DIY Reception food for 130 guests? Is it possible?

Ok Im tryin not to worry about the whole food temperature and food poisoning.

So what foods are better despite temperature changes? The caterer that was going to drop food off are going to provide the chaffing dishes for heating.

Rice, Veggies, Baked Chicken, Pasta Salad, Pork Loin or roast (if you eat pork),

Jilandra ~ I did post a link on the 1st page... the top one gives you recipe ideas to feed all those people....

the 2nd one gives you tips

3rd one is FAQ about safety..... really good reads...

Q. So if I make a hot dish ahead of time, I can cool it on the counter, then put it in the fridge and reheat it in a chafing dish the next day?

A. Definitely not like that. When you cook something hot, it must be cooled quickly, so bacteria don't have a chance to multiply and then it must be refrigerated. If you are making a big batch of something hot, you might have to divide it up into several pans and stir, to cool it quickly, or set in into a pan of ice before refrigerating it. When you want to serve it, you must reheat it quickly to 170 deg. F. THEN place it in a hot holding device that will keep it at 140 deg. Big amounts of food take way longer to cool than your everyday casserole for 6 people.

Q. So that's all I have to do, keep the food hot or cold?

A. There is a little more to it than that. You have to cool and chill the food quickly, fast enough to not allow bacteria to multiply. When reheating foods, you have to heat them rapidly to 170 deg. F. (77 deg. C.) then hold them at 140 deg.

For example, if you were making a BIG potato salad, you need to dice and chill the potatoes quickly by spreading them in a large shallow pan. Once the potatoes are cooled and chilled to fridge temperature, then you can combine them with other COLD ingredients. If you combined the ingredients for the potato salad while warm and then placed the entire salad in the fridge, it could take up to 20 hrs. depending on the size of the salad, for the center of the salad to reach 40 deg. F. All the while bacteria would be multiplying or doubling every 20 min. until you have zillions of the nasty little creatures creating wastes (toxins) which are the poisons in the food.

I know its possible. My FH and I are doing it. Our friends are cooking for our wedding and we have over 100 guest but the key is doing something simple. We are having a New Orleans themed wedding so we are doing Jambalaya...boudin balls....turkey and ham mufalettas/sandwiches...cajun baked/regular baked chicken wings and salad. You will be amazed what you can do. Just sit down and think of a good menu that you would like to have

I will consider us or my family cooking because it may we our on a budget but I will keep in mind about the keeping the bacteria away! Thanks again everyone for all your responses it has been so helpful.

Ultimately it's up to you, and PPs have made some good points regarding food safety.

That said, it's absolutely possible. We did this for our wedding of 200. We ordered fried and baked chicken from the local grocery store deli and bought dinner rolls from Sams Club. Everything else was prepared by family members who volunteered to help (mostly the aunts on both sides of the family). DH used to work in the kitchen at an assisted living home, and was able to get his old boss (the head of the kitchen staff there) to take care of the last minute prep of the food so that it was all kept warm/cold as needed up until it was time to serve the food. Our hall allowed us to serve the food as long as we took out a rider on my parents' homeowners for event insurance.

We had no problems with our food. This is how both of our families have always done big events like weddings, graduation parties, etc. If you think about it, it is no different from hosting a large dinner and (cont)

Can it be done? Yes

Will it be a complete PITA? Also yes.

Better option...BBQ from a local restaurant. Even better idea, ask you church pastor if anyone in the congregation caters. You would be surprised at the hidden gems you may find.

(cont) cooking the food yourself in terms of safety. Is it more difficult than catering, in the sense that there's more work for you, definitely. But we saved a TON of money doing it that way, even the cheapest restaurant catering would still have cost us $10 per person. We ended up spending under $5 per person.

That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Either cut the amount of guests or try to find a very inexpensive caterer. You may find that you can get a caterer that will do the job for $10 to $15 per plate. That might also be the same amount that people would spend on making the dishes.

If your family was gonna make the food, have them give you the money they would have spent to make up your budget.

Sorry to say but the wedding planner is eating up your catering budget. A good one can cost upwards of $1000 or more.

You can go to your favorite restaurant and have them so a pasta and a chicken dish. Those dishes are the most inexpensive and don't forget to negotiate. Don't take their first price. Try to get more for your money.

What about doing some bar-b-q with baked beans slaw pasta Salas potato salad. If you can get family and friends to pitch in anything is possible if you work as a team.