For a large gathering, a menu comes together less from each dish being good on its own than from the dishes complementing one another. Balance hot and cold, meat and meatless, rich and light, and oven and stovetop dishes; do not repeat the same ingredient or cooking method across several dishes. Avoid menus that require both the oven and stovetop at the same time. The table and kitchen determine how many dishes to make.
At a large gathering, every dish can be good on its own, yet the menu may still feel heavy, monotonous, or impossible to prepare. Three creamy dishes tire the guests, four oven dishes will not fit in one oven, and guests who do not eat meat will go hungry if every dish contains meat. That is why a menu is built not from individual recipes but from how they fit together. Look for balance along four dimensions: temperature, ingredients, richness, and cooking method. Before adding each new dish to the menu, compare it with the existing dishes along these four dimensions.
The first dimension is hot versus cold, and it directly determines the kitchen workload. Cold dishes such as olive-oil dishes, salads, and appetizers can be prepared ahead of time and do not need space on the stovetop or in the oven on the day of the gathering. Hot dishes are cooked closer to serving time. The greater the share of cold dishes on the menu, the lighter the workload during the final hours. Cooking methods should be distributed in the same way: one dish is baked, one is cooked on the stovetop, and one does not need cooking. Do not put two large dishes that tie up the oven and the stovetop at the same hour on the same menu; change one dish or move it to the day before.
The second dimension is ingredients. At a large gathering, there is a good chance someone will be vegetarian, avoid a particular food, or have an allergy. Having at least one filling meatless dish on the menu means that guest will not be left with only salad; beans, a vegetable dish, or borek can fill that role. Plan the amount of meat according to the number of people and what else is being served. Do not repeat the same ingredient in several dishes: a menu with yogurt in every dish or potatoes in every dish feels monotonous, even if it has many dishes.
The third dimension is richness. A fried, creamy, or butter-heavy dish enriches the menu when there is only one, but several of them make the meal feel heavy. Serve a tart salad, yogurt-based appetizer, or olive-oil vegetable alongside a rich dish; these lighter dishes refresh the palate. Texture and color can be balanced the same way: serve something crisp alongside a soft dish, and a green dish alongside a brown one-pot dish. Ask the same question about dessert: a light dessert is better received after a heavy meal.
There is no single number of dishes to make; it depends on the size of the gathering, who the guests are, and how much the kitchen can handle. The general principle is that a few good dishes are better than many dishes made in a hurry. When the guest count increases, make more of each dish rather than adding more varieties. After writing the menu, note where and when each dish will be cooked; if two dishes need the same stovetop burner at the same time, change one. Build the balance on paper, not in the kitchen on the day of the gathering.