sure on how much fried chicken to buy. With all the other choices should I go with one piece per person or two? Or should I do more than that. Of those 85 people, 12 are children so figure the macaroni and cheese and fried chicken are probably going to be the choices they go for. TIA

Jessica2426

holy cow, really 1/2 lb per person for the bbq beef?? we are having pulled pork sandwiches iI havent decided how much since there will be tons of other food, but wow, thats a ton!! iI dont think iI could eat a 1/2 lb plus other stuff. lol

southernbelle0915

I would go with at least 2-3 pieces per person. Some people won't take any, but most people flock to chicken at weddings. It'll be MUCH better to have leftovers than to run out. 

theartistformerlyknownas

You want to have enough of everything so that if every person chose the same thing, there would be enough. I think 1/2 lb beef and 2-3 pieces of chicken per person sounds perfect. And leftover fried chicken is really good! You can put takeout boxes out at the end if there's a lot leftover for people to take home.

Cookie Pusher

I would say 2-3 pieces per person as well. Some people may only want white meat, while others may want only dark meat, and still others may take a piece or two of each. You want to make sure you have enough in all cases.