Counting atwo-hundred guest order

A party pack is not a pile. Each guest gets one 9-inch plate, one side plate, one spoon, one cup and two napkins, and at two hundred guests that is a thousand separate pieces of paper before a single one of them is folded.

The pieces are counted into sleeves in fives and tens, then banded, then counted again against the guest number written on the outside of the sleeve. A pack of twenty goes out in two kraft sleeves; a pack of two hundred goes out in twenty, each one light enough to carry with one hand and heavy enough that nobody shakes it open to check.

Counting is why a two-hundred guest order needs five to seven working days rather than one. The folding is fast. Making sure the two hundredth cup is in the two hundredth sleeve is the part that cannot be rushed, and it is done by hand, at the table, with the radio on.

Ordered by 500 for a Saturday and everything is packed and ready for pickup on Friday evening. Same-day Lagos delivery covers the small orders; for the big ones we would rather you collected, or sent a rider who can lift twenty sleeves.