Grand Final Friday is 25 September this year, with the game at the MCG the next afternoon. Which means a three day weekend, and for someone in every group, the job of feeding everybody.

We get a run on catering every September, and the same problems come up. Numbers blow out. Somebody’s still carving at quarter time. Half the food goes cold because it was all put out at once. None of it is complicated to avoid.

Friday and Saturday are not the same job

Grand Final Friday is loose. Nobody’s at work, people turn up when they turn up, and food gets picked at across three or four hours rather than eaten in one sitting. You want things that don’t mind sitting there.

Saturday runs on a clock. First bounce is mid afternoon and everything has to be done before it. If you’re still plating up when the anthem starts, you’ve lost.

Worth deciding which one you’re actually catering for before you order, because the answer changes what you order.

How much food

Most people under order, and they under order for the same reason every time. They count heads on the Tuesday and forget about the three or four who’ll wander in once the game’s started. They always wander in.

Allow about 250g of meat per adult if people are sitting down and eating properly. Push it closer to 300g for a Friday afternoon where the food’s out for hours, because people go back for seconds and thirds when it’s just sitting there. Two kids counts as one adult, though bear in mind children eat almost nothing except roast potatoes and gravy, so don’t cut the potatoes back.

Then add ten percent. Grand Final weekend is the one weekend of the year when the guest list grows on the day.

For thirty people that lands you around 8kg of meat before you’ve thought about anything else, which is about three times what a domestic oven will do in an afternoon. That’s usually the phone call we get.

What survives being out for two hours

Some food is fine sitting on a table and some isn’t.

Roast pork, roast beef, baked potatoes, roast pumpkin, cauliflower cheese and gravy in a warmer will all still be good an hour and a half in. Anything crumbed or crisp coated won’t be, so put that out first and let people get at it. Same with green vegetables.

Keep dressings separate from salads until people are actually eating. A dressed salad that’s been out since one o’clock is a sad thing by three.

If you’re spilling out into the backyard, and late September in Melbourne could go either way, leave the hot food inside and let people come to it. Carrying trays across wet grass is how food ends up on the ground.

Trays or individual packs

Everything we cook is oven roasted in our kitchens and delivered hot. There’s no spit to set up, no gas bottle, and nobody from your group standing outside turning something while everyone else watches the game. It turns up ready to go. So the only real decision is how it’s portioned.

Trays suit most house parties and clubrooms. Meat, roast veg and sides all arrive together, people help themselves, and you’re sitting down before the bounce. It’s what goes out the door most on Grand Final day.

Individual packs are better when people are arriving at different times, or when you’re feeding a workplace on the Friday, or when you’ve got a few dietary requirements and you’d rather they were handled properly instead of someone guessing at a shared tray.

For a long Friday, trays. For a fixed sit down on Saturday, packs are tidier.

The gluten free question

Someone in your group needs it. There’s always one, and it’s easier sorted now than at half past twelve on the day.

Our gluten free range covers the mains and most sides, and if you tell us when you order it comes packed separately so nothing gets contaminated on the serving table.

While you’re at it, order one proper vegetarian dish. It costs very little and it stops your vegetarian mate eating three potatoes and a bread roll for lunch, which is what happens otherwise.
Ordering

Grand Final weekend is one of our busiest, and the public holiday squeezes everything into fewer working days.

If you’re not sure on numbers yet, book on your best guess and ring us to adjust. Adding to an order is easy. Finding catering for forty people on the Thursday is not.

Common questions

When’s the AFL Grand Final public holiday in 2026?

Friday 25 September. It’s a Victorian holiday only, the day before the Grand Final at the MCG on Saturday the 26th.

How much roast meat per person?

Around 250g per adult for a sit down meal, 300g if people are grazing over a few hours. Two children counts as one adult.

How far ahead should I book?

A week at minimum, longer if you’re over fifty people.

Do you deliver on the public holiday?

 Yes!

Reddy Roasts cater across Cheltenham, Carrum Downs, Frankston, Cranbourne and Pakenham. Call 1300 796 846 or order online.