salad bar
Mindy
05/31/09 		I need help. I am serving a 100 people salad bar and don't know how much food I need. (olives, cucumbers, mushrooms ect.) Please help!
ellen
05/31/09 		Use the plan for 100 page as the basis for your greens, read the article on potato pars for help with all kinds of toppings, and read the salad bar article. Then prepare an estimate, post it, and I will check it for you.

www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/plan/potabar1.html

www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/plan/selfservetips.html

In a full meal self service salad bar, the average person takes 14-18 ounces by weight and that includes the dressing, usually 2-3 ounces, cheese, tuna, chicken, etc.

Mindy
05/31/09 		15 pds of mixed greens
3 lbs cheese
15 lbs broccoli
6 lbs tomatoes
3 lbs onions

do you have a place to let me know how much
mushrooms, peas, carrots, olives, Avocado, cauliflower, bell peppers, cucumbers, radishes, beets, croutons, beans, and dressing I need?
I saw the topping ideas, but not what the portion suggestions are.
I will also be serving fresh fruit, and rolls. With a dessert bar.
ellen
05/31/09 		OK, you have about 45 pounds of food, now you need about 45 pounds more.

Basically, for a 2 tablespoon serving for 100 people you need 3 1/2 quarts, for a 4 tablespoon serving, you need 6 1/2 quarts.

I would suggest you do 12 pounds of broccoli, 8 of cauliflower. I would consider doubling the tomatoes, or going to grape tomatoes if you can find a good deal on them.

What about proteins? You need to consider adding chopped eggs, cottage cheese, and maybe chicken or tuna salad.

Everyone will eat croutons, so allow 4 tablespoons. For all the other items if you figure 2 tablespoons per person, you will be about right. You might consider doing a guacamole instead of straight avocado, people can get pretty greedy with avocado.

The dressings are covered in the tossed salad sectio on the plan for 100 page.

Mindy
05/31/09 		Thanks so much Ellen. That will help so much! I will add some diced turkey and Ham. Cottage cheese is a great idea also. Thanks again!
Bethany
07/23/09 		I have looked at the salad page of plan for 100 so I am pretty good with quanities. My question is how do you serve salad to large quanities of people? I am catering a party for 50-75 and the hostess would like the salads prebowled dry at each place setting. I know that everyone likes something different in their salads but should I make them all the same and let people pick the stuff out they don't like or just do the lettuce and then put bowls of toppings on each table?
ellen
07/23/09 		If this is a side sald, all the same and let people pick out what they don't like. If a main salad, either way.