Feeding a focus group: 29 advance registrants = x pizzas?

June 23, 2009 6:06 PM

I need to order pizza for a focus group of undergraduate students meeting at lunchtime. 29 students have signed up in advance (+3 facilitators), but I expect fewer to actually show up; the meeting is voluntary but some will receive extra credit in class for attending. How many 16" pizzas should I order?

(and I'll give you extra credit if you can suggest a good ratio of vegetarian pies to meat-bearing pies!)

Thanks!!

posted by zepheria to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

Can't you just ask the pizza place?
posted by wfrgms at 6:13 PM on June 23, 2009 [1 favorite]

Male or female?
posted by mds35 at 6:14 PM on June 23, 2009

people usually say 2 slices per person, at 8 slices per pie - you're looking at 8 pizzas. if you're thinking more like 15 than 30 will show up you could go with 4 pizzas (as if everyone showed up that would give everyone at least one piece).

as a vegetarian, i'll say that the veggie/cheese pizza is ALWAYS gone first. in college you'll probably have more than the average number of new vegetarians/sometimes vegetarians. if you go with 3 of the 8 being cheese or veggie you should be good.
posted by nadawi at 6:14 PM on June 23, 2009

Best answer: 30ish people? 10 pies, and fyi according the vegetarians i know, the vegetarian pizza is always gone before the rest. the meat eaters take a slice of pepperoni, then followup with a nice green pepper and mushroom (or what have you), while the vegetarians only get the pepper and mushroom. they tend to lose out in the long run.

4 meat, 4 veggie, 2 plain cheese. this is my suggestion.
posted by radiosilents at 6:15 PM on June 23, 2009 [2 favorites]

2 pepperoni,
1 cheese,
2 veg (w/ mushroom),
1 veg (w/o mushroom),
1 pep+green peppers,
1 ground beef+onion,
1 pesto-pizza (either w/chicken or w/o)

That makes 4 meat, 3 veg, 1 cheese, 1 pesto... everyone wins.
posted by ageispolis at 6:33 PM on June 23, 2009

if you're thinking more like 15 than 30 will show up you could go with 4 pizzas (as if everyone showed up that would give everyone at least one piece).

I dunno, when you promise free pizza, offering one slice per person is kind of mean, and I wouldn't take that chance. Make sure you have at least 2 slices per person, which means at least 8 pizzas for 32 people. You should definitely base the # of pies on the number of people who signed up rather than the unknown, somewhat smaller number you expect to actually show. This covers your ass at the expense of some folks getting to take slices home, which is a much better problem than running out of pizza before everyone gets 2 slices.

radiosilents has it exactly right; order 10 pizzas: 4 veggie, 4 meat, 2 plain and expect to have a few leftovers. Please also announce that it would be great if meat-eaters would wait to eat the veggie pizzas until after vegetarians have had a chance at them.
posted by mediareport at 6:34 PM on June 23, 2009 [1 favorite]

Undergrad students? Knowing myself as a college student, I'd plan on more than 2 slices per person. In our house, even with all adults over 40, we plan on 1/2 pizza per person. Granted, that's Papa Murphy's deLite crust pizza, so maybe with thicker crust, we'd eat less.
posted by hippybear at 6:39 PM on June 23, 2009

I just managed a pizza order for 30 people. Get a split of 33% cheese, 33% meat, 33% veggie, and assume 3 pieces/person for 50% of your population, and 4 pieces/person for 50% of your population.

That means 13 pizzas for 30 people.
posted by ellF at 6:39 PM on June 23, 2009

What's the budget and where are you ordering from? Because if it's pizza you like and someone else is paying for it then definitely guess (reasonably) high to help make sure you have some extra left.

College kids love free pizza too. If you're planning on coming back (and wanting to pick up more people on that return trip) then having the undergrads go back and telling friends where the free pizza came from can be a very good thing for you.
posted by theichibun at 6:51 PM on June 23, 2009

15% cheese, 40% meat, 45% veggie -- I would say 2.5 pieces a person on avg... that puts you at 30*2.5 = 75 pieces / 8 = rougly 8 pizzas. 3.5 veggie, 3 meat, 1.5 cheese would be how I would go.
posted by newper at 6:53 PM on June 23, 2009

Best answer: Bet on 3 slices per person. Students show up for free food. Do not get more than 1/4 meat. Few people complain if they cannot get pepperoni, compared to the number of people who complain if they have to get pizza with something that isn't really able to be picked off. I'd actually go more like 2 pizzas with meat, split the rest veggie/plain 60/40 or 50/50.
posted by jeather at 6:58 PM on June 23, 2009

these are students right? they eat noodles and have no money?
min 3 slices per person.
if the pizza is either necessary to achieve a good outcome of the meeting,
or if your reputation will be tarnished by the non supply of enough pizza,
then i would go 3.5 slices per person.
you didn't mention budgetary constraint, so the more the better.
i don't recommend saying "it would be great if meat-eaters would wait to eat the veggie pizzas", as reverse sexism is really becoming out of fashion.
posted by edtut at 7:13 PM on June 23, 2009

Best answer: Why not get only a small portion of meat pizza, say 2 with meat - those are always a little greasy anyway, and if you run out and only have veggie pizzas, it's no big deal. Everyone can eat cheese/veggie pizza.

However, if you run out of veggie/cheese pizzas, then people will stay hungry.

Also, while I understand that some people don't like green things on their pizza, the cheese pizza is there to take up the slack. And cheese pizza alone is kind of sleep-inducing to a lot of people, so... you really want to have enough of each of these.

Go conservative on the number of meat pizzas you order. Is all I'm saying.
posted by amtho at 7:15 PM on June 23, 2009

Response by poster: Thank you for the suggestions!

I'm glad nadawi, jeather and amtho brought up the universal appeal of veggie/cheese pizzas - I will go lighter on the meat expecting that many nonvegetarians' second or third pieces will be veggie.

It will be a shock if every undergrad who says they will be there shows up, but leftover pizza is an easier problem to solve than inadequate pizza. I appreciate your help!!
posted by zepheria at 7:21 PM on June 23, 2009

Best answer: Guess that depends on when the second train leaves Schenectady, doesn't it?

Um, wait, that's the wrong word problem. What I meant to say is that what you're looking for here is this constant: The ability to consume pizza in any given undergraduate gathering will naturally expand to match the amount of pizza available, such that no pizza will remain of any configuration at the end of the time allotted for the gathering.

Go for the higher number of pies.

Oh, and plain cheese pizza is barely pizza at all; I'd go light on those.
posted by miss patrish at 7:22 PM on June 23, 2009

Everyone can eat cheese/veggie pizza.

Everyone can eat cheese pizza*. Many people actively dislike veggie pizza. Err on the side of plain cheese.

*Vegans excluded, but that's a whole other kettle.
posted by Bookhouse at 7:24 PM on June 23, 2009 [1 favorite]

Sorry, you really say that in the second half of your comment, don't you?
posted by Bookhouse at 7:24 PM on June 23, 2009

Best answer: Here's a report on how to order pizza for a group. It recommends 2.5 slices per person and gives recommendations for favorite toppings and crusts. It also has some tips about how to choose a pizza place (oven capacity, etc.). I used the recommendations to order for a group of 75 and it worked out perfectly.
posted by caroljean63 at 7:37 PM on June 23, 2009 [2 favorites]

AskMe seems to have a much higher ratio of veggie-lovers than in any group pizza situation I've ever encountered. I've spent the majority of my life in the midwest and I've always thought that I end up picking slimy bits of salad off of my pizza because the meat and then cheese pizzas go in a flash. Maybe it's that annoying and cliched confirmation bias.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 7:48 PM on June 23, 2009

OOh, yeah, if you really want to be a hero, try ordering a veggie pizza with no cheese (get tomatoes/sauce, mushrooms, olives, whatever). Vegetarians will probably like this one, vegans will want to KISS you, and it's healthier too.

On the off chance that anyone's watching their weight, that's a good choice, too.
posted by amtho at 7:54 PM on June 23, 2009

Everyone can eat cheese pizza*. Many people actively dislike veggie pizza. Err on the side of plain cheese.

Yeah. I'll go hungry rather than eat veggie pizza. Please be sure to have some plain cheese for the picky eaters (either vegitarian or carnivore).
posted by spinturtle at 9:02 PM on June 23, 2009

Also consider ordering at least a single pizza as a veggie pizza without cheese, for the vegans. If you're in California or similar, perhaps make it two ;).
posted by Jacen Solo at 10:19 PM on June 23, 2009

16" pizzas will feed 3 people max. I'd use aegispolis' recommendation with the addition of another cheese.
posted by rhizome at 2:28 AM on June 24, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks again for all the advice! 29 advance registrants yielded 19 actual attendees; ultimately they consumed 60 slices of pizza.

Leftovers were pretty evenly mixed between meat, cheese, and veggie; however, the cheeseless half pizza that included eggplant as one of its veggies was untouched.
posted by zepheria at 1:34 PM on June 25, 2009