Quick answer At Taj Restaurant and Banquet, 247 S Bolingbrook Dr, Bolingbrook, IL, a half tray serves 8–10 and a full tray serves 18–20 as part of a spread. Because each guest takes a little of two or three dishes, plan on roughly one full tray of savoury food for every 8 guests: about 3 for 25 guests, 6–7 for 50 and 13 for 100, plus dessert.
How many people does a catering tray feed?
A half tray serves 8–10 people and a full tray serves 18–20, counted as part of a spread. That last part matters. At a dawat or an office lunch nobody eats a full plate of one dish: a plate is usually rice or biryani with one or two curries and a spoon of dal or vegetables. So you do not need one tray of every dish for every guest.
The way our tray quote works it out is simple: add up the servings across your savoury trays and divide by about two and a half dishes a guest. In practice that comes to one full tray (or two half trays) for every 8 or so guests. Desserts are counted one for one, so a full tray of dessert covers 18–20 people.
What should a balanced catering spread include?
Mix the trays across the menu rather than doubling up on one dish. A good spread has:
- Rice — a biryani (chicken, mutton or veg) and, for bigger groups, plain, zeera or baghara rice to go with the curries.
- Curry — one or two, such as butter chicken, chicken korma, mutton korma or dum ka gosht.
- Vegetables or dal — khatti dal, aloo gobi, bhindi masala or mirchi ka salan, so vegetarian guests have a full plate too.
- Dessert — gulab jamun, Taj shahi kheer, shahi tukda or halwa.
How much catering for 50 guests, and what does it cost?
For 50 guests, six to seven full trays of savoury food and enough dessert for everyone. Here is a worked example with our current tray prices:
- Chicken Biryani — 2 full trays, $240
- Butter Chicken — 1 full tray, $140
- Mutton Korma — 1 full tray, $180
- Khatti Dal — 1 full tray, $60
- Plain Rice — 1 full tray, $60
- Aloo Gobi — 1 half tray, $45
- Gulab Jamun — 1 full tray, $150
- Taj Shahi Kheer — 1 full tray, $140
- Taj Shahi Tukda — 1 half tray, $75
The savoury trays come to $725 and feed about 46–52 guests; the three desserts serve 44–50. The whole order is $1,090, or just under $22 a guest. Prices are for the food only, before tax, and exclude staffing, rentals and delivery.
How many trays for 25 guests?
About three full trays' worth of savoury food. One way to build it: a full tray of chicken biryani ($120), then half trays of butter chicken ($75), mutton korma ($95), khatti dal ($35), aloo gobi ($45) and plain rice ($35). That is $405 and feeds about 23–28 guests. Add a full tray of dessert and a half tray of a second one. Using half trays is the easy way to give a small group more variety without over-ordering.
How many trays for 100 guests?
About 13 full trays of savoury food and five full trays of dessert. For example: four full trays of biryani (two chicken, two mutton), four full trays of curry, three of dal and vegetables, and two of plain or zeera rice. That feeds roughly 94–104 guests. If you would rather not count trays at all, our dawat packages are priced per person — call (630) 808-1832 to order one — and our hall in Bolingbrook seats up to 100 if you want to hold the event with us.
How far ahead should I order, and how do I pay?
For up to 25 guests, order at least 6 hours ahead; for more than 25, a day ahead. Build your order on the catering page and pay by card online — 50% now and 50% at pickup, or in full. We deliver within 50 miles of Bolingbrook, including Naperville, Plainfield and Joliet, and can set up a buffet with attendants and chafing dishes if you want it served.
Catering quantity questions
How many people does a half tray feed?
Do I need a full tray of every dish for 50 guests?
How much does catering for 50 people cost at Taj?
How much notice do you need for catering?
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