You are soon in charge of organizing a seated meal or a standing event (cocktail, buffet)? Would you like to check your caterer's proposal?
Catering HK provides you with the minimum number of servers needed at your next catered event as a guideline. However, instead of "waiters", we prefer the terminology of "maître d'hôtel", as the associated tasks can be more delicate and complex than the service of the dishes and the guests themselves.
For the calculation of the necessary numbers, we use the ratio of 1 for 25 place settings for a meal, and 1 for 40 guests for a cocktail/buffet, rounding up. For example, for 80 people for a wedding meal, you need 4 people, because 80/4 = 3.2, and the upper rounding of 3.2 is 4!
Another useful clarification: you will always need at least two people. Setting up the tables and tablecloths requires a team effort (weight of the furniture, setting up, etc.)
Number of people - Number of waiters for a seated meal - Number of servers for a cocktail party or a standing buffet
20 - 2 - 2
30 - 2 - 2
40 - 2 - 2
50 - 2 - 2
60 - 3 - 2
70 - 3 - 2
80 - 4 - 2
90 - 4 - 3
100 - 4 - 3
110 - 5 -3
120 - 5 - 3
130 - 6 - 4
140 - 6 - 4
150 - 6 - 4