How many lunch trays should you order for a meeting?

Order one lunch tray per person attending, plus 10% if the list of attendees is not named. At L'Écrin Traiteur, a tray costs €28.90 excl. VAT (vegetarian), €29.90 excl. VAT (chicken) or €30.90 excl. VAT (salmon) per person, with €29 excl. VAT delivery on top: 20 chicken trays come to 598 + 29 = €627 excl. VAT.

How many lunch trays do you need for 5, 10, 20, 30 or 50 people?

You need as many trays as there are people attending, because each tray is individual and complete: 5 people, 5 trays; 50 people, 50 trays. Only the budget varies with the type of tray. The table applies the price per person × the headcount, plus €29 excl. VAT delivery, to our lunch trays.

Headcount	Vegetarian (€28.90)	Chicken (€29.90)	Salmon (€30.90)
5 people	144.50 + 29 = €173.50	149.50 + 29 = €178.50	154.50 + 29 = €183.50
10 people	289.00 + 29 = €318.00	299.00 + 29 = €328.00	309.00 + 29 = €338.00
20 people	578.00 + 29 = €607.00	598.00 + 29 = €627.00	618.00 + 29 = €647.00
30 people	867.00 + 29 = €896.00	897.00 + 29 = €926.00	927.00 + 29 = €956.00
50 people	1,445.00 + 29 = €1,474.00	1,495.00 + 29 = €1,524.00	1,545.00 + 29 = €1,574.00

What margin should you allow on the number of trays?

Add 10% extra trays, rounded up, when the list of attendees is approximate: 1 extra tray for 10 people, 2 for 20, 3 for 30, 5 for 50. With a named list confirmed the day before, the margin is 0. Take it as vegetarian: it is the tray that the largest number of guests can eat, and the cheapest of the three at €28.90 excl. VAT.

A meeting with external guests justifies the margin. A training session with a sign-in sheet does not.

How should you split the trays between chicken, salmon and vegetarian?

With no information at all, start with 2 chicken trays for 1 vegetarian, then adjust with the list of dietary requirements. This starting point avoids a single tray for everyone, which always leaves someone out.

• Chicken: the default choice, La Romaine or La Champêtre, €29.90 excl. VAT.
• Vegetarian: one tray per person who has asked for one, plus the margin, La Solaire, La Provençale or La Potagère, €28.90 excl. VAT.
• Salmon: La Boréale, €30.90 excl. VAT, for a management committee or at a guest's request.
• Vegan and gluten-free: on request, to be reported when ordering with the person's name. Our kitchen handles flour: traces are possible.

All the trays are halal and pork-free by default, alcohol-free, at no extra cost: see our halal caterer offer. Example for a committee of 30 people with an approximate list, i.e. 33 trays with a 10% margin: 20 chicken (€598.00), 10 vegetarian (€289.00) and 3 salmon (€92.70), i.e. 979.70 + 29 = €1,008.70 excl. VAT.

Should you add a starter or a dessert to the lunch trays?

No: each tray already includes a starter, a main course, a dessert and bread, with cutlery and napkins. La Romaine, for example, brings together a heirloom tomato and basil salad, a roast chicken Caesar salad and a brownie. Adding a starter or a dessert means paying twice for what the tray already contains.

What really needs adding is the drinks and, depending on the occasion, coffee, fruit or cheese. Drink quantities are detailed in our guide how many drinks per person.

Extra	When to add it	Quantity	Price excl. VAT
Thermos of coffee or tea (1 L, 6 to 8 cups)	At the end of the meal, with no coffee machine	1 thermos for 6 people	€19.50
Evian or Badoit 75 cl	No water fountain, external guests	1 bottle for 2 people	€4.80
Fruit basket (10 to 12 fruits)	Long lunch, committee	1 basket for 10 to 12 people	€38.90
Box of 20 madeleines	With the coffee, to extend the meal	1 box for 8 to 12 people	€49.00
Platter of matured cheeses	Management or client lunch	For sharing	On quote

What is the real budget for a lunch for 20 people with coffee and water?

Allow €37.35 excl. VAT per person for a lunch for 20 people with coffee, water and delivery, whereas the tray alone costs between €28.90 and €30.90 excl. VAT. The breakdown for 14 chicken trays and 6 vegetarian:

Item	Calculation	Amount excl. VAT
14 chicken trays	14 × €29.90	€418.60
6 vegetarian trays	6 × €28.90	€173.40
4 thermoses (3 coffee, 1 tea)	4 × €19.50	€78.00
10 bottles of 75 cl water	10 × €4.80	€48.00
Delivery	1 × €29.00	€29.00
Total	€747.00 ÷ 20 people	€747.00, i.e. €37.35 per person

To choose between lunch trays, buffet and lunch boxes according to the number of guests, see the corporate lunch guide.

When should you order lunch trays, and with how much notice?

Order until 2 pm the day before for delivery the next day from 6:30 am, Monday to Friday, in Paris and in the Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne and Val-d'Oise. From 50 people or for several sites, give 48 hours' notice. The minimum order is €50 excl. VAT, reached from 2 trays.

Send the dietary requirements with the headcount, never on the day of delivery. The office manager's checklist for ordering from a caterer lists the information to gather before writing.

What are the common mistakes when ordering lunch trays?

• Counting invitees rather than attendees: one extra tray costs €28.90 to €30.90 excl. VAT. Ask for a named confirmation the day before.
• Forgetting dietary requirements: vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free are reported when ordering, with the names of the people concerned.
• A single tray for everyone: mixing chicken and vegetarian costs barely more and avoids unhappy guests.
• Taking the margin as salmon: it is the most expensive tray, at €30.90 excl. VAT. Take it as vegetarian.
• Forgetting coffee and water: for a lunch for 20 people, they add €6.30 excl. VAT per person ((78.00 + 48.00) ÷ 20).
• Adding a starter or a dessert that is already included: the tray is complete.

How do you get a quote for your lunch trays?

State the headcount, the date, the address, the delivery time and the dietary requirements: the quote comes back within 24 hours, with a company invoice and purchase orders accepted. Request your quote to cost your meeting with your own headcount.

L'Écrin Traiteur prices, October 2026.

Frequently asked questions about how many lunch trays to order