Crowd pleasers: Expert advice on cooking for a lot of people

Bigger is not always better, and more is not always merrier — at least if you're the one doing the cooking for a crowd. But if you plan realistically and have lots of help or experience, you can pull off that high school graduation party, family-reunion barbecue or church picnic, say some local caterers and home cooks who host large-scale parties.

With summer on the horizon, there are plenty of events that call for crowd-pleasing meals. And there are plenty of options to consider if you're the person in charge of such an event:

Catering or do-it-yourself?

It's easy to get dazzled when you stroll through an event that's been professionally done, such as Cuisine Unlimited's annual open house for the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and other potential customers. At the event last month, guests wandered through rooms with different party themes such as "Under the Sea," with the food served on an octopus-shaped ice carving, the waiters in Hawaiian shirts, and an IMAX underwater movie and fish tanks providing ambience, or a '50s-themed malt-shop room where miniature burgers, fries and malts were served to the tune of a jukebox.

But before jumping into one of these extravaganzas, you need to be realistic about your budget. The "Under the Sea" meal — lime-grilled shrimp skewers, Caribbean rice, Jamaican slaw, grilled bananas and pineapple or watermelon salad, and Caribbean Castaway punch — costs from $14.50 to $26.50 per person, depending on the number of dishes ordered. The malt-shop menu ranges from $8.50 to $15.50 per person.

If you try to do it yourself to save money, it still costs you in time and labor.

So you might actually save money by hiring a caterer, said Rob Meier Jr., of Meier's Catering, which specializes in outdoor picnics. If it's a company picnic and several employees must plan, shop, cook, set up and clean up, all on the company's clock, it might cost less to pay a caterer $10.95 per person for a buffet with grilled burgers.

That's why you need to figure the "real" cost of doing the event, said Teresa Hunsaker, home economist for Utah State University's Weber County office. She teaches a class called "Cooking for a Crowd" (the next one is in September). Factor in not just the money, but the costs in relationships, time and expertise.

"How many people do you honestly have to help, and do they have the skills and time and interest to do the kind of job you want done?" Hunsaker said. "That helps me to decide if this project is doable, whether it's a wedding, a church dinner or a family reunion."