Planning Food for 25 Guests
The buffet threshold
At 25 guests, hand-passing plates stops working and a buffet line becomes the practical default. Set dishes in a fixed order (plates, mains, sides, toppings, cutlery last) and put the slowest dish first so the line spreads out. A second serving dish for each item lets you swap a full one in from the kitchen instead of leaving the line to refill.
This is also the size where mixed appetites average out. With 25 people you can safely plan on standard portions rather than padding every dish: the light eaters and hungry eaters cancel each other, so put your 10% buffer on the one or two most popular items instead of on everything.
For the general rules behind these numbers (the 1-pound-per-adult baseline, how to mix mains and sides, and when to add a buffer), see Party Food Planning 101 or the serving size chart.