Buffet Tips

Whatever you’re serving, make sure your buffet looks lavish and lush, tempting to the eye and the palette. The table should look abundant. It doesn’t need to be a 6’ or 8’ banquet table; a smaller table with food grouped together is more appealing than spaced down the table. Your décor can be placed on one side of the table or behind the food if that’s what works best. Use vertical elements that vary in height; different size floral vessels, large leaves, tapered and votive candles to keep it visually exciting. Consider presenting dishes at different heights with some placed directly on the table resting on stands or offered from tiered serving pieces.

Setting up

When setting up a buffet, work from left to right. Start your buffet with the plates, flatware, and napkins. It's easy to wrap the flatware in the napkins or the flatware can be placed on a tray or in a basket set beside the napkins. Next comes the bread, then the salad, cold dishes, and finally the hot food and condiments at the end of the buffet. If you are serving a specific wine to compliment the menu, you can also set out the wine and glasses for guests to help themselves to the right of the food.

The key to a successful buffet is to make the food look abundant and appetizing. Use smaller platters and containers that can be easily refilled. Rather, spread food out on a table that is too large. Instead, use one corner of the table and place your food, dishes, serving pieces, and buffet decor close together. When serving large groups, it's ideal to set the buffet Japanese-style, where guests can serve themselves food from a table which is centered in a room allowing people to approach from the table on a parallel basis.

Serving Platters

When preparing a dinner buffet, have two serving platters ready for each dish being served. While one is on the table, another can be readied in the kitchen. Don’t wait until a platter is completely bare before removing it. Replacing platters before they are empty will ensure that the food stays fresh and looks appetizing.

The Menu

• Avoid serving dishes that are swimming in watery sauce. Too much sauce will contaminate the flavor of all the other food items on the plate.
• Avoid placing seafood and meat dishes on the same buffet. They do not compliment one another. If you plan to serve both fish and meat, it is advisable to set up smaller stations and separate the foods.
• Limit your buffet to around five to seven items; it reduces the time it takes for guests to be served and lessens the chances that the plate may become overloaded with too many foods.
• If you are hosting a large group of people, you might consider setting up more than one buffet. It will alleviate guests having to stand in lines for their food. Alternatively, set up a variety of stations featuring different types of foods in order to provide your guests with choices.

For a more gastronomic experience, pair the appropriate beverages to the food items, i.e. smoked salmon and aquavit, caviar and vodka, cheese and port, red wine and meat, white wine and fish, etc.