One of the most common questions Anne gets: “How much food is that, actually?” Trays are the standard unit in Filipino catering, but if you’ve never ordered before, “half tray” and “full tray” don’t tell you much. Here’s exactly what you’re getting.
The Basics
A half tray feeds approximately 12–15 people as part of a full spread (meaning there are other dishes on the table). A full tray feeds approximately 25–30. These numbers assume normal serving sizes and that people are eating from multiple dishes — which is how Filipino catering works. No one is eating an entire tray of adobo by themselves.
How the Packages Work
Anne’s packages include a mix of half and full trays depending on size:
- The Gathering ($247, 15–25 guests): Half trays of rice and pancit, 2 half-tray entrees, 30 lumpia
- The Celebration ($447, 25–40 guests): Half trays of rice and pancit, 3 half-tray entrees, 50 lumpia
- The Fiesta ($597, 40–60 guests): Full trays of rice and pancit, 5 half-tray entrees, 100 lumpia
The rice and pancit scale up to full trays in the Fiesta because those are the dishes that go fastest — people come back for seconds of both. The entrees stay as half trays because with 5 options, the variety covers the table without requiring full quantities of each.
When to Upsize
A few situations where you might want to bump up:
- Your crowd eats a lot (football teams, teenage boys, Filipino families who treat eating as a competitive sport)
- The event runs longer than 3 hours and people will graze multiple times
- You have fewer entree options and people will be loading up on each one
- You’d rather have leftovers than run out
When the Standard Is Fine
If you have a diverse spread with multiple entrees, lumpia, rice, and pancit, the packages are calibrated correctly. Filipino spreads are abundance by design — the packages are built to have enough, not exactly enough.
Not sure? Text Anne at 602-345-1201 with your headcount and she’ll tell you exactly what to order. She’s done this enough times to know what runs out and what doesn’t.