You've got people coming over. You want the table to look amazing. But you also don't want to be scraping leftover brie into the bin at midnight wondering where it all went wrong.

We've all been there.

At Platter, one of the things we feel really strongly about is not wasting food. We source fresh, local, seasonal produce — beautiful stuff — and we want every single piece of it to be eaten and enjoyed by your people. Not thrown away.

So when customers ask us "how much do I need?" — and they ask us a lot — our first question back is always: are we talking light snacks or is this the main event?

Because those are two completely different tables.

First things first — what kind of occasion is this?

Before we even think about quantities, we need to know what we're working with. A casual Friday night with friends is a completely different brief to a wedding grazing table or a corporate function.

Ask yourself:

• Have my guests eaten beforehand, or is this their meal?

• How long are people staying — an hour or an evening?

• Is there other food on the table, or is the platter the centrepiece?

Those three questions will shape everything.

Light snacks — the catch up situation

Your guests have probably eaten. They want something to graze on, try a few different flavours, have something in hand while they're chatting. Think birthday drinks, a work morning tea, a casual get together.

For this kind of occasion we keep it considered — enough to feel generous without going overboard. A beautiful platter box with a good mix of sweet and savoury, some local cheeses, seasonal fruit, crackers and a few little extras goes a long way for a group of 10–15 people.

The goal is that everyone gets a taste of everything — not that everyone eats until they're full.

The main event — when the platter IS the meal

This is a completely different story. If your guests are relying on your grazing table as their main meal — think wedding receptions, long lunches, evening events — we scale up significantly.

A grazing table for a meal needs substance. We're talking a generous mix of proteins, cheeses, breads, dips, seasonal produce, and enough variety that people can keep coming back. For a wedding of 50 people, that's a very different table to nibbles for 20.

This is where talking to us early really matters — because getting the quantities right for a larger event takes planning.

A rough guide by group size

Every event is different, but here's a general starting point:

• 10–15 people, light snacks — a platter box or two, beautifully styled

• 20–30 people, light snacks — a small grazing table or multiple platter boxes

• 20–30 people, main meal — a full grazing table with substantial variety

• 50–100 people, main meal — a large grazing table, potentially multiple stations

These are starting points only — we always tailor to your specific occasion.

What about dietary requirements?

This is something we take really seriously at Platter. Dietary requirements affect quantities more than people realise — if a third of your guests are vegetarian, that changes the balance of what we put on the table entirely.

Always let us know upfront. We'd rather know early and get it right than make adjustments last minute.

The no-wastage promise

We source fresh, local, seasonal produce for every single order. That means we care deeply about nothing going to waste. We've been doing this since 2018 and we've got a pretty good feel for what "enough" looks like — enough that nobody goes hungry, not so much that half the table gets thrown away.

It's a balance, and it's one we take seriously.

Just talk to us

Honestly the best thing you can do is come to us with your numbers and your occasion and let us ask you the right questions. We'll get it exactly right — no wastage, no running out, just a really beautiful table that your people will talk about.

That's what we're here for.

Belle x