Free kitchen tool
Portion calculator
Scale a recipe from a family table to a party, an office lunch or a canteen. Pick one of my recipes or type in your own.
Ingredients
Your scaled recipe
Whole items such as eggs and onions are rounded to the nearest whole one.
Cooking for a crowd: what does not scale
- Salt, spices and herbs: add about three quarters of the scaled amount, then taste and adjust. Big batches need less than straight maths suggests.
- Cooking time does not multiply. Use several trays or pots instead of one deep one, and check doneness, not the clock.
- Liquids evaporate less from a big pot. Hold back some stock or water and add it as you go.
- Yeast dough and baking: make several normal batches rather than one giant one.
- Meat and fish must be cooked through. For larger batches, check the centre with a probe thermometer.
Cooking for 30 or more?
I cook for offices, hospital wards and family parties in London, fresh on the day.