Fondue & Hot Pot Portion Planner
Scale a cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, or hot pot spread to your guest count.
Shopping list for 4 guests
| Ingredient | Per guest | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Cheese | 200g | 800g |
| Bread cubes | 150g | 600g |
| Vegetables (blanched, for dipping) | 100g | 400g |
Shopping for a shared pot
Communal meals are notoriously easy to under- or over-shop for — everyone dips at their own pace, and it's tempting to either panic-buy far too much or run short an hour in. Working from a per-guest baseline, scaled to your actual headcount, takes the guesswork out of the grocery run.
These figures assume the dish is the main event of the meal. If you're serving fondue or hot pot as one course among several, you can scale the totals down accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much broth and protein does one person need for hot pot?
About 300ml of broth, 250g of protein (meat, seafood, or a mix), 150g of vegetables, and 100g of noodles per person is a solid main-course planning figure. Appetites vary widely with hot pot since it's often a longer, grazing-style meal, so treat this as a floor rather than a ceiling.
How much chocolate do I need for a dessert fondue?
Around 85g of chocolate per person is typical for a dessert course, alongside roughly 150g of fruit, marshmallows, cake, or other dippers per person. Chocolate fondue is richer than cheese fondue gram-for-gram, so portions run smaller.
Does this planner account for dietary restrictions?
No — it gives baseline quantities by weight for a general table. If your group includes vegetarians, guests with shellfish allergies, or other restrictions, plan separate proteins or dippers and adjust the totals accordingly.
A planning estimate — adjust for your guests' appetites and whether other courses are served.