Office lunch for 20: boxed lunches, a buffet or trays?

For an office lunch for 20, boxed lunches are the simplest and the most predictable: 20 Basic Boxed Lunches are 20 x $14.50 = $290, everything included, nothing to serve. A hot buffet from Buffet Menu 1 is 20 x $18.99 = $379.80, plus $30 for plates, napkins and silverware, so $409.80, or $20.49 a person, and it is the right call when the meal is the point of the meeting. Trays are the cheapest, about $231 for a hot spread or $248 for a cold one, roughly $11.55 to $12.40 a person, but someone has to set them out and clear up. Delivery from $40 and 9.25% sales tax apply to all three. Here is how to pick.

Option 1: boxed lunches

Each box has a sandwich on a fresh baked French roll, a cookie, chips and condiments. Hand them out, eat, drop the box in the recycling. No serving utensils, no leftovers to deal with, and everyone knows exactly what they got.

• Basic Boxed Lunch: $14.50 each. Choose from tuna salad, ham & cheddar, combo (ham, turkey and genoa salami), chicken Caesar wrap, turkey BLT, smoked turkey & Swiss, shaved roast beef & cheddar, or vegetarian.
• Executive Boxed Lunch: $16.50 each. Adds a side of fruit, potato salad or cole slaw, and a brownie or cookie. More sandwich choices, including Dagwood, tuna BLT and Tuscan turkey.
• Executive Chef's Chopped Salad: $17.50 each, for people who want a salad instead of bread.

Cost for 20: Basic boxes $290 ($14.50 a person). Executive boxes $330 ($16.50). A mix of 15 Executive boxes and 5 Chopped Salads is $247.50 + $87.50 = $335. Add Soft Drinks or Bottled Water at $2.49 each, $49.80 for 20.

Two rules to know. The minimum is 20 boxes. And to avoid a 10% charge, keep sandwich choices to three for orders of 20 or fewer and four for larger orders. Split sides, dressings or desserts also carry a surcharge, so pick one side for the room.

Best for: working lunches, trainings, meetings that run through noon, crews on a job site, anywhere people eat at their desks or on the move.

Option 2: a hot buffet

A buffet turns lunch into an event. Two hot entrées, three sides and bread, set out in the break room or the conference room, with people serving themselves.

Sample Buffet Menu 1 for 20: Chicken Alfredo with Bow Tie Pasta and Baked Mostaccioli, with Classic Caesar Salad, Garden Vegetable Medley, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Fresh Baked Homemade Bread & Butter.

Cost for 20: food 20 x $18.99 = $379.80. Plates, napkins and silverware (see Plates, Napkins & Silverware): 20 x $1.50 = $30. Subtotal $409.80, or $20.49 a person. If lunch will sit out while people drift in, add a chafing dish for each hot dish, four at $17 = $68, which brings it to $477.80, or $23.89 a person. Buffet Menu 2 at $19.99 adds chicken marsala, piccata and pot roast; Buffet Menu 3 at $20.99 adds carved sirloin and salmon.

The buffet minimum is 20 guests. The driver sets the food out with serving utensils. If you want someone to tend the buffet and clear up, a server is $35 an hour with a four-hour minimum, plus a 20% service charge.

Best for: a quarterly all-hands, a thank-you lunch for a crew, a client visit, a holiday lunch, any meal where sitting down together is the reason you are doing it.

Option 3: trays

Trays are priced per tray, most serve about 20, and there is no minimum. You pay for exactly what you want and nothing else, and you can pick them up in Yorkville and skip the delivery fee.

Hot tray spread for 20:

• Chicken Oreganato, serves 20, gluten free, $80
• Baked Mostaccioli, small, $45
• Tossed Mixed Greens, $49
• Fresh Homemade Bread, serves 20, $11.99
• Assorted Home Baked Cookies, 40 count, $45

Total $230.99, or $11.55 a person. Settings add $30, so $260.99, or $13.05.

Cold tray spread for 20:

• Deli Platter, meats and cheeses with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, olives, condiments and buns, $95
• Macaroni Pasta Salad, $59
• Potato Salad, $49
• Assorted Home Baked Cookies, $45

Total $248, or $12.40 a person. Settings add $30, so $278, or $13.90.

The catch: trays are not portioned per person, so if your 20 become 26, the tray does not grow. And somebody in the office owns setting out, serving and clearing. For a self-sufficient team that is fine. For a client meeting it is not.

Best for: casual team lunches, a Friday treat, a potluck top-up, a group that happily serves itself.

Side by side for 20

Food and settings only, before delivery (from $40) and 9.25% tax:

• Basic boxed lunches: $290, $14.50 a person. Settings included. No serving.
• Executive boxed lunches: $330, $16.50 a person. Settings included. No serving.
• Buffet Menu 1 with settings: $409.80, $20.49 a person. With four chafers: $477.80, $23.89.
• Hot trays with settings: $260.99, $13.05 a person. Self-serve.
• Cold trays with settings: $278, $13.90 a person. Self-serve.
• Drinks, any option: $2.49 each, $49.80 for 20.

How to decide in one minute

• Everyone eats at a different time, or at their desk: boxed lunches.
• The lunch is the meeting: buffet.
• Tight budget and a team that will set it out: trays.
• Mixed dietary needs: any option works. Tell us in the dietary notes box and we prepare and label vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal and allergy meals separately. Boxed lunches make this easiest because each box is labelled.
• Fewer than 20 people: trays, which have no minimum. Boxed lunches and buffets start at 20.

Ordering

Drop-off orders need three days' notice. Delivery is $40 to Yorkville, Oswego, Montgomery, Aurora and Plainfield, $45 to Naperville and Geneva, and $50 to St. Charles, Bolingbrook and Joliet. The driver texts when they are five minutes out. If your team eats together every week, tell us once and we keep the order on file. See corporate lunch catering for more, ask for a quote (see get a quote), or call or text (630) 553-9533.

Questions

How much does an office lunch for 20 cost?

Boxed lunches $290 to $350 depending on the box, a hot buffet about $410 with settings, trays about $231 to $278 with settings. Delivery from $40 and 9.25% tax are extra.

What is the minimum order for boxed lunches?

Twenty boxes, with up to three sandwich choices for 20 or fewer to avoid a 10% charge.

Is a buffet cheaper than boxed lunches?

No. For 20 people, Basic boxed lunches are $14.50 a person all in, and a Buffet Menu 1 buffet is $20.49 with settings. The buffet gives a hot, two-entrée meal; the boxes give convenience.

Can I mix boxed lunches and a salad?

Yes. The Executive Chef's Chopped Salad is $17.50 and counts toward the 20-box minimum.

Do you deliver to Aurora and Naperville offices?

Yes. Aurora is $40 delivery and Naperville $45. We deliver across Kendall, Kane, Will and DuPage counties.

How much notice do you need?

Three days for boxed lunches, buffets and trays. For anything sooner, call (630) 553-9533.