# Catering Portion Quantity Calculator

> Work out how much of one dish to cook and how much raw ingredient to buy for an event, from guests, portion size, cooking yield and an extra allowance.

Category: Food & hospitality · Applies to: Worldwide · Last updated: 2026-10-29
Interactive calculator: https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/catering-portion-quantity-calculator

Multiply guests by the served portion and add a safety margin for the cooked quantity. Divide by the cooking or trim yield to get the raw weight to order.

Also called: Catering food calculator, Food quantity per person calculator.

## Inputs
- Guests (default 120)
- Served portion per guest (unit g; default 180)
- Cooked yield from raw (unit %; default 70)
- Extra allowance (unit %; default 10; optional)

## Results
- Raw quantity to buy
- Cooked quantity to serve
- Portions including allowance

## Formula

```
Cooked kg = Guests × (1 + Allowance% ÷ 100) × Portion g ÷ 1000;  Raw kg = Cooked kg ÷ (Yield% ÷ 100)
```

Where:
- Portion: served (cooked) weight per guest
- Yield%: cooked weight as a share of raw weight
- Allowance%: extra over the exact guest count

## Worked example
1. Portions = 120 × 1.10 = 132.
2. Cooked = 132 × 180 g = 23,760 g = 23.76 kg.
3. Raw = 23.76 ÷ 0.70 = 33.94 kg.

**Result:** For 120 guests at 180 g cooked each with a 10% margin, cook 23.76 kg, which needs about 33.94 kg raw at a 70% yield.

## What the result means

Round the raw quantity up to whole packs. If the dish is one of several on the menu, reduce the portion: guests take less of each item when there is more choice (the buffet calculator spreads a total plate weight over several dishes).

## Assumptions and limits
- Every guest takes one portion of this dish.
- Yield is the same for the whole batch.
- Portion sizes and yields vary by dish, cut and cooking method; use your own measured figures.

## Questions

### How do I find the cooked yield?

Weigh a batch raw, cook it as you will for the event, and weigh it again. Cooked ÷ raw × 100 is the yield.

## Related calculators
- [Buffet Food Quantity Calculator](https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/buffet-food-quantity-calculator)
- [Catering Budget Calculator](https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/catering-budget-calculator)
- [Recipe Scaling Calculator](https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/recipe-scaling-calculator)

Source: GM¹X CalcVerse — https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/catering-portion-quantity-calculator