Planning the Menu – Hors d’oeuvres

Mixed hors d'oeuvres

This is another topic that books have been written about in great detail. Here I just want to give you some guidelines and helpful hints. Again, I do have the K-I-S-S philosophy – keep it super simple so that is what we are going to do. Let’s start with type of function as that will dictate to a large degree what kind of food to serve.  

Grand Openings:     Normally hors d’oeuvres of various kinds are easiest to do, e.g. trays of cut veggies, dip is optional; trays of different kinds of cheeses and crackers; trays of sliced fruit (also nice to have dips for the fruit); sliced lunch meats, rolls, condiments like mayo, (deli) mustard and such; crock pot of little sausages in a sauce, little meatballs also in a thick sauce; small pieces of terriyaki chicken; oriental pork dumplings;  various little desserts like small puff pastries, cookies, cake, etc. Your imagination and taste buds can dictate, these are just simple and relatively inexpensive ideas.  Generally a variety of different foods will be most widely accepted and enjoyed.   Beverages can be as simple as iced tea and coffee, water and lemonade, soft drinks like coke, Pepsi, seven up, or beer and wine, you get the idea.  Again, here you can get as fancy and sophisticated as you want.

Fund Raisers: Unless it is a BIG money event you can supply food and drink  similar as listed above for a grand opening celebration.   If you are trying to raise money for an event or person or project, you probably want to limit spending on the food and beverage, it would be preferable for the money to go toward the cause of the fund-raiser.   The more expensive (like thousands of dollars per person or couple) will normally consist of an elegant sit down dinner.  Those types of functions are normally handled by professional caterers or party planners.

Cocktail parties: When I think of cocktail parties I normally relate it to business functions of various kinds – can be large and casual, can be small and intimate, can be semi-formal too.  Here you might consider serving more expensive hors d’oeuvre,s e.g. smoked salmon w/capers, bruschetta w/white bean puree; caviar, citrus bruschetta, bacon wrapped scallops, you get the idea.

Before we go any further I want to explain the difference between Hors d’oeuvre (pronounced or-DERV), canapes and appetizers.  They are pretty much the same with slight differences, at least to my understanding.  You may find different ideas on this from chefs or big event planners.

• Hors d’oeuvre: (Pronounced or-DERV) A small bite of food that comes before the main course. It is often served with cocktails, but several pieces can be plated to serve as a first course. Technically, the term refers to small, individual food items that have been prepared by a cook. Thus, a cheese plate is not an hors d’oeuvre, nor is a crudité tray with dip, even though someone has cut the vegetables and made the dip. The term means “[dishes] outside the work [main meal].” In French, the term “hors d’oeuvre” is used to indicate both the singular and plural forms.   There are many hundreds of different hors d’oeuvre; each cuisine has its specialty.  Examples of popular hors d’oeuvre include arancini (ah-rohn-CHEE-NEE, fried risotto balls), bacon-wrapped scallops and Asian dumplings.
• Canapé: (Pronounced can-uh-PAY) A specific type of hors d’oeuvre that is prepared on a slice of bread or cracker or other base (e.g. boiled potato, hard-cooked egg or mushroom cap). The components are: the base, the main element (beef, seafood, egg, ham, smoked vegetable, etc.) and a garnish.
• Appetizer:  A small serving of food served as a first course.  it can be the same type of food that could be served as an entree or a side dish, but in smaller serving, or it could be something not served as a main dish, such as smoked salmon with capers.

Black Tie is a maker of high-quality frozen hors d’oeuvres sold at fine retailers. A large portion of its business is to foodservice—caterers and restaurants.  Here, the company shares how to calculate the number of hors d’oeuvres you’ll need for your guests.

Calculating The Number Of Hors D’Oeuvres

Dinner Party Number of Guests		10	15	20	25	30	35	40	50	55	60	100
Butler Passed Style	Number of hors d’oeuvres	40	60	80	100	120	140	160	200	220	240	400

Buffet Style

Number of hors d’oeuvres

60

90

120

150

180

210

240

300

330

360

600

 

If you will be serving dinner, allow 4 to 6 hors d’oeuvres per person.

If you’re hosting a cocktail party with no dinner to follow, allow for 8 to 10 hors d’oeuvres per person.

How Many Types of Hor d’oeuvres Should Your Plan to Serve: Caterers often use this rule of thumb:

Up to 50 people: 4 to 5 varieties

50 to 100 people: 7 to 8 varieties

More than 100: Up to 10 varieties

However, we look at it from the eating point of view, not the headcount point of view. It’s how long the party lasts, not how many people attend. Whether you’re one of 20 guests or one of 120, if you’re there for two hours do you want to look at the same four puffs and quiches pass by, or do you want to see seven, eight, or ten choices?  You be the judge!

Have you had experiences with this?  Feel free to add comments and suggestions.  Thank you.