I am throwing a 30th birthday party in a wine cellar for my boyfriend this weekend and have decided to go with Raclette for the meal. I have bought 4 half moons of cheese and 10kilos of potatoes plus the accompanying pickles, onions and sweetcorn. This is where I need some advice - can anyone tell me if this is enough (or nowhere near...!!) cheese and potatoes for 40odd people? There will be dessert and cake to follow! Any help would be much appreciated!
I'm not sure if Dougal is allergic to the smokers (as am I) or the cheese? I don't find the raclette cheese pungent & certainly wouldn't let the smokers (smoke) in my apartment, or rather in the wine cellar. But to your original question, you should have enough potatoes. And I would want 7 - 8 kg of cheese. Also is this an evening celebration? People might be a bit more hungry at a mid-day party.
I would use 200-250 grams per person of BOTH cheese as well as spuds.
When you got such a big amount of people it usually levels out if you take this average amount,for example if you were doing this for kids or a bunch of elderly people then you would have to reduce the amount of cheese and spuds to say 150-200 gr per head and for forty builders and bricklayers you could use 250+gr per head
You also mention that you got pickles and other stuff to go with it, so I think you are indeed on the safe side.
Happy birthday to the Boyfirned and E guete when u enjoy the Raclette
I'd not buy less because it is a dinner. Some people, including myself, eat a light lunch if they're invited for dinner.
I think raclette is a dish where it is a bit difficult to plan how much will be eaten. One half moon of cheese for ten persons is, depending on the size of the cheese wheel, two portions or more per person - I think that's fine for a menu with desert.
Do you rent two of the professional raclette oven thingies or have you collected table ovens for 40 persons?
make sure you have all the required peppers oh yeah, now there is a specific raclette pepper, the only place i have seen it is coop, the orange pepper Orangenpfeffer and lemon Zitronenpfeffer are a must, i think you can get them from coop or migro, oh yeah the place will smell for a couple of days.
Thanks for all your help guys, I feel reassured that I have enough now! I’m not too worried about the smell as I’m having it in a wine cellar and not our flat!
I’m already arranged the oven “thingies” (what are they called??) thanks Nathu and ground pepper is a must!! I’ll try your suggestion of paprika too though! I’ll check out your recommendation of the orange and lemon pepper too thanks Simon!
Just thinking about it is making me hungry.... Anway thanks again everyone
I want to come. I can't believe how long we've lived here and I've never had either raclette, foundue or rosti (except out of a packet). I adore cheese and potatoes so I think I'm going to have to buy me a raclette set
i fell in love with raclette long before i moved here! my boyfriend had bought me a raclette machine which i had taken with me in london, in hope that this could make up for his absence! well, it did!
I've just discovered that Rosti in a packet, it's fantastic stuff. My favourite hangover brunch is now Rosti, with speck/bacon layed on top and Raclette cheese melted over that, topped off with a fried egg or two.
We had a raclette evening here at work, and they served hot chillies as one of the condiments, not sure it's tradional, but very tasty.
I was at a big raclette party the other week and the only problem was that there was only one raclette appliance (the 'real' one, not the one with little pans), so everyone had to wait a very long time to eat and no one could really eat at the same time. The people in charge of the cheese were also working non-stop. Otherwise it was amazing! Have a great party!