Has the buffet come of age?It’s difficult to say when exactly people began assembling meals from large spreads of food. Sweden and France were the first countries to formalize the buffet concept. The Swedish smorgasbord originated as a way to feed hungry out-of-town visitors who’d pop in unexpectedly. Starting with just bread and butter—the term translates as “buttered bread board”—the smorgasbord display grew to include several sequential courses, beginning with salted fish, eggs and boiled vegetables, then moving on to cold cuts, warm entrees and salads, and ending finally with dessert and coffee. The French offered a more refined model, filling their lavish “buffet” tables as a sign of prominence, and as a way to focus on entertaining rather than cooking. In 1939, the Swedes brought the smorgasbord to America at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, offering a sizable selection atop a rotating platform inside the Three Crowns restaurant.
The man credited with creating the first all-you-can-eat buffet is Canadian Herb McDonald who worked at the El Rancho – one of the first hotels in Vegas. One night in the mid 1940s, in order to keep his gambling customers happy, he went into the kitchen, brought out some cold cuts, cheese and bread, and spread them out along the bar for hungry customers. The late-night selection became an instant hit and McDonald enlarged it menu into a 24-hour all-you-can-eat ‘ Buffet’ where guests could choose from a selection that included a variety of hot and cold entrees, salad, seafood and dessert. By the 1950’s everyone was craving for the Swedish inspired buffet.
Whilst the dining landscape has grown remarkably over the last decade or two, only recently has the buffet concept, which remained stagnant since the 1950’s, appear to have finally come of age. To keep up, or catch up with the latest food trends and serving styles, more and more hotels are moving away from the cumbersome buffet line, to present food that is fresher and visually appealing. Smaller portions in smaller plates are one of the new trends, where people can more easily move in and out of the line. That trend resolves some of the biggest challenges with the traditional buffet: the boringly elaborate set up and the long queues.
Gone or less evident are the long line-up of chafing dishes filled with an equally large serving of pre-cooked food – all key ingredients in traditional buffet restaurants. Without abandoning the classic ‘all you can eat’ approach, today’s buffets accentuate artistic presentation – a form of merchandising that provokes visual excitement and beckons one’s appetite with delectable portions that scream ‘freshness’.
Open kitchen concepts with individual cooking stations using fresh ingredients not only allow guests to watch their food being prepared ‘a la minute’ and served in smaller portions, but also educate diners about new types of cuisines. Individual cooking stations encourage guests to engage with chefs, by asking questions, making choices and having conversations. All of which adds a new element to the overall dining experience.
Today’s buffets bring the culinary team into the limelight. They provide a wonderful opportunity to showcase the culinary skills of the hotels chefs. The shift from ‘All you can eat’ has sublimely shifted to ‘All you care to eat’. Ilzaf Keefahs |
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