Planning Lunch With Koffee Katering
Never ordered lunch catering before? Don’t worry. We’ve got this.
Ordering lunch for 20, 50, 100—or 500 people can feel like a lot of responsibility when you’re not used to doing it.
How much food do you need? Which lunch should you choose? Buffet or boxed? How do you accommodate a few people who are Vegan or Gluten-Free? What if you’re running a three-day conference and don’t want everyone eating the same lunch every day?
We’ve been doing this for a long time, and we’ve learned that lunch catering is actually pretty simple once you know how to think about it.
Start with a package. Then make it your own.
That’s really the secret.
Think of it as a snack—rather than a full meal.
Our coffee break packages are designed to give people something to drink and something to nibble on. If you want something more substantial, that’s easy, too: start with a coffee break and add some food.
And if you’re running a multi-day event, you can use different packages and add-ons to make each break feel different.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
Start with the number of people
Before you choose a lunch, figure out how many people you’re actually feeding.
And here’s our most important piece of advice:
Order for the number of people you expect—not the number you hope won’t show up.
If you know 50 people are coming, don’t order lunch for 45 because you’re hoping five people won’t eat.
We build a little extra food into our catering jobs, but we can’t magically produce 10 additional lunches when 10 more people walk through the door.
If you’re expecting 50 people, ordering for 52–55 is often a smart idea.
If you’re organizing a conference or event where attendance is uncertain, it’s better to be a little conservative on the high side.
Nobody complains about having a little food left over. They do complain when the sandwiches disappear before they get one.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
- A 10:30 AM conference break
The basic lunch decision: Buffet or boxed?
There are really two different kinds of lunch catering.
Buffet lunch
This is what we recommend when everyone is staying in one place and you have room to set up tables.
We bring the food, set up the buffet, provide the plates, flatware, cups, tablecloths and compost bin, and take everything down when we’re finished.
It’s the classic catered lunch.
Boxed lunch
Boxed lunches make more sense when people are mobile.
They’re particularly useful for:
• Field trips
• Off-site events
• Conferences where people may take lunch with them
• Events without a convenient place to set up a buffet
• People eating in different locations
• Groups that need an individually packaged meal
The big advantage is simple:
Give everyone a box and send them on their way.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
Some of our favorite lunch add-ons
There are lots of ways to change things up.
There are lots of ways to change things up.
Salads & fresh food
• Garden salad
• Greek salad
• Cobb salad
• Broccoli salad
• Vegan chickpea salad
• Cut fruit platter
• Cut vegetables & hummus
Something a little more substantial
• Vegetarian mini-quiches
• Chicken satay with sunflower sauce
• European cheese & cracker platter
• Hard-boiled eggs
Snacks & sides
• Bagel chips & hummus
• Fresh sliced baguette
• Gluten-Free crackers
Something sweet
• Assorted mini dessert treats
• Chocolate-chip cookies
The current lunch menu has a particularly broad selection of these additions, so you can make a relatively simple package considerably more substantial—or simply make each day of a multi-day event different.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
Don’t overlook
salads
If you have guests who need Gluten-Free or Vegan food, please don’t try to solve this by ordering less of the regular food.
Instead, tell us how many individual Vegan or Gluten-Free meals you need.
For example: →
Monday : Garden salad
Tuesday : Greek salad
Wednesday: Cobb salad
Or add a salad to the Basic Lunch when you want the meal to feel a little more substantial.
You can also order individual meal-sized salads when you have guests who would rather have a salad as their main lunch.
We currently offer individual Cobb, Greek, Greek with chicken, Garden and Garden with chicken salads.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
Coffee servings per person
So if 50 people are staying for a long afternoon session, you might want approximately 75 servings of coffee/decaf.
The Zero Landfill lunch packages already include the appropriate quantity of their included beverages; additional coffee, decaf and tea can be added when you need to keep the afternoon fueled.
Because nothing says “productive afternoon conference” quite like keeping everyone caffeinated.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
Fruit is another easy way to change things up
A cut fruit platter is an especially good addition when you have a multi-day event.
It’s fresh, colorful and gives people something besides sandwiches and chips.
It’s also an easy way to make the lunch feel a little healthier without having to completely redesign the meal.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
Coffee isn’t just for breakfast
If your event continues into the afternoon, consider adding coffee and tea to lunch.
People may be perfectly happy to drink lemonade and iced tea at noon.
At 2:30 PM, however, the same people may suddenly become very interested in coffee.
For afternoon events, we recommend:
50% regular coffee
50% decaf
And don’t forget the tea.
Our coffee and tea are available by serving rather than by container for these Zero Landfill buffet lunches.
Each coffee serving is approximately 1.3 cups.
For a short lunch followed by a brief meeting, one serving per person may be plenty.
For a long afternoon conference, we’d recommend approximately:
1.5 coffee servings per person
So if 50 people are staying for a long afternoon session, you might want approximately 75 servings of coffee/decaf.
The Zero Landfill lunch packages already include the appropriate quantity of their included beverages; additional coffee, decaf and tea can be added when you need to keep the afternoon fueled.
Because nothing says “productive afternoon conference” quite like keeping everyone caffeinated.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
What about beverages?
The Zero Landfill lunches come with beverages appropriate to the package.
The Basic Lunch includes lemonade, iced tea and mint-cucumber spa water.
The Nice Lunch includes the same general beverage selection.
If you want additional beverages, you can add them.
For longer events, you might consider:
• Additional iced tea
• Lemonade
• Sparkling water
• Bottled water
• Seltzer
• Soda
• Coffee
• Decaf
• Hot tea
For an event that goes from morning through afternoon, we particularly recommend coffee + decaf + tea in the afternoon.
What if I have Vegan or Gluten-Free guests?
No problem.
Just let us know how many people need special meals.
Our lunch options include Vegan and Gluten-Friendly sandwich choices, and these can be separated from the regular sandwiches and clearly labeled.
For boxed lunches, the individual boxes can also be clearly labeled with the dietary preference.
Don’t forget to count them separately.
For example:
“We’re feeding 60 people. We need 55 regular lunches, 3 Vegan lunches and 2 Gluten-Friendly lunches.”
That’s much better than simply telling us “60 people” and hoping we figure it out.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
How hungry are your guests?
Just like breakfast, consider the people you’re feeding.
A room full of people who have been sitting through meetings since 8 AM may be ready for lunch.
A group of athletes coming back from a morning activity may be very ready for lunch.
And a group that’s eating lunch immediately after a large breakfast may need somewhat less.
Our portions are designed around the average person.
If you know your group tends to eat a lot, increase the headcount or add some additional food.
And again:
Don’t knowingly order for fewer people than you expect.
We add a little extra to our jobs, but the extra is a cushion—not a secret second lunch.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
Do I need to provide tables?
For Zero Landfill buffet lunches, you provide the tables.
If you don’t have tables available, we can provide them for an additional fee.
How many you need depends on how much food you’re ordering and how many people are attending.
As a general rule, more food and more people means more table space.
And if you’re feeding a large group, it’s often smart to separate the beverage station from the food.
That keeps people getting drinks from clogging up the sandwich line.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
What should I tell Koffee Katering when I place the order?
If there’s anything unusual about your event, tell us in the comments section of the order.
For example:
• “Please set up outside Room 204.”
• “The event is in the courtyard.”
• “Use the side entrance.”
• “There is no elevator.”
“The room won’t be unlocked until 11:30.”
“The lunch needs to be set up in a particular location.”
“We have 4 Vegan guests.”
“We have 2 Gluten-Free guests.”
“We need everything cleared out by 1:15.”
The more we know ahead of time, the smoother the event will be.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
Planning a multi-day conference?
This is where the package + add-on approach really shines.
You don’t need to order a completely different lunch package every day.
Instead, use the Basic Lunch as your baseline and change the experience each day.
Here’s one example:
DAY 1 — Classic
Basic Lunch
• Garden salad
• Chocolate-chip cookies
DAY 2 — Fresh
Basic Lunch
• Cut fruit platter
• Greek salad
• Bagel chips & hummus
DAY 3 — More substantial
Nice Lunch
• Cobb salad
• Chicken satay
• Assorted sweet treats
DAY 4 — Lighter
Basic Lunch
• Vegan chickpea salad
• Cut fruit
• Vegetable & hummus platter
DAY 5 — Finish strong
Nice Lunch
• European cheese & cracker platter
• Cut fruit
• Sweet treats
Add afternoon coffee, decaf and tea to each day if your group is staying into the afternoon.
That’s five lunches that feel different without requiring five completely different catering plans.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
How much setup time do we need?
Our staff will do the setup for you.
As a general rule, we like to have everything ready approximately 15 minutes before lunch begins.
For a small, straightforward lunch, we’ll generally arrive about 30 minutes beforehand.
For a 40–60 person lunch with a moderate amount of food, allow approximately 45 minutes for setup.
For a large event—particularly 100+ people—plan on approximately an hour.
The more complicated the lunch, the more setup time we need.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
What happens after lunch?
Once the event is finished, we’ll return to take everything down.
Our drivers will collect our equipment, remove the catering setup and clean up the immediate catering area.
They aren’t going to walk around the entire building hunting down every plate and coffee cup that someone carried away from the lunch table.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
So if you’re having a large event and want someone actively monitoring the food area, consider adding an Event Attendant.
An Event Attendant can keep the buffet looking good, clear used plates, tidy the area and generally make sure the catering area doesn’t slowly deteriorate as the afternoon goes on.
The easiest way to think about ordering lunch
If you’re new to catering, don’t make this harder than it needs to be.
Think about lunch in this order:
Step 1
How many people?
Get the headcount right.
Step 2
Buffet or boxed?
Are people staying in one place, or are they mobile?
Step 3
Basic or Nice?
Start with the Basic Lunch unless you have a reason to make lunch more substantial.
Step 4
What would make it better?
Add a salad, fruit, hummus, dessert, quiche, chicken satay—or whatever sounds good.
Step 5
Is this a multi-day event?
If so, change the add-ons each day.
Step 6
Are people staying into the afternoon?
Add coffee, decaf and tea.
Step 7
Are there Vegan or Gluten-Free guests?
Count them separately and tell us.
Step 8
Do we have the information we need?
Building access, room location, setup instructions, timing, etc.
And then…
Let Koffee Katering do the work.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
A final example
Let’s say you’re organizing a three-day conference for 75 people, running from 9 AM until 4 PM.
Here’s one way we’d approach it:
Monday
Basic Lunch
• Greek salad
• Chocolate-chip cookies
• Afternoon coffee/decaf/tea
Tuesday
Basic Lunch
• Cut fruit platter
• Bagel chips & hummus
• Assorted sweet treats
• Afternoon coffee/decaf/tea
Wednesday
Nice Lunch
• Cobb salad
• Chicken satay
• Cut fruit
• Afternoon coffee/decaf/tea
Same caterer.
Same easy ordering process.
Three lunches that don’t feel like the same lunch three days in a row.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
And that’s really the idea.
You don’t have to know how to cater a conference.
You don’t have to calculate how many sandwiches, salads, cookies and coffee servings 75 people need.
That’s our job.
Tell us how many people, what you’re trying to accomplish, where you’re going, and how long the event lasts.
Then choose a package, add a few things that sound good, and let Koffee Katering take care of the rest.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382
And finally…
Don’t overthink it.
If you’ve never ordered catering before, you’re not expected to know how much coffee 60 people will drink, how many tables you’ll need, or whether your group needs a Basic Breakfast or a Premium Breakfast.
That’s what we’re here for.
Tell us what you’re planning, how many people are coming, what time you’re starting, and anything unusual about the event.
We’ll take it from there.
And if you have a question that isn’t answered here, call Andrea at (203) 809-1382.
We’ve probably answered it before.
Need to talk to a real person? Call Andrea at (203) 809-1382