Potluck Dinners are Fun but Chaotic - How to Make them Better

What is a potluck dinner? It's an event where the guests bring whatever food dish they wish, and the result is the luck of the pot or potluck. In other words, whatever shows up. Suppose you were interviewing an investment advisor and you asked her what her investment strategy is, and she responds "potluck." You would seek the assistance of another advisor. I think the same goes with food. If you're planning something, whether a program of investing or a dinner, a little planning goes a long way.

Potluck dinners can be fun. Potluck dinners can also make your stomach turn. Over the years I have been to any number of these events. They're popular with community and church groups as an inexpensive way to have a meal and some fellowship. I have been to dinners where 80% of the guests thought that pasta was a nifty idea, or chicken, or eggplant or (pick a food group). Because it's potluck, not thought is given to the preparation of or the mix of foods. It doesn't have to be this way.

My preference for a small gathering of people where budget is a big consideration is to cater it and charge each individual the per head cost. Chances are strong that each person's cash outlay will be the same or a little more than if they prepared the meal themselves. But that's only my preference. I'm not going to change the minds of people who like potluck gatherings, nor shall I try. I shall attempt, however, to suggest a way to take a little bit of luck out of the potluck, so you can still enjoy the folksiness of the event without gagging.

I think it's pretty safe to say that local health departments hate potluck dinners because their inspectors don't get a chance to run their creepy little tests on the fare. Nothing upsets a regulator more than taking away from him that which he regulates. Here on Long Island, in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, all sorts of church and community groups served what amounted to potluck dinners to people in need. At my church, St. Mark's in Islip, we had a couple of weeks of "Loaves and Fishes" dinners for displaced folks. These were basically potluck dinners with the parishioners providing the food. A lovely Christian project. St Mark's wasn't busted (it has a full kitchen), but some organizations were. The inspectors swooped in and ordered the food carted away and destroyed because they didn't comply with the precious regulations. People like this should be held down and stuffed full of multiple renditions of baked ziti.

First you need a committee of one or two people. This is where it gets a little different from a traditional potluck dinner - it's getting organized. The portion numbers on the following chart are derived from an excellent article on cooking for crowds. It isn't carved in stone. Different books and websites will recommend different numbers, but they won't change radically. You will notice the assignment column on the right. Please feel free to print or copy this table as you need. I suggest that you pass this form around to the members of your organization. Inevitably a few people will neglect to put their names down, and here is where the committee will have to make a few phone calls. Ideally, if you can put this form on your group's website it will save a lot of time. Just make certain that there is only one official form in existence, otherwise you will get a lot of duplication. Some members will feel that they are getting stuck with a more expensive item because the cookies and pasta went first. Here is where the committee may need to break down some of the more expensive dishes such as steak or lobster into two or three member assignments.

So this article recommends taking a little of the luck out of potluck dinners. Your dinner will be just as much fun, but won't turn into a baked macaroni festival. Mangia!

Copyright © 2012 by Russell F. Moran, except for the food portion table which you are invited to print or copy as you need.