With a recent Reddit thread detailing the many different reasons people are dreading Thanksgiving, it's clear that finding ways to de-stress is in order. But no matter how often you cook for yourself or your family, feeding a larger crowd for a holiday meal can make even the most confident of chefs worry. You're not simply scaling up an easy weeknight dinner recipe when it comes to a holiday feast. A large roast plus sides and desserts require time and space, not to mention a bit of patience and grace when things don't go accordingly and you have to improvise.

Take it from a catering chef. Michael Riddell, executive chef of the San Jose McEnery Convention Center , routinely cooks dinner for thousands of guests at a time. (Suddenly your 20-person affair doesn't seem so daunting.)

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