How much cheese do I need if I'm expecting 240 guests? Oh, I'd probably do rough estimates by how much a friend with a good appetite can eat. Unscientific? Well, that's the best way I can come up with.

Fortunately, there's How To Feed a Crowd from Shaboom's Kitchen Help Line. Food items are listed against their serving sizes and an estimate as to how much is needed if serving a dozen, two dozen and so on. It's a very practical guide that lists the staples of a party, from salads, mains, dessert (ice cream!) down to how much ground coffee or loose tea is needed.

Now it says if I am feeding a crowd of a hundred, I would need 4-5 gallons of ice cream. Hmmm... only 4-5? I suppose that would be enough if it's dessert after a full course dinner. Now, if my friends were coming over, it would be another story. Tee hee!