So last month my cousin asked me to handle food for her kid’s birthday bash. Never done professional catering before but thought “how hard can it be?” Spoiler: pretty darn hard.
Brainstorming The Menu
Started scribbling ideas at 2 AM. Wanted fancy unicorn cupcakes and sandwich towers like Pinterest shows. Reality check hit when I priced fondant. Scrapped that quick. Made bullet points instead:
- Kid-friendly: Mini hot dogs & pizza bites
- Adults: Chicken skewers & caprese sticks
- Cheap carbs: Pasta salad mountain
- Allergy trap: Separate nut-free table
Forgot drinks completely until the night before. Panic-bought three jugs of pink lemonade.
Execution Chaos
Morning of party:
1AM: Realized oven fits only two baking sheets. Made pizza bites in eight batches. Flour covered my entire kitchen floor.
3AM: Frosting melted because fridge overflowed. Stuck cupcakes in bathtub with ice packs. Felt like a genius.
11AM: Arrived at venue. Dropped pasta salad carrying box. Dog helped “clean” grass stains off spinach. Started sweating.
12PM: Cousin whispered “Aunt Linda’s gluten-free”. Ran to supermarket for rice crackers.
What Actually Worked
- Mini foods: Kids demolished anything tiny
- Label system: Big signs shouting “NO NUTS” saved headaches
- Leak-proof pitchers: No sticky floors!
Biggest surprise: Adults fought over leftover caprese sticks. Still don’t know why.
Mistakes I’d Fix
Never again:
- Assuming all ovens work
- Serving pasta near golden retrievers
- Ignoring dietary needs until meltdown
Ended up costing $17 per head – way over my $10 target. But seeing kids lick frosting mustaches? Worth every burned pizza bite.
