#catering

Professional catering event planning. Timeline 100-person wedding buffet: Day before: shop, prep vegetables, make sauces, bake desserts. Event day: -4 hours: arrive, set up kitchen. -3 hours: start cooking proteins. -2 hours: finish sides, keep warm. -1 hour: set buffet, chafing dishes. Service: replenish as needed, clear plates. Staffing: 1 chef, 2 cooks, 3 servers. Equipment: warmers, coolers, transport containers. Checklist: permits, insurance, contracts. Calculate food quantities: 1.5 servings per person. Explain flow, timing, and contingency planning.

Scale recipes accurately for catering. Scaling factor: desired servings ÷ original servings. Multiply all ingredients by factor. Challenges: 1. Spices scale at 50-75% (not linear). 2. Thickeners (flour, cornstarch) at 80%. 3. Leavening agents carefully. 4. Salt to taste. 5. Cooking time: doesn't double with quantity. Equipment limits: oven capacity, mixing bowl size. Test small batch first. Baker's percentage for bread: all ingredients as % of flour weight. Explain why some ingredients don't scale linearly and surface area vs volume ratio.