For an office lunch for 10, individually boxed meals ordered 24 to 48 hours ahead are your safest default, especially for working or meeting lunches. Sandwich and platter spreads work better for casual, shared lunches, and a small hot drop-off suits groups that want a warm meal but can plan a few extra days out. Expect per-person cost to run a bit higher than larger orders since delivery fees stay fixed no matter how many you feed. What follows covers exact order counts, menu templates, and a checklist so you can book with confidence.
TL;DR:
- Ordering individually boxed lunches for 10 people minimizes risk if they are eaten at desks or moving between meetings, though it costs more per person due to fixed delivery fees.
- Sandwich and platter trays are a cheaper, easier option for group sit-down lunches, typically requiring around 12 sandwiches and several trays to serve all attendees.
- Lead times should be at least one to two days for boxed or tray orders, with additional days needed for hot buffets or during peak seasons when caterers are busier.
- Always confirm headcount and dietary restrictions beforehand, label all food clearly, and place allergen-safe items at the front of the serving line to ensure food safety and smooth serving.
- Using a catering service that manages portions, labels, and delivery simplifies the process, especially if you prefer a single order instead of coordinating multiple vendors.
Table of Contents
- Which Lunch Format Works Best for 10 People?
- What Should You Order? Four Menu Templates for 10
- When Should You Place the Order?
- How Many Boxes, Sandwiches, and Sides Do You Actually Need?
- How Do You Handle Dietary Requirements Without the Awkwardness?
- What’s the On-the-Day Checklist for Serving 10 People?
- What I’ve Learned Planning Small Office Lunches
- Where The Office Lunch Fits If You’d Rather Just Order
- Sources
Which Lunch Format Works Best for 10 People?
The right format depends less on preference and more on what kind of meeting you’re feeding.
Individually boxed lunches make sense when people are eating at their desks or moving between meetings. Nobody has to assemble a plate, there’s no shared serving line, and each box can carry its own dietary label. This is the format Oncater for groups up to about 10, where individual portions stay simpler to manage than a shared spread.
Sandwich and platter trays are the lower-effort, lower-cost option when the group is sitting down together, informally, around a table. One tray of sandwiches, one of vegetables or fruit, and something sweet covers a group of 10 without much fuss, and it’s usually cheaper per head than boxed meals.
Hot drop-off or a small buffet is worth the extra planning when the occasion calls for it, a client visit, an all-hands, or a team celebration. It needs more lead time and more space (chafing dishes, serving tools, a table that isn’t someone’s desk), but it reads as more of an event than a lunch break.
- Boxed lunches: best for meetings, desk-based teams, or anyone eating on a schedule
- Sandwich/platter trays: best for casual, shared, budget-conscious lunches
- Hot buffet or drop-off: best for occasions that justify extra lead time and setup space
What Should You Order? Four Menu Templates for 10
Skip the blank-page problem. These four templates are built to fill an office lunch order for 10 without overthinking it.
- Working boxed lunch — offer two choices (one meat or fish, one plant-based), each with a side and a piece of fruit. Order 10 confirmed plus one or two spares for latecomers or miscounts.
- Mediterranean shared platter — one sandwich or wrap tray, one small veg or meze tray, and a fruit platter. A small tray typically feeds 8 to 10 people, so plan roughly three trays total for a group of 10.
- Hot comfort option — a single one-pot main (curry, chili, pasta bake) with two sides, portioned as one entrée and two sides per person for a sit-down group.
- Add-ons that round out any order — drinks at roughly 1.5 per person and dessert at one piece per person, with a couple of spares.
For the sandwich-based templates, order around 12 sandwiches for a group of 10, about 1.2 per person, which gives people real choice without running short. If you want to dress up the drinks side of the order, a corporate coffee setup or a fresh fruit box are easy upgrades worth checking against a corporate coffee guide or an office fruit delivery service.
When Should You Place the Order?
Lead time is the single most common thing offices get wrong, usually by leaving it too late.
- Boxed lunches or sandwich/platter trays: order at least a day or two ahead
- Hot buffets or drop-off meals: allow multiple business days for preparation since these need more prep
- Peak season (December, June wedding and graduation season, major sporting events): push your lead time out further, as caterers book up fast
- Delivery buffer: ask for boxed or platter orders to arrive 20 to 30 minutes before service; hot buffets need 45 to 60 minutes to set up properly
Building access matters more than people expect. If your caterer needs a badge, a lift code, or a signature at reception, tell them when you book, not on delivery day.
Pro Tip: Add some extra time buffer whenever a delivery has to pass through security or reception. That’s usually where “on time” quietly becomes “10 minutes late.”
These timing rules track closely with what Office Catering Lead Times lays out for planning around a fixed meeting start time.
How Many Boxes, Sandwiches, and Sides Do You Actually Need?
Portioning for 10 people is simple once you know the ratios.
- Boxed lunches: confirmed headcount plus 1 to 2 spare boxes
- Sandwich trays: about 12 sandwiches, or 1.2 per person
- Buffet-style mains: 1 entrée and 2 sides per person
- Dessert and fruit: 1 piece per person, plus a couple of spares
The math on small orders: a flat delivery fee that might feel trivial on a 30-person order gets divided by only 10 heads on a small one, which is why per-person cost runs higher on office lunches for small teams. If a $15 delivery charge and a modest tip get spread over 10 people instead of 30, the effective cost per head can jump by several dollars.
The fix isn’t to shrink the order, it’s to spend the difference well. If you’re already near a caterer’s minimum, adding a premium side or a better dessert usually costs less than a second delivery later in the week.
How Do You Handle Dietary Requirements Without the Awkwardness?
Ask before you order, not after the trays arrive. A one-line form (name, restriction, severity) sent the day before saves you from guessing at the table.
- Plan for at least 2 to 3 vegetarian or vegan portions in a group of 10, even if nobody’s confirmed it yet
- Ask the caterer for clear labels on every box or tray, ideally color-coded, so nobody has to ask out loud what’s in something
- Keep allergen items (nuts, shellfish, dairy-heavy dishes) physically separated on the table, not just labeled
- Place vegetarian and allergen-safe options at the front of the line, not buried at the end
Discreet labeling matters more than most people plan for. Nobody wants to be “the person with the allergy” announced across a conference room, and clear labels solve that quietly. A food safety checklist for office lunches is worth keeping on hand if your office orders catering regularly.
What’s the On-the-Day Checklist for Serving 10 People?
Thirty to sixty minutes of setup time is usually enough if you’ve assigned who does what.
- Clear a staging table away from the main walking path, ideally near an outlet if you’re using hot-holding equipment
- Set out plates, napkins, and utensils first, then food, so people don’t crowd the serving line
- Check temperature on arrival: hot food should stay above 140°F, cold items below 40°F, and both have a safe two-hour service window before quality drops
- Assign one person to restock napkins and drinks, and one to handle cleanup and leftovers at the end
Pro Tip: Put the vegetarian and allergen-labeled items at the start of the line, not the end. It’s a small placement choice that prevents a lot of last-minute scrambling.
Print this against the meeting lunch ordering checklist once and you’ll rarely need to think through setup from scratch again.
What I’ve Learned Planning Small Office Lunches
The two mistakes that come up again and again: ordering to an old headcount instead of confirming it the morning of, and skipping labels because “everyone already knows what’s in it.” Neither takes more than five minutes to fix. Confirm the count, label everything, and keep a couple of spare boxes on hand. A printable ordering checklist turns this from a recurring headache into a five-minute task.
— Efe
Where The Office Lunch Fits If You’d Rather Just Order
If you’d rather skip the tray math and place one order, there are catering services that handle sandwich platters, boxed lunches, and dietary-labeled options built for groups this size, with delivery in the London and Surrey area.
You send a headcount and a delivery time, and the office catering team works out the portions, labels, and timing on their end instead of yours. That’s the real difference versus assembling your own order from three separate vendors: one confirmation, one delivery window, one point of contact if something needs adjusting. Lead times run the same 24 to 48 hours covered above for most orders; check the service provider’s site for current pricing details. Browse the sandwich platter menu to see exact options for a group of 10, or get a quote directly if you already know what the meeting needs.
Sources
Portion and lead-time rules here draw on corporate catering strategy guides, office party tray sizing, and the UK Food Standards Agency ratings database for checking a caterer’s hygiene record before booking.