What are the rules for buffet table setting?

If you want to be generous when it comes to food, or if you don’t want to hire many wait staff, a buffet table setting is ideal for you. There are actually three ways to go buffet. According to Town & Country Elegant Entertaining, these are standing, partially seated, or fully seated buffet arrangements.

Standing buffet

Standing buffet is also known as lap service. This is the most common and the most casual of the three types of buffet table setting. Here, guests will have to help themselves with the plates and the silverware, which are usually wrapped in napkins. “The dining room is usually where the food is served. Guests meanwhile don’t dine here; they could freely move around the other parts of the home, where they can enjoy chit-chats with other guests,” explains Anthony Franco of Better Cater, a leading catering software company. Guests have the liberty to stand or feel comfortable on a couch or sofa while eating–indeed, everything is casual and informal. Guests could place their food on their lap or on nearby surfaces. While it could be awkward at times, a standing buffet actually provides everyone with a luxurious feel and the freedom to choose a dinner or companion. In short, they can relax and feel at home while enjoying the meal. Menus are usually dishes which require fork only. Desserts come in a wide array, usually passed on trays and are accompanied by cocktail napkins.

Partially seated buffet

Partially seated buffets meanwhile involve the addition of make-do seating, small tables, and chairs scattered around the venue. Rental companies provide round tables or bistro tables for this purpose. A rule of thumb here is to offer seating for at least 30 percent of the guests. Once you over do it, you leave an impression that you have unintentionally left the other guests unseated. Tables are not set and sparsely decorated and menus are fork-only with the plates and silverware stacked. Again, guests will have to help themselves. Desserts could be served either buffet style or prepared on plates already.

Fully-seated buffet

Fully seated buffet parties are considered the most formal of the three styles. Each guest must have a seat. Tables are well-decorated and cards are placed to inform guests that the seat is reserved for someone. But compared to a formal, seated dinner, guests will have to go to the buffet table to get the food. Salads and desserts, meanwhile, are plated and are served by the staff. Since every guest has a place to sit and formal dinnerware is needed, the menu is not limited to fork-only menus.

Eating out at a buffet can be a good value for your money as you can consume as much as you wish for one price. But eating at a buffet can be a food safety challenge, both for the food service establishment as well as you as a customer. The restaurant that serves a buffet follows specific guidelines of making sure all the food is kept within proper temperatures. Cold foods such as salad bar foods should be kept cool and in small serving quantities to be changed regularly.  When changing the food, new bowls of the food are used rather than just adding fresh food to the same serving bowl that has some remaining food in it. If foods are hot, they are to be kept on a heating element or under a light that will keep them hot. Serving utensils should be provided for each food.

In all that a restaurant may do to keep foods safe for their customers, there are some responsibilities of the customer to help keep the food safe as well. How customers choose to serve themselves and handle themselves at the buffet line can help or hinder the safety of the food for themselves and other customers. Below are a few things to think about the next time you go through a buffet line.

• Number one is to wash your hands. After arriving at the restaurant, go into the bathroom and wash your hands. Your hands have probably come into contact with your face, hair, doorknobs and other places where they can pick up bacteria and germs that you don’t want to consume with your food. So wash well with warm water, soap and dry with a paper
• Use the serving utensil that is provided for each specific food item. Do not use one utensil to serve several food items. If one food item happens to be contaminated and others are not and you use the same spoon for serving, then that cross-contaminates them all.