Office Friendsgiving Lunch: a Mediterranean Spread for 20

The week before Thanksgiving is a popular time for an office lunch. People are around, the year-end rush has not started, and a shared meal is a good way to say thank you before everyone scatters for the holiday. The hard part is the food. A potluck puts the work on your coworkers, and a catered turkey dinner is expensive and often booked up.

Everything below comes from our regular catering menu, and it is the same food we cater the rest of the year. It just happens to fit a November table well.

Why this works as a holiday lunch

A Thanksgiving table is really a centerpiece roast surrounded by warm, comforting sides. Mediterranean home cooking has the same shape:

• The roast: a whole marinated leg of lamb served over hashwa, rice with spiced ground beef, nuts and raisins. It plays the part the turkey usually plays, and the hashwa does the job of stuffing.
• The casserole: stuffed cabbage, cabbage rolls that are a home-cooking classic across the Middle East.
• The potatoes: oven-roasted potatoes.
• The vegetables: a tray of sautéed mixed vegetables.
• The bread: tandoori bread, by the dozen.
• Dessert: rice pudding, creamy and lightly sweet, and baklava.

The full spread for 20

Large trays serve 20–22 people each, so a team of 20 needs 1 large tray of each dish. The lamb leg comes as a large tray only. Here is the full order with the current total:

Qty	Item	Price
1	Roasted Lamb Leg with Hashwa (large tray)	$300
1	Stuffed Cabbage, large tray	$180
1	Roasted Potatoes, large tray	$60
1	Mixed Vegetables, large tray	$90
1	Fattoush Salad, large tray	$60
2	Tandoori Bread, dozen	$32
1	Rice Pudding, large tray	$60
1	Baklava, large tray	$90
	Food total	$872
	Per guest	about $43.60

Food only, at today's menu prices, before tax and delivery ($10 to $30 by distance). Trays are counted at the low end of each size's range.

We added a fattoush salad to the list. It is bright and crunchy with lemon and toasted pita chips, which balances the richer dishes. If you would rather keep it lean, you can drop the salad or one of the desserts.

Adjusting for your team

Smaller group

For a team of 12, each side and dessert drops to 1 large tray. The lamb leg is only sold as a large tray, so a small group will have leftovers, which is not the worst outcome the week before a holiday. If that is too much, replace the lamb with chicken kabobs, sold by the skewer.

Larger group

For 40, order each side as 2 large trays and add a second protein rather than a second lamb leg. Chicken shawarma or a mix of chicken and kafta kabobs give people a choice, and they are familiar to guests who have not tried lamb.

Vegetarian and vegan coworkers

Roasted potatoes are marked vegetarian on our menu, and rice, hummus, falafel and fattoush are marked vegan. The hashwa under the lamb contains beef, and the stuffed cabbage is not marked vegetarian, so add a plain rice tray and a dozen falafel or spinach pies if you have several vegetarians. See vegan and vegetarian catering for more.

Half catered, half potluck

Many offices like a Friendsgiving where coworkers still bring something. That works well with this menu. Order the lamb and the hot sides, which are the hardest dishes to bring from home, and let people sign up for salads, desserts and drinks. You get a real centerpiece and the potluck feel, and nobody has to roast a leg of lamb in a break-room microwave. Use a shared sign-up sheet so you do not end up with six desserts and no salad, and tell the potluck volunteers what the catered dishes are so they can fill the gaps.

Timing the lunch

Our kitchen opens at 11 am daily, which works for a noon lunch, with pickup on the way or delivery to your office up to 50 miles from the restaurant. Delivery is $10 for addresses within 20 miles of the restaurant, $20 for 20 to 40 miles and $30 for 40 to 50 miles. Orders must be placed and confirmed at least 24 hours ahead, including Thanksgiving week. The days just before Thanksgiving are busy for everyone, so it pays to place a Friendsgiving order earlier in the week rather than the day before.

We are closed on Thanksgiving Day and do not offer a separate Thanksgiving menu, so plan a Friendsgiving lunch for Monday through Wednesday of that week, or the week before.

Setting the table

• Put the lamb at the center of the table and the sides around it, the way you would at home. It photographs well, which matters if someone is posting the party to the company channel.
• Carve or pull the lamb into serving pieces before people line up, so the line keeps moving.
• Set the desserts on a separate small table so people come back for a second round and conversation.
• Keep hot trays warm, and put food away within two hours of setting it out.
• Check what serving utensils and plates you need. We include plates, utensils, napkins, serving spoons and chafing dishes with the order.

Bring it back in December

If the Friendsgiving lunch goes well, the same order scales up for the December party. Our office holiday party catering guide covers timelines and budgets for 20, 50 and 100 guests, and the holiday party catering page has more ideas. To book the lunch, request a quote or call (540) 372-7755.