Cocktail Receptions & Small Chops
Cocktail Party and Small Chops Catering in Memphis & Cordova, TN
Count a standing reception in pieces per guest. Pans per table is the wrong unit here, because nobody sits down, nobody uses a knife, and everything has to hold up on a tray for two hours without being rescued in an oven. Plan on about six to eight pieces a head for a two-hour reception where dinner follows, and ten to twelve where the reception is the meal.
Run that against the real units rather than against a feeling. Puff Puff comes as an order of roughly fifty pieces. Meat Pie and Fish Pie are sold by the dozen, in regular or large. Chin Chin is the one item that never runs out at an embarrassing moment. Sixty guests at eight pieces each is 480. Two Puff Puff orders cover 100 of those and twenty dozen across Meat Pie and Fish Pie covers 240, leaving about 140 for the Moi Moi squares and the Chin Chin, which is sold by the pound rather than the piece. Moi Moi cut into small squares is a bean-based, meat-free option that needs no separate vegetarian tray, and one of the few things here that holds its shape served cool.
Beef Suya is the exception worth building the room around. It comes in four sizes, from a small portion up to a full tray platter, and it is what guests queue for and come back to — put it at the far end of the space from the door and it will pull people through the room instead of leaving them bunched at the entrance. Peppered Chicken, cut down small, does the same job with less heat.
The other half of the arithmetic is what people are holding, and at a standing reception they drink faster than they eat. A cup is 16 oz, one gallon pours for 8-10 and the 2-gallon jug for 16-20. Plan on two cups a head across two hours, so sixty guests is 120 servings: twelve to fifteen gallons, or six to eight jugs, spread over Chapman, Zobo, the Pina Colada Mocktail, fresh-fruit Lemonade and Butterfly Pea Tea. A standing room notices a single drink option far faster than a seated one does. Ice is on you — everything is packaged chilled, but we do not provide it.
Collection is from our kitchen in Cordova, with the quote request in three days ahead of the pickup window.
Twelve Things You Can Eat Standing Up
Six one-handed items sold in pieces, dozens and pound bags, plus five drinks and the suya platter that decides where your guests stand.
Half Pan: Serves 10-12 guests
Full Pan: Serves 20-24 guests
Running A Standing Reception
Count Pieces, Then Convert
Six to eight pieces a head before dinner, ten to twelve if this is dinner. Convert to orders, dozens and pound bags before you compare any prices.
Three Drinks Minimum, And Your Own Ice
A gallon serves 8-10. Standing guests drink faster than seated ones, and they notice a single option quickly. We package chilled but supply no ice.
No Cutlery Means No Chafing
Most of this list is served at room temperature, so a cocktail order is the one occasion where not owning chafing racks costs you nothing at all.
Questions We Get About This
A standing reception rides on three answers: who brings the ice, what the chops turn up in, and where the order is collected from.
No, we do not provide ice for drinks. Our crafted refreshments and yoghurts are prepared, packaged, and stored chilled, but customers are responsible for purchasing and supplying their own ice for serving setup.
Hot delicacies (like Jollof Rice) are packaged in food-grade aluminum pans (Half or Full sizes) ready to be placed on chafing racks. Drinks are packaged in secure cups, bottles, or multi-serve gallons depending on your selection. Chafing trays and serving utensils are not included by default.
All catering orders are pickup-only. We do not offer delivery at this time. We will coordinate a convenient pickup time window with you at our kitchen location once your menu is finalized and confirmed.