Throwing a birthday party can be an expensive business.
There’s the cake, the food, the drinks, the plates and utensils – and if you’re popular, you could have a lot of mouths to feed.
One savvy mum pulled the boat out for her 78-year-old nan’s big day and created a mouth-watering feast for 50 guests – and she managed to do the whole thing with a budget of just £100.
Samantha Watkins knew she wanted to give her grandmother Sylvia a fantastic day, so she stuck to a strict budget and used her home cooking skills to pull off an incredible spread.
‘I used to go to work with my nan when I was a child,’ Samantha told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk.
‘She worked on building sites catering for the workers, and she then went on to own a cafe in the Roman Road Indoor Market in London, where I joined her every Saturday to cook and take orders all at the grand old age of 12 years old.
‘I’ve done many a catering job for family friends over the years – it’s a real passion.’
That passion is evident in the sheer range of delicious delights that were on offer at the bash.
Samantha made her nan’s favourite; curry and rice. She also laid out side dishes of mini veggie samosas, spring rolls and naan bread. There was homemade coleslaw, hot dogs for the kids, and decadent sandwiches made with fresh chicken breast and a joint of ham that Samantha boiled herself.
‘You get far more meat from a joint then you would from pre-packed meat and it tastes so much better,’ explains Samantha.
‘I shopped around at Tesco, Sainsbury, Iceland and Lidl to find deals. For example, Lidl does coriander at 29p, whereas a whole bag at Tesco is £1.25 so big savings there.
‘Four chicken breasts already cooked at Iceland were £3 against Tesco which was £5.90 for four.
‘Sainsbury’s had offers on their salad that week for 49p and Lidl sliced smoked salmon was £2.95 a pack. Looking around all the shops for the best deals and price comparing is the way to keep costs low.’
And Samantha had a helping hand from some kind friends and family members too.
‘A friend kindly did some lamb samosas and homemade coleslaw to go along with the curry,’ she adds. ‘My cousin Mike is also well-known in the family for his homemade foot-long sausage rolls and homemade scotch eggs.
‘The plan was three different types of sandwiches, egg mayonnaise, chicken salad and ham, two lots of different hot food and a few sides of picky bits like sausage rolls, mini pizzas, mini cocktail sausages: the typical food people love to see and eat on a buffet.
‘I love smoked salmon and beetroot, so I decided I’d do a little of what I like and created a mini toast with beetroot cream cheese topped with some smoked salmon and dill.’ Fancy.
When it came to pudding, Samantha created a vibrant fruit platter for that added ‘wow’ factor, and there were also mini cakes and chocolate rolls.
‘I think every buffet table should have a centrepiece and that had to be Nan’s favourite giant fresh cream and strawberry cake, which we stuck a giant sparkling fountain in when we sang her Happy Birthday,’ she says.
Nan Sylvia was delighted with the spread and the guests were all happy – so Samantha’s party was a resounding hit.
‘My Nanna Sylvia is very special to our family,’ she adds. ‘We all adore her, but no one more than me!
‘We were going to take Nan originally to the Ned Hotel in London for a two-hour buffet priced at £50 per person – we saved hundreds doing it ourselves and had no time limit.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/30/mum-creates-incredible-birthday-buffet-50-guests-just-2-per-head-12150684/
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