Your little one is graduating high school and you want to plan the best meal possible. You've already decided on hiring food services to take off some of the pressure, but there are still a lot of things you can do to ensure that their meal goes off without a problem. Proper preparations will also streamline your food provider's job.
Planning Portions
Plan for everyone at the graduation party to eat at least three servings of every type of food you provide: meat, veggies, bread, and any dessert you may include. You're going to want three servings for each person because the party may end up lasting much of the day. As a result, they may get hungry again later and need more food to eat.
A typical serving size is about five to six ounces. Now, consider how many people you invited versus how many people you expect will show up. Always anticipate a few cancellations among your invitations (as people run out of time to attend multiple graduation parties). You should also always anticipate a few party crashers. Now, you can call up your food service company and tell them about how much food you anticipate needing.
Matching Food To Theme
A great graduation party often has a theme, and matching your food to that theme is often a great way of enhancing the atmosphere of the party. For example, if your theme centers around a "college-bound" theme, you could include an appetizer of Ramen noodles (typical of the average college student), slices of pizza, and some chips. This is where you can really go wild and get your food service provider to create incredibly intricate meals.
Great foods you can consider ordering to match your theme include:
Simple food like this is not only easier to make in bulk, but is more appropriate for the taste of your teen. After all, they're more likely to enjoy munching on "cool" foods for their special day, rather than fancier foods.
Keeping The Food Warm
During a graduation party, you're going to have a lot of people coming and going. Remember: many attendees may be heading to other parties on the same day. So, after your food service company has dropped off the food, you're going to need to keep it warm throughout the day. The easiest way to do that is to invest in a buffet chafer. You've probably seen these small metal tins at other graduation parties, but didn't know what they were called.
They are one of the best ways of ensuring that the food stays warm throughout the party, helping to keep even latecomers well fed. A few tips for preparing and using your chafer:
If your food is finished long before anyone shows up to the party, never fear! You can simply place your food directly in your chafer a half an hour before dinner. This means you can finish your food in advance and take care of other matters (such as posting memory boards).
Follow these tips and your graduating senior will have an excellent meal. And although the memory of that meal may fade in time, seeing the smile on their face is something that you're not likely to ever forget.
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