1. Hosting a huge barbecue for 100+ people
Holding a barbecue for 100 people or more? It can be a great way to feed everyone,
whether it’s for a birthday party, anniversary or even a wedding. But there’s no denying that
there’s quite a lot of work involved. So before you start, think about enlisting some helpers
to aid with preparing the side dishes, marinading the meats – and for actually handling the
barbecue itself.
So, first off the menu. Generally at any barbecue the meat is the star of the show,
When considering what meat to cook, you need to bear in mind several factors – how are
people going to eat it (will you need knives and forks or not?) and what will they eat.
Providing meat for 100 or more folk can be a costly business, so if your budget is tight,
sticking to some decent burgers and sausages is probably a good plan. (Later on we’ll look at
some calculations for working out how much food you actually need).
Timewise too, burgers and sausages are relatively quick to prepare, which is going to be a
major consideration if you’re cooking for such a large number. If your money is going to
stretch further perhaps think about preparing some kebabs with cubes of chicken or pork or
beef. These are going to be easier to cook than big slabs of steak or indeed chicken legs or
drumsticks, which can be quite tricky to cook well on a barbecue – and with such a lot of
hungry people waiting, anything tricky is going to cause you headaches.
For most large barbecues simplicity is the order of the day, unless it’s for a very special
occasion, such as a wedding, when you’ll want to really go the extra mile.
So let’s look at what else you’ll need for a simple barbecue to run smoothly. What side
dishes are you going to provide? Coleslaw is always popular, as is potato salad. Both of
these are relatively easy to prepare yourself. If you have a food processor, whizzing up a
batch of coleslaw by chopping crisp white cabbage, onions and carrots is pretty simple.
Simply mix with mayonnaise and you’re done. Potato salad is a breeze if you use tiny new
potatoes that need no preparing. Simply boil, drain and mix with either mayonnaise, or a
sauce made with mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar and herbs. Alternatively, if you want to
keep preparations down to a minimum, you can buy large catering packs of coleslaw, potato
and pasta salad from supermarkets, delis and cash-and-carry stores.
If you’re keeping things really simple, you could just stick to burgers in buns and sausages in
rolls, and provide extras such as cheese slices, onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard. This
way, you can also keep the cutlery requirements down to a minimum. You could even get
away with supplying some good quality napkins, rather than plates.
But let’s assume you want to do something a bit more involved. Make sure you have plenty
of table space for guests to help themselves to the food. You could set up a couple of long
tables with all the side dishes on, culminating with a stop at the barbecue for their meat.
However, if you have children attending your event, it may be better to keep people away
from the hot cooking area and simply take plates of hot food to the food table as they are
ready.

2. A good tip if you’re on a budget and have only a limited supply of meat is to arrange the
buffet table so that your guests help themselves to salads, relishes, breads and so on first,
so that they don’t fill their plates with meat!
Depending on where you’re holding your event, you also need to think about how long food
is going to sit outside, especially if it is very sunny. Position your tables in the shade and be
prepared to fill dishes up from side dishes kept in the fridge or in coolers, rather than
leaving out one huge bowl of potato salad that may spoil if left out too long.
So how do you estimate how much to buy? If you’re cooking chicken, allow one or two
pieces per person; and for meaty ribs about half a pound per person. Depending on the size
of sausages and burgers, allow 1- 2 per person. This is in total – we don’t expect someone to
eat two pieces of chicken, half a pound of ribs and a hamburger and hotdog! Catering
experts will tell you that when food is self-service, guests always help themselves to more
than if you have someone serving, so add about 20 per cent to your overall figure.
For side dishes such as coleslaw or potato salad, allow around a gallon for about four
people.
Of course, we haven’t talked about cooking your barbecue food yet! If you’re catering for
such a large number of people, you will need to have at least a couple of large grills on the
go. Set up the quick meats, such as sausages and burgers on one, and longer cookers, such
as chicken on the other. Gas barbecues (unless you’re an expert at keeping the barbecue
fire going) are probably the best choice, because you won’t have any waiting time before
you can cook, and it is easier to keep everything at an even temperature for a longer time.
You need to time it so that you don’t end up with a load of burgers and then a load of
chicken an hour later.
If there are vegetarians among your guests (and it is more than likely) you may need to set
up an extra grill so that their food isn’t tainted with the meat. Make sure the grill is well
oiled, as non-meat products are more likely to stick. Alternatively, use an oiled frying pan to
cook vegetarian sausages and burgers. If you want to get more adventurous, grill vegetable
slices such as courgettes and aubergines, or kebabs made with vegetables and halloumi
cheese.
As people tend to eat for longer at barbecues when they are outside chatting and drinking,
desserts are a good idea. If this is a more informal event, and you’re trying to keep costs
down, you could ask guests to bring along a dessert, although then you run the risk of 50
trifles appearing unless you do a careful bit of management! Keep desserts simple, and bear
in mind that they may need to be kept cool. Tray bakes such as brownies and flapjacks are
simple. As is a fruit salad, or a selection of cupcakes.
So, with some organisation, planning, preparation and some willing helpers, your
barbecue should go without a hitch.