Planning a Halal Office Lunch: Headcounts, Trays & Lead Times

How much food per person?

The math is simpler than it looks. For a working lunch, plan one main entrée plus one rice or noodle base per person, with an appetizer, salad or dessert on the side. People eat more when the food is shareable and they can go back for seconds, so build in a little headroom rather than ordering exactly to the headcount.

At Wok & Karahi, catering is à la carte and priced by the tray. The two sizes to plan around:

• Half tray — feeds about 8–10 people
• Full tray — feeds about 18–20 people

A clean rule of thumb: for every 8–10 guests, budget roughly one half tray of base (fried rice or chow mein) and one half tray of entrée. As the group grows you add variety rather than just bigger portions — two or three entrées instead of one. For office planning, that typically lands around $13–$16 per person, depending on how many entrées and add-ons you choose.

How many trays for 10, 25, 50 or 100?

Here is a starting grid for a balanced spread — a base (fried rice or chow mein), entrées, and a side. Counts are at full-tray sizing (~18–20 each); two half trays equal one full tray if you want more variety.

• 10 people — about 1 half tray of base + 1 half tray of entrée + a side. This is right at the $150 / 10-person minimum.
• 25 people — about 3–4 full trays total: 1 base, 2 entrées, plus a salad or appetizer.
• 50 people — about 6–8 full trays total: 2 base, 3 entrées, plus 1–2 sides.
• 100 people — about 12–16 full trays total: 3–4 base, 5–6 entrées, plus sides and dessert.

Rather than count trays by hand, use the catering calculator — punch in your headcount, pick Chinese, Indo-Pak or both, and it sizes a balanced spread you can send straight to your quote. Or simply tell us your number and we will plan it for you.

Mixing cuisines so everyone’s covered

The reason an office order is easy here is that Wok & Karahi is the rare halal restaurant serving Chinese, Indian and Pakistani in one order — so a mixed team is covered from a single menu instead of three separate caterers. A reliable formula for a crowd:

• Chinese base — Chow Mein or Fried Rice. Easy, universally liked, scales well.
• A signature Chinese entrée — Sesame Chicken or our Crispy Beef for the crowd-pleaser.
• An Indo-Pak entrée — Butter Chicken, Karahi or Dum Biryani for the comfort-food half of the room.
• A vegetarian dish — so the veg folks have a real entrée, not just sides.

Browse the full menu to swap in favorites, or see packaged options on the office lunches page.

Vegetarians, vegan, gluten-free & spice levels

Two things make or break a team lunch: covering dietary needs and getting the heat right.

For diets, always include at least one clearly vegetarian entrée plus a veg-friendly base, and scale the count to your veg headcount — if a quarter of the team is vegetarian, a quarter of the food should work for them. Wok & Karahi offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, and because the whole restaurant is 100% Zabihah halal (Crescent Foods, HMS-certified), no one has to ask before eating.

For spice, keep most of the spread at mild to medium so everyone can eat, and offer one bolder dish on the side for the people who want it. Tell us your veg, vegan and gluten-free counts when you send your request and we will plan the mix to match.

Dietary labeling & serving format

For a clean hand-out, you have two formats:

• Individually boxed & labeled lunches — the simplest option for hybrid teams, desk-side eaters or back-to-back meetings. Each box is labeled, including for dietary needs, so people grab and go.
• Trays (chafing / family-style) — a shared, build-your-own-plate spread that feels generous and scales cheaply for bigger rooms.

Either way, clear labels matter: mark which dishes are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and spicy so nobody has to interrogate the table. Send us your counts and we’ll handle the labeling.

How far ahead to order & lead times

The headline numbers:

• 48 hours — the standard, comfortable lead time for most office lunches.
• 24 hours — we’ll do our best on trays at the last minute.
• 5–7 days — for 50+ guests or anything involving setup, so we can confirm the menu and timing without a scramble.

The sooner you share your date, the easier it is to lock in exactly what you want — especially around busy weeks.

Recurring weekly lunches

If you feed the same team every week, you shouldn’t have to re-plan every time. We set up recurring weekly or biweekly standing orders with a rotating menu, so lunch just shows up — same à la carte per-tray pricing each time, often with a small standing-order discount. Give us the cadence, headcount and delivery window once, and we keep it running.

How to get a quote

Catering is à la carte and priced by the tray, with a $150 minimum (about a 10-person floor). The total follows the dishes and headcount you choose, and nothing is finalized until you’ve seen the number. To plan yours:

• Size it first with the catering calculator, then send the estimate with your request.
• Send your details on the catering quote form — occasion, headcount and date — and we’ll confirm menu and price within one business day.
• Or just call or text the catering line at (408) 393-6716 and we’ll plan it with you.