Party Food & Drink Calculator

How to use

1. Select your event style: cocktail/buffet (2–3h), dinner party (4–5h), grand banquet/wedding (6–8h), or outdoor BBQ.
2. Enter headcounts for men, women, and children under 12.
3. Specify event duration in hours.
4. Review food weights broken down into meat, side dishes, salads, charcuterie boards, bread, and cake.
5. Check estimated liters of water and juice, plus total bottles of wine and spirits.
6. Click Copy Shopping List to instantly generate a printable grocery checklist.

How much food per person is needed?

Food benchmarks depend on event duration: light cocktail parties require 400–600g per person, sit-down dinners need 800–1000g, while full 6 to 8-hour wedding receptions require 1200–1500g of total food per guest.

Men consume roughly 20–30% more meat and heavier proteins, while children under 12 average about 50% of an adult portion.

Beverage and alcohol planning guidelines

Non-alcoholic drinks: plan for 1.0 to 1.5 liters per attendee (mineral water and juices). Increase water by 50% during warm outdoor summer events.

Alcohol estimations standardly assume 1 bottle of wine (750ml) per woman and 1 bottle of spirits (500ml) per two male guests across a 5-hour evening.

Preventing excessive food waste

Total food weight should rarely exceed 1.5 kg per person, as catering records show excess above this threshold goes uneaten.

Use our Copy Shopping List tool to order precise amounts from caterers or wholesale grocers.