Serving food safely at a large family celebration

A short, useful read for the HubCage community.

Cooking for a crowd is very different from cooking for a family. Large batches of food cool slowly, buffet dishes sit out for hours and fridges quickly run out of space. The main rules are to keep hot food hot, keep cold food cold and limit the time anything spends at room temperature to around two hours, or less on a hot day.

Plan the menu around what your kitchen can actually handle, and divide large quantities into shallow containers so they cool quickly. Use a food thermometer for meat and reheated dishes. Label dishes that contain common allergens such as nuts, milk or gluten so guests can choose safely. When in doubt about leftovers that have been out too long, throw them away.