Rivers Party Shopping List:
🥩 Meat & Seafood
- 4 kg ground beef (or 2 kg beef + 2 kg lamb)
- 6 kg boneless chicken thighs or breast, diced
- 2 kg chicken legs (drumsticks/thighs/quarters)
- 1 kg raw king prawns, peeled and deveined
🧄🧅 Aromatics & Garlic
- 6 large onions (meatballs, coleslaw, salads)
- 3 red onions (coleslaw, dressings, salads)
- 34–36 garlic cloves total
(grated, minced, or sliced — buy 3–4 bulbs)
🧀🥛 Dairy & Eggs
- 6 eggs
- 1–1.5 L milk (meatballs + mac & cheese)
- 6 slices bread or 3 cups breadcrumbs
- 2 cups Greek yogurt
- 250g macaroni
- 50g butter
- 200g Gruyère cheese
- 200g strong Cheddar
- 100g mozzarella
- 50g Parmesan
- Optional: 1–1.5kg mozzarella pearls or feta
🌿 Herbs (Fresh & Dried)
- 3 large bunches parsley
- 1 large bunch fresh basil (or 500g total for pesto – ~8 packs)
- 1 bunch fresh dill or mint (or ~1 cup total)
- ¼ cup dried mint (or more fresh)
- 9+ tbsp dried oregano (large jar)
- 2 tbsp dried dill (optional)
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp dried)
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme/oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
- Optional garnish herbs: mint, rosemary, dill sprigs
🧂Spices & Seasonings
- Sea salt (at least 4–5 tbsp total + to taste)
- Black pepper (at least 2 tbsp total)
- Smoked paprika (at least 2 tsp, optional)
- Regular paprika (up to 3 tbsp, optional)
- Chili flakes (1–2 tsp)
- Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
- Cumin (ground) – pinch (optional)
- Garlic powder – 1 tsp
- Onion powder – 1 tsp
- Mustard powder – ½ tsp
- Dijon mustard – ~4–5 tsp total
🫒 Oils, Vinegars & Pantry Staples
- Olive oil – at least 2.5–3 litres total
- Red wine vinegar – small bottle
- White wine vinegar – small bottle
- Honey or maple syrup – 1 small bottle
- 50g Panko breadcrumbs
- 50g plain flour
- Sunflower seeds or pine nuts – 200g (for pesto)
- Optional: 4–5 jars pesto (180g each)
🍞 Bread & Snacks
- 2 margherita pizzas
- Dinner rolls
- Breadsticks / mini pitas / crackers
- Sour cream
- Hummus
- Crisps
- Chutney
- Cheese crackers
🥗🥕 Vegetables
- 6–9 cucumbers (salads, tzatziki, crudités)
- 2 large red cabbages
- 10–12 large carrots or 1.5kg baby carrots
- 4 red bell peppers
- 2 yellow/orange bell peppers
- 3 heads romaine or little gem lettuce
- 1 head celery
- Optional veg:
- 300g radishes
- 300g sugar snap peas / green beans
- 500g cherry tomatoes (extra)
- 500g mini sweetcorn / broccoli florets / asparagus tips
🍅 Fruits & Salad Add-ins
- 3kg cherry tomatoes (or 6–7 large tomatoes)
- 2 large melons (any variety)
- 2kg seedless grapes
- 1.5kg strawberries
- 1kg blueberries
- 1kg pineapple
- 6 kiwis
- 4–6 clementines
- Optional: figs, pomegranate seeds, dates
- 10+ lemons (juice + zest for marinades and dressings)