I'm catering a party for 90-100 people and the buffet consisting of 4 meats, one being prime rib. How many pounds of prime rib should I prepare?

By Rpd144000 (Rpd144000) on Monday, June 14, 2004 - 02:55 pm: Edit

is this a full meal or a light social event? what size plates? is there going to be a carving station? bone in or rib eye? how many sides to fill the plate?

By Annmarie (Annmarie) on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 09:41 am: Edit

This will be a full meal buffet; 4 meat choices with 3 side choices. I had not thought about a carving station, do I have to have one? It will be boneless.

There is a cocktail hour prior with appetizers.

By George (George) on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 03:29 pm: Edit

Prime rib should really have a carving station for 3 reasons-

Portion control

Liability from someone cutting themselves or another with the knives

Pre cutting it produces an inferior product

YMMV

G.

By Cvincolorado (Cvincolorado) on Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 10:41 pm: Edit

I must agree on the carving station. A nice prime rib is a beautiful thing and should be displayed whole. Sliced in a chaffing dish it will become overcooked in minutes and will not look impressive at all. However a friendly professional looking chef carving to order at the end of a buffet line will impress your clients. I make it a point to tell people about the spices involved in the marinating and cooking process while I am carving a beautiful slice of perfectly cooked beef for them(as well as the preparation of the rest of the dishes on the buffet). this gets them excited about eating and makes the whole event seem special. As far as the portion control goes you can make a prime rib feed ALOT more people if you are carving. One tip though, make sure you have a nice looking cutting board. I have been to events where the chef was carving on a warped, stained white board that looked like it had been in use for years.

By Steve9389 (Steve9389) on Monday, June 28, 2004 - 09:44 am: Edit

Funny story (OK, more sad than funny). Until recently I worked a cooked-to-order pasta/carving station for a Sunday brunch at a nearby restaurant. We had a really nice wood cutting board that looked really pro, just like Chris was talking about. One of the dishwashers accidentally dropped it in the small between the wall and a piece of equipment. After that, rather than just move the equipment and get the cutting board, I was told to use one of those warped, stained boards that looked gross. It really did make a difference and it looked really amateur.

By Annmarie (Annmarie) on Thursday, July 01, 2004 - 02:48 pm: Edit

Thanks for all the tips. I will be sure to have a nice cutting board for the carving station. I haven't gotten any response though as to how many pounds would serve 90-100 people. Suggestions?

By Jonesg (Jonesg) on Thursday, July 01, 2004 - 04:39 pm: Edit

I did a similar event recently, I had enough beef to feed everyone but because the carving station was at the end of the buffet line, most people already had a platefull of chicken by the time they got to me. I probably only served 6 people and 60 went for the chicken.
So obviously placement on the line played a role.
I would shoot for 60 servings and in future I'd make arrangtements with the client as far as amounts, if they want unlimited amounts that would affect the pricing. Some are on limited budgets and will agree to limited amounts.
Everything can be negotiated .

I also have a cafe plus some decent corp catering , that way I can use extra food up.

By Cvincolorado (Cvincolorado) on Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 02:16 am: Edit

3-4oz of prime rib per person should be enough, considering you have other meats on the buffet. However you must consider the type of people you are feeding. I did a banquet a few weeks ago for The Rocky Mountain Elk foundation(elk hunters)and they ate alot more prime rib than I had planned. At first, slice small pieces for them. Most people won't ask for more. If they do, give them a little more. It's OK to ask them nicely to wait for everyone to go through the line and then you will be more than happy to give them a nice big piece. If you buy two 12# primes that should get you through with a little left over.