Whether you're hosting a baby shower, planning a corporate lunch, throwing a graduation party, or getting together with family for the holidays, food is what brings people together around the table. And one of the smartest moves any host can make is building a great spread without trying to cook everything from scratch.
Party platters, whether you're building them yourself or ordering through a local market like LaBonne's, take the pressure off and let you actually enjoy the event you planned. Here's how to do it right.
Start with the Guest List and the Occasion
Before you think about food, think about context. A corporate lunch for twenty people in a conference room calls for something different than a backyard graduation party for fifty. A holiday open house has different needs than a sit-down shower brunch.
Ask yourself:
How many people am I feeding?
Is this a meal or more of a grazing situation?
What time of day is it? (Mid-morning brunch vs. late afternoon cocktail hour vs. dinner)
Are there dietary restrictions I need to accommodate?
How formal or casual is the setting?
Once you have a clear picture of the occasion, planning the food becomes much simpler.
The Building Blocks of a Great Party Spread
No matter the occasion, a great party food spread usually has a few core components working together:
1. A Protein Anchor
Every good spread needs something substantial at the center. This might be:
A deli platter with sliced meats like turkey, ham, roast beef, and salami
A shrimp cocktail platter
A hot entree from a catering menu (carved ham, roasted chicken, or meatballs)
A cold cut and cheese arrangement
At LaBonne's, our deli and catering team builds custom platters to order. Our hot bar regularly features proteins that work beautifully for parties, and for larger events, our catering menu includes options that are fully prepped and ready to serve.
2. A Cheese Board Element
Cheese is the great unifier at any party. It works with almost everything, pleases almost everyone, and elevates the overall presentation of a spread.
A solid cheese selection for a platter includes:
Something firm and aged like sharp cheddar, Manchego, or aged Gruyere
Something soft and creamy like Brie, Camembert, or a fresh goat cheese
Something bold like blue cheese, aged Gouda, or an herbed variety
Pair with crackers, sliced baguette, honey, fig jam, and a small handful of nuts. Add some fresh grapes, sliced apples (Honeycrisp or Pink Lady hold up beautifully), or dried fruit to round it out.
3. Fresh Vegetables and Dip
A crudite platter sounds basic, but done well it's genuinely refreshing alongside richer foods. The key is variety and freshness:
Sliced bell peppers (use all three colors for visual appeal)
Cherry tomatoes
Cucumber rounds
Baby carrots
Blanched broccoli or broccolini
Radishes
Sugar snap peas
Pair with a good hummus, a creamy ranch or blue cheese dip, or a roasted red pepper spread. Make sure the vegetables are properly dried after washing, because nobody wants a watery platter.
4. Something Starchy
Bread, crackers, and carbs give people something to anchor the other elements to. A couple of varieties of crackers alongside sliced baguette or a rustic artisan bread covers most bases. For heartier events, you might add a pasta salad, a grain salad, or rolls for building mini sandwiches. Check out the LaBonne's sandwich menu for ideas on what combinations work well together.
5. Something Sweet
Even a small sweet element rounds out a spread and gives people something to finish with. This could be:
A simple cookie platter
A fruit display with strawberries, grapes, and melon
Brownies or bars
A small dessert from the bakery counter
For special occasions, LaBonne's custom gift baskets make a beautiful presentation. Starting at just $35, they can be customized with sweet and savory items and delivered directly. They're a great option for showers, holidays, and corporate gifting.
How Much Food Do You Actually Need?
One of the most common mistakes party hosts make is drastically over- or under-estimating quantities. Here's a general guide:
For a cocktail-style party (grazing, no full meal):
4 to 6 pieces or bites per person per hour for the first two hours
2 to 3 pieces or bites per person for each additional hour
Plan for about 2 to 3 oz of cheese per person and 3 to 4 oz of charcuterie
For a meal-style event (plated or buffet):
4 to 6 oz of protein per person as a main
3 to 4 oz of sides per dish, per person
Plan one pound of deli meat for every 5 to 6 people
For a mixed grazing-and-meal situation:
Plan for lighter quantities on appetizers but make sure the main proteins are sufficient
If you're ordering through a catering service like LaBonne's, our team can help you calculate quantities based on your headcount and the type of event. That's one of the biggest advantages of working with a local Connecticut market that knows its product.
Presentation Makes a Difference
You don't need to be a food stylist to make a spread look good. A few principles go a long way:
Fill the space. A sparse platter looks sad even if the food is great. Fill in gaps with grapes, nuts, herbs, or extra crackers.
Use odd numbers. When arranging items like cheeses or protein portions, three or five of something looks more natural than two or four.
Vary the heights. Fold deli meats, stack crackers, use a small bowl for dips. Anything to add dimension.
Think about color. A platter that's all one color looks flat. Add visual interest with fresh herbs, sliced citrus, colorful vegetables, or fresh flowers as a garnish.
Use the right vessel. A wooden charcuterie board, a slate slab, a large white platter. These all elevate the presentation. Paper plates on a folding table work for casual backyard parties; more formal events deserve more deliberate choices.
When to Order vs. When to DIY
Here's the honest truth: building a full party spread from scratch is time-consuming, and the time you spend in the kitchen is time you're not spending with your guests.
For most events, a combination approach works best. Order the larger items and the things that require specialized prep (catering trays, deli platters, full entrees), and DIY a few simple finishing touches like a quick salad or a simple dessert.
LaBonne's Catering is built for exactly this kind of thing. We handle showers, corporate meetings, anniversaries, summer barbecues, weddings, and everyday gatherings across Connecticut. Our menu covers appetizers, full entrees, sides, and desserts, and our team makes the planning process straightforward. You tell us what you need and when, and we handle the rest.
Plan Ahead, Especially for Holidays and Large Events
If you're hosting a significant event, start planning earlier than you think you need to. For holidays, catering orders book up fast, especially around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. For summer events, popular dates fill quickly.
A good rule of thumb: the more people you're feeding and the more complex the menu, the further in advance you should reach out. For most events, two weeks of lead time is a reasonable minimum. For large holiday gatherings, a month or more is better.
Contact our team to get your order in early, or browse the full catering menu to start planning your spread.
LaBonne's Is Here to Help
At LaBonne's Markets, helping Connecticut families host great gatherings has been part of our DNA since day one. Whether you're ordering a custom deli platter, picking up a gift basket, placing a full catering order, or just shopping for ingredients to build your own spread, we're here for it.
Our four locations in Watertown, Woodbury, Salisbury, and Prospect each have a full deli, fresh prepared foods, and a catering team ready to help you plan. Sign up for our Rewards program to get exclusive discounts and holiday bonuses, shop online for pickup and delivery, or find your nearest store and come in to talk to our team in person.
We love helping people throw great parties. It's kind of our thing.
