Portion Distortion

When ordering food for a buffet meal at an event, it can be tricky to get the guarantee right. There are many factors involved outside of a simple number of people. Are the attendees men or women? Older or younger? Is the meal breakfast or dinner? What day of the week is it? What time is the meal being served? What type of group is it? What is the budget per person? You’d be surprised at the impact all of these factors and more have on how much food to order.

I’ve been doing events for almost 20 years. I’ve coordinated a plethora of buffets in my time as a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP). I have worked with a variety of people groups and ordered meals for different times of day, days of the week, and attendee demographics. Lately, I find I am accommodating another factor I feel I didn’t need to pay such close attention to before – portion size.

Depending on the group, I can accommodate “big eaters” by increasing the headcount by a handful. Some men just eat a lot and if the group is men-heavy I may even compensate by selecting a particularly filling meal. Most of the caterers I have worked with have also been generous with portion sizes and their overall quantity of food, and I have always had leftovers. Until recently.

I believe caterers are becoming highly aware of their bottom line. I attribute this consciousness to the rising cost of food and labor. Caterers are now regularly planning for the American Heart Association’s recommended 4oz portion of protein, and one cup of fruits, vegetables, and grains per person. The thing is, the average American cannot possibly identify what a 4oz portion of anything looks like. We have conditioned people to over indulge in everything. Just go to breakfast and order an omelet. It’s the size of a football. No wonder a person can’t put just one scoop of mashed potatoes on their plate or stop eating after 1/3 of their steak is gone. And herein lies the issue.

Because people tend to eat more at a buffet and caterers (at least those I work with) started cutting back on portion sizes, I have been watching the end of the buffet line approach concerned that I’m going to have enough to feed everyone and wondering how I screwed that up. Thankfully a catering friend of mine mentioned this in a recent conversation which put my mind at ease. I thought I was losing my touch! Sadly, I either need to be the buffet-monitor, scolding everyone into taking smaller portions which will make me crazy, or increase the guarantee again, becoming another cog in the increased-pricing wheel.

There are always creative ways to solve any problem with enough time and effort. Perhaps I can set an example plate at the head of the buffet line to provide a visual of the proper portions. Maybe I place a picture of the appropriate portion size of the food item next to it on the buffet line. I can recommend we alter the event schedule to allow additional time for a plated meal. It’ll work out. It always does.

I’m toying with the idea of drop off service for a large luncheon. Has anyone done this before? If so, please email me! I’d love your feedback and/or opinion on this.

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