Cook big, not many
The mistake is trying to cook thirty individual portions to order while everyone waits and you sweat. The answer is one or two large cuts cooked slowly and then carved or shredded: a pork shoulder, a butterflied leg of lamb, a brisket. They feed a crowd with almost no last-minute work and they rest happily while you get everything else ready.
Use the fire in order
- Long cooks go on first, hours ahead, and rest while people arrive.
- Things that hold well next: sausages, chicken thighs, vegetables.
- Fast, fierce items last, cooked in batches as people eat: steaks, prawns, halloumi.
- Use the dying coals for fruit, flatbread and anything charred.
Prep everything the day before
- Trim, season and marinade meat the night before.
- Make sauces, slaws and dressings in advance; they improve.
- Have two chimneys of charcoal ready so you never run cold.
- Lay out platters, boards and tongs before anyone arrives.
A crowd does not want everything hot at once; they want a steady flow of food and a host who is present. Cook things that rest and hold well, keep a warm zone on the grill, and stop trying to plate thirty steaks at medium rare simultaneously.
How much meat
Plan on roughly 350 to 500g of raw meat per adult across the whole spread, less if there are generous sides. Bone-in and fatty cuts lose weight cooking, so a bone-in shoulder feeds fewer than its raw weight suggests. It is always better to have leftovers than to run short.
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