Mastering Buffet Events: A Complete Guide

1. Chapter 11 Buffets

2. Chapter 11 Objectives • Understand the phases of buffet events • Recognize the importance of concepts and themes • Explain how to plan a buffet menu, including a breakfast buffet • Identify how price ranges are central to planning a buffet • Discuss how to meet and exceed guest expectations • Explain the role of action stations in a buffet, including raw bars, pasta stations, and omelet stations • Explain mise en place and production for buffets • Design a buffet to be both effective and attractive • Understand how to enhance food presentation • Describe the importance of centerpieces and displays

3. Banquet Chef Work Phases • The concept or theme is identified so that planning can begin. • The menu, price and theme are worked out together. • The chef prepares plans for the layout and setup of the buffet lines, tables, and platters. • The actual production and display of the food, flows directly from the planning and preparation in the preceding stages.

4. Buffet Use in Foodservice Industry • All facets of the foodservice industry have found effective uses for buffets: • Fast food outlets • Supermarkets and delis • Family or multi-unit restaurants • Fine-dining establishments • Corporate and institutional dining

5. Concepts and Themes • The season, weather, and the guests' comfort and expectations hold together the theme. • A buffet may center on: • A particular meal period • Special occasion • Holiday • Ethnic presentation

6. Concepts and Themes • A featured concept buffet is designed to attract guests to a restaurant. • The chef chooses foods for these buffets that have wide appeal and that work to improve the operation’s bottom line. • Examples: • Sunday brunch • Pasta buffet • Seafood buffet

7. Menu Development for Buffets • Menu development is a process aimed at crafting a menu that satisfies the guest or client as well as makes a profit for the operator. • It is the responsibility of the banquet chef to consider all aspects of the banquet: • Overall theme • Price range • Guest’s expectations

8. Menu Development for Buffets • First, review the concept or theme and establish the appropriate menu selections for the buffet. • Some menu items may be drawn from previous events where you already know what they cost to make and serve. • New items can be used to reflect popular trends, customize a menu for a special event, or introduce a new concept or theme

9. The Menu • The food is generally the focal point for the guest. • The successful banquet chef generates and executes menus that please guests whether they are looking for a global flare or traditional elegance. • Buffet style service offers guests: • Variety • The freedom to choose from different categories • The option of unlimited portions.

10. Price Range • Establish the price range for any buffet at the outset of planning. • The price range determines, to some extent, the number of options that can be offered as well as the specific ingredients or dishes you choose. • Factors to consider: • The competition's price for comparable buffet • Your guest’s expectations or special requests • Any special conditions or limitations on the menu or the service

11. Meeting and Exceeding Expectations • From the guests' point of view, two of the main advantages of buffets are the variety of choices and the amount of food offered. • A careful review process for every menu item identifies areas you can improve, modify, or adapt to meet all of your objectives: • Great food • Great service • A great experience • A profit

12. Action Stations • Foods are made, sliced, or presented to the guests’ order as they watch. • New developments in equipment such as the induction burner have expanded the possibilities for the items that you can feature on an action station. • A good way to introduce interaction between the guests and the staff. • These stations add to the overall cost of the buffet because you need a skilled person cooking and you may need extra equipment like burners or refrigeration. • Yet these stations draw a higher cost.

13. Action Stations • Examples: • Raw Bar • Omelet station • Pasta station • Carving station

14. Raw Bar • It is important to use only the freshest and highest quality shellfish for raw bar service. • All raw shellfish must come with a tag stating the point of origin, the date of harvest, and the wholesale grower and seller.

15. Raw Bar: Oysters • Oysters are commonly eaten raw. • Four species of oysters cultivated for consumption: • Atlantic Oyster • Pacific Oyster • European Flat Oyster • Kumaoto Oyster

16. Raw Bar: Oysters • Flavor profiles: • Warm water oysters are mild, with a buttery flavor, and a creamy texture. • Cold water varieties are characteristically briny, with a metallic flavor, and a firm, crisp texture.

17. Raw Bar: Clams • Clams served raw on the half shell are much less common than oysters. • Only varieties of hard-shell clams are served raw: • Littlenecks • Topnecks • Cherrystones

18. Raw Bar: Steamed Mussels • The majority of the mussels purchased today are cultivated: • Better meat to shell ratio than wild mussels • More uniform in size • Cleaner • Less frequently have broken shells

19. Raw Bar: Cooked Shrimp • Head-on shrimp may be purchased to provide a dramatic display, although, unless purchased very fresh, they are generally of lesser quality. • Shrimp are available as: • Small • Large • Jumbo • PUD (peeled un-deveined) • PND (peeled and deveined) • IQF (individually quick frozen)

20. Raw Bar: Steamed Crabs • Claws are generally the only part of the crab that is served. • Crab claws are most often purchased cooked, either in or out of the shell. • The most common crabs served on a raw bar include: • King • Snow • Jonah • Dungeness • Stone Crabs

21. Raw Bar Safety • In order to ensure the safety of a raw bar, purchase depurated oysters, clams, and mussels. • Depuration is a system that purges the shellfish of impurities and sand. • The process occurs when the shellfish are placed in tanks and fresh water is pumped throughout. • It is advisable to purchase cultivated oysters, clams, and mussels because they are generally cleaner and safer.

22. Service Instructions for Raw Bar • All shellfish should be scrubbed • Held on ice between 35° and 40° F/1.5° and 2°C for only two to three days • The chef can either shuck the shellfish and create plates to order or shuck the shellfish and place the different varieties onto a platter or ice bed where the guests can help themselves and ask the chef questions.

23. Popular accompaniments: Lemons Cocktail sauce Hot sauce (Tabasco) Vinegars Salsas Seaweed salad Mignonette sauce Equipment: Ice Shucking knives Gloves Self-straining displays Service Instruction for Raw Bar

24. Omelet Station • Usually used at a weekend breakfast or brunch. • Having mise en place in order is crucial • Safety considerations need to be addressed to ensure that all of the items on the omelet station remain out of the danger zone at all times.

25. Pasta Station • May feature any number of combinations of: • Sauces • Types of pastas • Main ingredients like poultry, beef, pork, cured meats, or shellfish

26. Mise en Place and Production for Buffets • After menu development, information about the number or count to be prepared and portioning is finalized. • Chefs rely upon information from previous buffets to make an educated guess on how much food to prepare. • Portions for buffets are typically smaller than for a la carte service. • The banquet chef organizes food production to: • Maximize the quality of the food • Lower the overall labor cost • To cut down on food loss

27. Arranging Foods • An interesting and challenging aspect of cooking for a buffet is that you must make large quantities of food and then portion it into many small pieces. • Clean cuts, straight edges, and precise angles show off the foods' color, texture, and shape. • The spacing between pieces and between other lines should be as regular as possible.

28. Slicing and Sequencing • Makes it possible to create strong lines from foods that are not perfectly regular in shape and size • A grosse pièce is a large piece of the sliced item you are displaying. • Tools used: • Knives • A steel • Holding tray • Plastic wrap or dampened towel

29. Number and Placement of Lines and Stations • In a buffet, the food is on display as it is being served to the guest. • During a buffet, the chef’s challenge is to display the food: • attractively • thematically • logically • functionally

30. Number and Placement of Lines and Stations • The number of guests directly effects the number of lines and stations you will need. • Buffet lines should be placed so that there is an adequate amount of room to walk around them. • The buffet should make it easy for guests to access the food, as well as for attendants to serve guests or replenish the line.

31. Number and Placement ofLines and Stations • Lines and stations should not block entrances, emergency exits, or other doors used by either the servers or the guests. • Account for elements in the room, such as pillars or columns, to avoid placing a line or station to close to these immovable objects.

32. Stations • Smaller stations, sometimes referred to as satellite or action stations, break up the traditional “line” for a more contemporary service style. • With stations, you can: • Showcase special items or cooking demonstrations • Encourage interaction between the guests and the attendants • Make traffic flow more smoothly through the room

33. Table Configuration and Set up • Can: • Improve access to food • Make replenishing unobtrusive and efficient • Control the flow of traffic by speeding or slowing it • Maintain the appearance of a bountiful, varied display throughout the meal

34. Service Pieces • Most common service pieces: • Platters • Steam tables • Chafing dishes • Bowls • Serving tools: • Spoons • Ladles • Tongs • Spatulas

35. Planning for Waste • Some foods generate waste—shrimp shells, skewers, or strawberry stems, for instance. • The ability to clear away this waste makes the difference between cleanliness and chaos. • You may need or want to include waste receptacles as part of the buffet line’s design. • Attentive service can also regulate the amount of waste.

36. Advantages: For the guest, pre-plating adds elegance and ease to a self-service line or station. For the chef, it means better control over portioning and far less waste. Disadvantages: Increase labor and service costs Plates take up more valuable space on the line than a platter. The wait staff will need to work harder at replenishing such a display. Pre-plating

37. Garnishes • Garnishes can be used to add appeal to a dish: • Visually • Texturally • Flavorfully • When the only purpose for a garnish is to add a shape or a color, find a better option.

38. The Role of Design • The banquet chef’s task is to exploit the full sensory potential of every dish to create a presentation that is practical, functional, and appealing to all the senses. • Considerations for food presentation: • Functional and practical • Balance • Food’s natural color • Texture • Cooking method/technique • Food height and shape • Focal point • Strong, clean lines • Platter’s layout (symmetrical or asymmetrical)

39. Arrangement of Items on a Line • General guidelines: • Items are easy to see • Items are easy to reach • Items are easy to serve • Keep foods that might drip or spill closest to the guests • Use pedestals and similar devices to lift some platters higher • Keep hot foods near a one another, likewise group chilled foods in their own area. • Place sauces and condiments directly with the foods they accompany

40. Replenishing • Each operation may have a different standard concerning exactly when to pull a platter and replace it with a fresh one. • The decision should be made ahead of time, then clearly communicated to the entire staff. • A distinct advantage of more frequent replenishment of smaller platters or chafing dishes is that it permits you to adapt quickly to the guests’ behavior. • This information can help you keep the customer satisfied and control costs by limiting wasted food.

41. Centerpieces and Displays • Some traditional centerpieces and displays include: • Ice sculptures • Salt sculptures • Tallow sculptures • Floral Arrangements • Fruit or vegetable displays • Bread display • Wine display