The Party Food and Wine Planner

Count portions, give each course one appetite, buy whole packs, label every dish, taste each pairing before the party, and count the wine in pours

TasteStop's free tools each answer one question. The Party Food Quantity Calculator scales one list of dishes to one guest count, the Wine Pairing Finder names one wine for one kind of dish, and the Flavor Pairing Finder lists what goes with one ingredient. A party asks all of them at once, and typed in one dish at a time, a menu of two mains and three sides is bought as if every guest ate a full portion of all five, and every child ate like an adult. Writing this planner, we also found the quantity calculator rounding totals to the nearest gram and the Tasting Score reading its rating from a rounded score (a 7.95 was called Excellent). Both are fixed. The Party Food and Wine Planner puts the tools in order for one party. It counts portions (children under 12 at half, rounded up), shares each course among its dishes with a quarter more for the favorite, buys whole packs rounded up, and asks about allergies with the invitation so every dish gets a label. Then it reads the Flavor Pairing Finder two steps deep for a side that bridges two mains, tastes the Wine Pairing Finder's picks with the dish and scores them on the Tasting Score, and counts the wine in pours. On the worked example, 18 guests need 10.84 kg of food, not 19.62 kg, and 4 bottles of table wine, not 8. Every figure is computed from TasteStop's own tools, the worked figures are examples, and the rules of thumb are labeled as such; pairing rules are taste guidance to be tasted. It covers buying and serving quantities only, not cooking or food safety, and is not medical advice about allergies. Wine is for adults of legal drinking age: serve responsibly, offer non-alcoholic options, never serve minors or intoxicated guests, and arrange safe rides home; it makes no health claim about wine. Inside: seven steps, a head count and menu sheet, a shopping sheet, a pour plan with an allergy check, cut-out dish labels, a quantity card and a quickstart, plus a personalised sheet worked from the numbers you enter in the tools.

Look inside

Two full pages from the planner, exactly as printed. Click either to read it at full size before you decide.

What is in it

• The Half-Portion Rule: the guest list counted as portions, children under 12 at half, rounded up
• The Course Budget Rule: each course shared among its dishes, with a quarter more for the favorite
• Round Up at the Shop: every dish in whole packs, the spare always under one pack
• Ask When You Invite, Label What You Serve: the nine major allergens and a label beside every dish
• The Shared-Flavor Rule: a side built on a flavor both mains pair with, two steps deep
• Taste Before You Trust: each pairing tasted with its dish and scored, keeping only Good or better
• The Pour Count Rule: bottles from the pours, a drink for every guest, and a ride home for everyone
• The head count and menu sheet and the shopping sheet, printable
• The pour plan with an allergy check, and eight cut-out dish labels
• A quantity card by course and dish count, a bottle card, and a one-page quickstart

The planner picks up where the free Party Food Quantity Calculator leaves off. The calculator gives every dish a full portion for every guest; the planner counts portions (children at half), shares each course among its dishes, and rounds up to whole packs. It builds a side on a flavor both mains pair with in the Flavor Pairing Finder, tastes the Wine Pairing Finder's picks with the Tasting Score Calculator, and counts wine in pours. Ask every guest about allergies and label every dish. Serve responsibly: wine is for adults of legal drinking age only; offer non-alcoholic options, never serve minors or intoxicated guests, and arrange safe rides home. It covers buying quantities only, not cooking or food safety, and makes no health claim about wine. The worked figures are examples.