How much jollof rice do I need per person?

Around 300 to 350 grams of cooked rice per adult as a main, which is roughly a generous cup and a half. A small tray feeds four to six, a medium eight to twelve, and a large fifteen to twenty.

How far in advance should I order Nigerian catering?

At least 24 hours for family trays, and a week for large events or Nigerian Independence Day. Soups that need long cooking benefit from more notice.

What food runs out first at a Nigerian party?

Jollof rice, fried plantain and suya, almost every time. Order more of those than you think you need and slightly less of the swallow.

How much food for a Nigerian party?

Two things go wrong at Nigerian parties. Either the jollof finishes an hour in and somebody is sent to buy bread, or there are four trays left over and the host spends a week eating rice.

Both are avoidable with numbers. These are the ones we work to.

The per-head numbers

For adults, at an event where food is the main event rather than a side activity.

Item	Per adult
Rice as the main starch	300–350 g cooked
Soup, as a main with swallow	350–400 ml
Swallow	1 wrap, 1.5 for a hungry crowd
Protein pieces	2, plus 20% spare
Fried plantain	4–5 slices
Small chops / suya as a starter	4–6 pieces
Drinks	2–3 servings across the event

Adjust down by about a quarter if the guest list skews older, and up by about a third for a young crowd or an evening event where people have not eaten since lunch.

Children under twelve eat roughly half an adult portion, but count teenagers as adults. Count them generously, in fact.

What a tray actually feeds

Our trays come in three sizes and the serving numbers assume the tray is one of two or three dishes on the table, not the only food available.

Tray	Rice	Soup
Small	4–6 people	4–6 people
Medium	8–12 people	8–12 people
Large	15–20 people	15–20 people

If a tray is the only dish, take the lower number. A large tray of jollof as the sole food for twenty people will not stretch.

Three worked examples

Twenty people, birthday, evening

1 large jollof rice tray
1 medium fried rice tray, because people like a choice
Peppered chicken, 40 pieces
Fried plantain, large
Suya platter to start, 2 large portions

This lands slightly over, which is correct for a birthday. Leftovers at a party are a much smaller failure than running out.

Fifty people, naming ceremony, lunch

2 large jollof trays and 1 large fried rice tray
2 large soup trays — typically egusi and one other
Swallow: 50–60 wraps
Protein: 100 pieces across chicken, beef and fish
Moi moi and plantain as sides

At this size, split the soups. Half the room will want egusi and the other half will want whatever reminds them of home, which is rarely the same soup.

Twelve people, office lunch, mostly new to the food

1 medium jollof tray
Grilled chicken, 24 pieces
Fried plantain, large
1 small soup tray with a swallow pack, clearly labelled, for the curious
Coleslaw, which does more work in this setting than you expect

Keep the spice mild and put the pepper on the side. People who want heat will find it.

Tell us the headcount and we'll do the arithmetic Send the date, the number of people and roughly what you want, and we will come back with a plan and a price. Larger orders get a better rate.

Email a catering request

What always runs out first

In roughly this order, every single time:

Fried plantain. Nobody has ever regretted ordering more dodo. Order at least a third more than the numbers above suggest.
Suya. Disappears during the standing-around part of the event, before the food has officially started.
Jollof rice. Always outpaces fried rice by a noticeable margin, even when guests say they prefer fried.
Peppered chicken. Goes faster than beef.

And what is left over: swallow, almost always. People take less of it than they mean to. Order about three quarters of what the per-head number suggests and you will be about right.

How much notice we need

24 hours for any family tray. Soups need long, slow cooking and cannot be rushed without it showing.
48 hours for events over about twenty people.
A week for Nigerian Independence Day on 1 October, which is the busiest catering day of our year, and for weddings.

If you are late, call anyway. Sometimes we can. But the food is better when we are not sprinting.

Common questions

How much jollof rice per person?

300 to 350 grams cooked for an adult treating it as the main dish, which is about a generous cup and a half.

How far ahead should I order?

24 hours for trays, 48 for larger events, a week for Independence Day and weddings.

What runs out first?

Fried plantain, suya and jollof rice. Order more of those and slightly less swallow.