How much does catering for 50 people cost in Denver?

Expect $1,000 to $1,750 for food. At Silver Spoons, a platter-style spread for 50 lands near $1,300, about $26 per guest; a hot buffet with chafers runs $1,400 to $1,750. Add $2.25 per setting for eco-friendly disposables, which is $112.50 for 50 guests, plus delivery by distance.

How much food do I need for 50 guests?

For a two-hour reception where appetizers replace a meal, plan 400 to 600 pieces across five or six items. For a buffet instead, that is about 19 lbs of protein, 12.5 lbs each of a starch and a vegetable side, 5 lbs of greens and 75 rolls.

How much does catering for 100 people cost?

At Silver Spoons' rates, $2,000 to $2,600 for platters and $2,800 to $3,500 for a hot buffet, plus $225 of eco-friendly disposables. Per-person cost falls only slightly between 50 and 100 guests, because food scales almost exactly with headcount.

How many appetizers per person should I order?

Three to four for a cocktail hour before dinner, four to six for a one-to-two-hour party, and eight to twelve when the appetizers stand in for dinner. Round up if the event runs past two hours.

Is there a minimum order for catering in Denver?

Silver Spoons' platters and à la carte selections carry a 15-guest minimum. Individual set menus have their own minimums, generally 15 to 24 guests depending on the menu.

How do I count children for a catering order?

Count children aged roughly 4 to 12 as half an adult and teenagers as an adult and a half. Give your caterer the adult and child split rather than a single combined number.

Should I order for everyone who RSVP'd?

For an RSVP event, 10% to 15% of yes replies typically don't arrive, so ordering to the yes count has slack built in. For workplace events and funeral receptions, order for the full headcount or above it.

Catering for 50 People: Denver Cost Guide

Name: Silver Spoons Catering & Events
Address: 1170 South Kalamath Street, Denver, CO, 80223, US
Telephone: (303) 356-9009
Price range: $$

Catering for 50 people in Denver typically runs $1,000 to $1,750 for food, depending on how it is served. At Silver Spoons, a platter-style spread for 50 lands near $1,300, about $26 a head, and a hot buffet with chafers runs $1,400 to $1,750. Add $2.25 per setting for eco-friendly disposables. Our platters carry a 15-guest minimum and we deliver across the Denver metro.

Below is the arithmetic behind those numbers, by headcount, so you can plan against a real figure instead of a guess. If you would rather just get a quote, call (303) 356-9009 or send us your date and headcount →

What Catering Costs by Headcount in Denver

Food only, before delivery, staff or gratuity. Based on our published per-person rates.

Guests	Platters, picked up or delivered	Hot buffet with chafers	Disposables at $2.25/setting
25	$500 to $650	$700 to $875	$56.25
50	$1,000 to $1,300	$1,400 to $1,750	$112.50
80	$1,600 to $2,080	$2,240 to $2,800	$180
100	$2,000 to $2,600	$2,800 to $3,500	$225
200	$4,000 to $5,200	$5,600 to $7,000	$450

Per-person cost falls only slightly as headcount rises. Food scales almost exactly with guest count: only staffing and setup spread across more people, which is why 200 guests is close to four times the cost of 50 rather than three.

What Goes Into the Per-Person Number

These are our published rates, and they are how the table above is built:

Item	Per person
Charcuterie Board	$11.00
Mezze Board (VEG)	$9.25
Farm Fresh Vegetable Crudité with hummus and buttermilk ranch	$8.50
Baja Shrimp Cocktail (GF)	$6.75
Artichoke and Jalapeño Phyllo Tarts (VEG)	$3.50
Sweet Bourbon BBQ Meatballs (DF)	$3.50
Gourmet Cookies and Double Fudge Brownies	$3.50

Four or five items together is how a platter menu reaches the mid-twenties per guest. Hot food needs a chafer package: $14.25 simple, $33.00 elevated, per warming setup rather than per guest. Everything is on our party platter menu.

Pricing current as of November 2026.

How Much Food Do You Actually Need?

Duration matters more than headcount. Guests eat about the same amount in the first hour whether there are 20 of them or 200; what changes the total is the second and third hour, when people keep grazing out of habit.

Guests	Appetizer pieces total	Distinct items
25	200 to 300	4 to 5
50	400 to 600	5 to 6
80	640 to 960	6 to 7
100	800 to 1,200	6 to 8
200	1,600 to 2,400	8 to 10

The number of distinct items grows far more slowly than the headcount. Two hundred guests do not need twenty dishes: they need eight done properly, in quantity. More variety on the same budget means less of everything and a table that runs empty in the first forty minutes.

Pieces per person, by event type:

Cocktail hour before a seated dinner, 45 to 60 minutes: 3 to 4 pieces
Office lunch or client happy hour, one to two hours: 4 to 6 pieces
Evening reception standing in for dinner: 8 to 12 pieces
Funeral or celebration of life reception: 4 to 6 pieces plus dessert
Baby or bridal shower: 5 to 7 pieces plus one sweet item per guest

For a buffet instead, per adult: 5 to 6 oz of protein for one protein or 4 oz each for two, 4 oz of a starch side, 4 oz of a vegetable side, 1.5 oz of salad greens, one and a half rolls and 1.5 dessert servings. Two proteins does not mean twice the protein: guests take some of each. Ordering as though everyone takes a full portion of both is the most common way a buffet order comes in a third over budget.

Counting People Properly

Children aged roughly 4 to 12 count as half an adult; teenagers as an adult and a half. Tell us the adult and child split rather than one combined number.
Dietary needs: order vegetarian and gluten-free for about 15% of the headcount even if nobody has declared one, and make at least one of them something the whole room wants to eat.
No-shows: for an RSVP event, 10% to 15% of yes replies typically don't arrive. For a workplace event, order for the full headcount. For a funeral reception, order above the list, because people come.

What's Not in the Per-Person Price

Delivery distance, staff hours, linens, china, glassware and gratuity sit outside the food figure at most caterers, ours included. When you compare two quotes for 50 people, line them up on those six items before comparing the headline number: that is where the difference almost always is.

Catering 50 People in Denver

We cater from our kitchen at 1170 South Kalamath Street across the Denver metro: downtown and LoDo, Cherry Creek, Wash Park, the Highlands, RiNo, DTC and the south suburbs, Golden, Lakewood, Littleton, Aurora, Broomfield, Boulder and Conifer. Fifty guests is comfortably our most common event size, whether that is an office lunch, a celebration of life reception or a shower.

Send us your headcount and date → or call (303) 356-9009. We will give you a per-person number the same day.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does catering for 50 people cost in Denver?: Expect $1,000 to $1,750 for food. At Silver Spoons, a platter-style spread for 50 lands near $1,300, about $26 per guest; a hot buffet with chafers runs $1,400 to $1,750. Add $2.25 per setting for eco-friendly disposables, which is $112.50 for 50 guests, plus delivery by distance.
How much food do I need for 50 guests?: For a two-hour reception where appetizers replace a meal, plan 400 to 600 pieces across five or six items. For a buffet instead, that is about 19 lbs of protein, 12.5 lbs each of a starch and a vegetable side, 5 lbs of greens and 75 rolls.
How much does catering for 100 people cost?: At Silver Spoons' rates, $2,000 to $2,600 for platters and $2,800 to $3,500 for a hot buffet, plus $225 of eco-friendly disposables. Per-person cost falls only slightly between 50 and 100 guests, because food scales almost exactly with headcount.
How many appetizers per person should I order?: Three to four for a cocktail hour before dinner, four to six for a one-to-two-hour party, and eight to twelve when the appetizers stand in for dinner. Round up if the event runs past two hours.
Is there a minimum order for catering in Denver?: Silver Spoons' platters and à la carte selections carry a 15-guest minimum. Individual set menus have their own minimums, generally 15 to 24 guests depending on the menu.
How do I count children for a catering order?: Count children aged roughly 4 to 12 as half an adult and teenagers as an adult and a half. Give your caterer the adult and child split rather than a single combined number.
How much food per person for a buffet?: Per adult: 5 to 6 oz of protein for a single protein or 4 oz each for two, 4 oz of a starch side, 4 oz of a vegetable side, 1.5 oz of salad greens, one and a half rolls and 1.5 dessert servings.
Should I order for everyone who RSVP'd?: For an RSVP event, 10% to 15% of yes replies typically don't arrive, so ordering to the yes count has slack built in. For workplace events and funeral receptions, order for the full headcount or above it.