How to organize a potluck

Step 1: Fix the date, the place and the headcount

Pick a date and a rough number of guests before anything else. The number tells you how much food to ask for. Count adults and older children as full portions, and young children as half.

Confirm the kitchen can do what you need. A potluck for twenty with one oven means asking for cold dishes and slow cooker dishes, not five casseroles that all need the oven at 180 degrees.

Step 2: Decide categories and quantities

Write down the categories you need, and a number for each. For a meal-sized potluck, a rule of thumb for twenty people is three to four mains, four to five sides, two salads, three desserts, plenty of drinks, and the paper goods covered by someone.

Rule of thumb for dishes, not servings; a dish feeds about six to eight. Adjust it for how hungry the group will be.

Step 3: Share one link

Make the sign up sheet and post the guest link where the guests already are: the group chat, the invitation, the team channel. One place to look beats a thread of replies. A guest sees what is left and picks it.

Say in the note what the host provides, such as the main course or the drinks, so guests do not duplicate it. Mention parking, the door code and anything else that people always ask.

Step 4: Look after allergies and special diets

Ask guests to add a dietary note when they sign up, and to label the dish at the table. Keep one dish that is plainly free of the common allergens, and keep its serving spoon away from the others. Put out cards so people can write ingredients.

Step 5: The day itself

Set up a hot station with a power strip and a few slow cookers, a cold station with a cooler or fridge space, and a table for the paper goods. Put the serving spoons next to each dish. Cover the table near the door with a cloth so that the guests have somewhere to put things down while they take their coats off.

Lock the sheet a day or two before the event so the numbers stop moving, and print the list if you want a copy by the food table. Pack leftover containers for people to take food home. See the potluck ideas for dishes to suggest.