How Much Food to Buy Per Person for Catering 50 Guests in the UK

By Alex Marlow · 11 Jul 2026

For 50 guests, plan on roughly 1.2–1.5kg of food per person across a full meal — but that headline number hides the detail that actually keeps you from over-buying or running short. The safer way to plan is to cost each component by the portion: protein, carbs, vegetables, and extras all have their own standard serving sizes. Below are the UK catering quantities you need, scaled straight to 50 guests.

Quick reference: quantities for 50 guests

Here are the core per-person amounts, multiplied out for a group of 50. These assume a standard seated or buffet main meal where guests eat a normal-sized portion.

These are working figures used across UK catering. Adjust up for hungry crowds (rugby clubs, all-day events) and down for canapé-style or lighter lunches.

Protein: the number that matters most

Protein is usually your biggest cost, so get it right. The UK standard for a plated main is 150–200g of boneless raw meat per person. For 50 guests that's 7.5–10kg.

A few adjustments:

• Bone-in cuts (chicken thighs, drumsticks, lamb chops): buy more — around 250–300g per head — because you're paying for weight you won't serve.
• Roasting joints lose 20–30% to cooking shrinkage. If you want 150g cooked on the plate, buy closer to 200–215g raw.
• Buffets where guests self-serve tend to need slightly more — people take generous helpings of the "hero" dish.

If you're serving two proteins (say chicken and a vegetarian option), don't just split 50/50. Assume some guests take a bit of both, so plan for roughly 60–70% of full quantity on each rather than 50%.

Carbohydrates and sides

For the starch element, 150–200g cooked per person works well. That's about 7.5–10kg cooked for 50 — but remember rice and pasta roughly double or triple in weight when cooked. For dry rice, 75g per person (3.75kg for 50) cooks up to the right amount.

Vegetables: offer two options at 60–75g each per person, totalling 120–150g. For 50 guests that's 6–7.5kg of veg. Root vegetables and anything you peel should be bought at about 20% over your served weight to cover trimming waste.

Buffet vs. plated: how the numbers shift

Plated meals are the easiest to control — you portion each plate, so waste is predictable and you can buy tight to the numbers above.

Buffets need a buffer. When guests serve themselves, add 10–20% to every category. People overload plates, and the last guests through the line still expect a full spread. For a 50-person buffet, treat your shopping list as if you're feeding 55–60.

Finger food / canapés work differently: plan 4–6 pieces per person for a reception before a meal, or 10–14 pieces per person if canapés are the meal. For 50 guests as a standalone canapé event, that's 500–700 individual pieces.

Drinks for 50 guests

A rough UK guide for a social event:

• Wine: 1 bottle serves about 5 glasses. Allow half a bottle per person over an evening — around 25 bottles for 50 guests.
• Soft drinks / water: plan 1.5–2 litres per person across the day, so 75–100 litres.
• Tea and coffee: allow 1.5 servings per person — most people have one, some have two.

Don't forget the waste factor

Two kinds of waste eat into your numbers and your budget:

1. Preparation waste — peel, trim, bone, and fat. Buy 15–25% over your served weight for anything that needs breaking down.
2. Plate and serving waste — food that gets taken but not eaten, especially at buffets.

A common mistake is buying to the "served" weight and then coming up short once you've trimmed everything. Always cost your shopping list on the raw purchased weight, not the plated weight.

Turning quantities into a real budget

Knowing you need 10kg of chicken is only half the job. The question that decides whether the event makes money is: what does that 10kg actually cost, and what does each plate cost you?

This is where most caterers — and plenty of confident home cooks — start guessing. You multiply per-person portions by 50, hope your supplier price hasn't moved, and find out your real margin only after the event. When you're quoting a client or setting a per-head price, that guesswork is expensive.

The reliable method is to break every dish down to its ingredients, apply current prices, account for prep waste and yield, then scale the whole thing to your guest count. Do that once properly and you get an accurate cost per portion, a precise shopping list, and confidence in whatever price you charge.

A simple planning checklist for 50 guests

• Confirm meal style (plated, buffet, canapés) and adjust quantities accordingly
• Lock protein at 150–200g boneless per head, plus shrinkage
• Two veg at 60–75g each, one starch at 150–200g cooked
• Add 10–20% buffer for buffets
• Buy at raw/purchased weight, not served weight
• Cost every ingredient before you quote a price

Once you've got your quantities sorted, work out exactly what they'll cost before you commit. You can run the numbers free with the PrepSheet food cost calculator, or grab a ready-made Excel costing template from the shop to scale any recipe to 50 guests — or 500 — with accurate portion costs built in.