dining room buffet
love them or hate them, buffets are hugelypopular in the restaurant world. the idea of the buffet has its roots in theswedish smorgasbord, which was originally a spread of appetizers offered before themain course. today, buffets are all over, and it's hardto imagine how they could possibly be profitable. curious as to how it all works, or want toget the most out of your trip to the buffet? here's what you should know for your nexttrip to a modern-day smorgasbord. breaking even for a lot of people, the allure of the all-you-can-eatbuffet is the idea that you're getting more than what you pay for.
this is why the business side of buffets isthe key. buffets usually don't have the same numberof staff other restaurants would need, as customers are typically serving themselves. no one's sending their food back to the kitchenwith complaints, either; you just push it to the side and get something else. while that might mean food waste, it alsocuts back on kitchen workload. and menus are built around what's most efficientto make and cheapest to buy, including things like cheap sacks of vegetables and cheapercuts of meat. and not everyone is eating a lot.
since most people hit the buffet in groups,for every person eating more food than they actually pay for, there are several who don'tovereat. fill 'er up! because buffets can lose money if you keepeating, they want to fill you up as soon as possible. and there's a little bit of a trick here. specifically, low-cost, high-carb foods. a massive scoop of one of these on your plategoes a long way to filling you up without costing the restaurant a whole lot.
some places even give you bigger spoons forfoods like this. there's also a reason you see these carb-heavyfoods like mashed potatoes, french fries, and white rice first on the buffet line. according to a study by researchers from thecornell food & brand lab, around two-thirds of what ends up on your plate comes from thefirst few items you get to. for the experiment, two groups of diners werepresented with buffets set up in reverse order. when they kept track of who took what, theyfound that more than 75 percent of the diners in their experiment took the very first item,no matter what it was, with only around a quarter to half of diners taking what waslast in line.
combating food waste you may think of buffets as wasting a tonof food, but in some areas, buffets are being put to incredibly good use combating foodwaste. in major cities like los angeles, new york,chicago, and san diego, a new app called buffetgo that allows users to purchase end-of-the-dayfood from major restaurants is starting to catch on. on your end, you browse the app, select therestaurant, pick up your to-go box, fill it up, and head out the door. you pay a fraction of the price for the samefood people have been eating all day, the
buffet makes some of its money back, and thefood isn't wasted. worth the risk? eating out anywhere is putting a lot of trustin a stranger, and buffets ask you to trust employees and other customers. fortunately, there are some things you cankeep an eye out for to help protect yourself and other diners. when it comes to dangerous foods, you mightwant to consider skipping the seafood. there's a huge potential for illness there,especially when those foods aren't kept at the proper temperature.
the other big danger is cross-contamination. with all customers serving themselves, there'sa huge chance for the transfer of germs on serving utensils. long sleeves making contact with the foodor serving line is bad, and that's not even mentioning people who might pick up a dinnerroll, change their mind and put it back. so to keep yourself safe, look for telltaledanger signs like spoon handles touching food, other customers returning with dirty plates,and dishes that don't have their own individual serving spoon or set of tongs. the price you pay
when it comes to buffets, consumers seem toenjoy the food less if they pay less for it. the cornell food & brand lab suggests thatbuffets that want to keep customers happy and coming back need to find something ofa sweet spot between price and quality. researchers offered customers the same lunchbuffet, consisting of pizza, pasta, breadsticks, salad, and soup. some were charged $4, while others were charged$8. when they were done, they were asked to ratethe entire experience. across the board, diners who were charged$4 reported that they enjoyed it less than the group that had paid $8.
the study's authors suggested that it wassomething of a self-fulfilling prophecy. if we don't pay much for something, we don'texpect much from the experience. if we're charged a bit more, we feel likewe're going to enjoy it more because it must be better food. the cost of the meal might also affect howyou physically feel. cornell's food & brand lab also asked thecustomers how they felt after eating. even if they ate the same amount, the $4 crowdreported feeling like they had overindulged and were less happy with the quality of thefood than the $8 crowd. they also said they felt guilty regardingwhat they had eaten and the price they had
paid for it. healthy options if you're trying to eat healthy, visitingthe expansive temptation of a buffet might seem like a daunting challenge. but there are some ways to avoid some of thebiggest buffet pitfalls. take advantage of the smaller plates. they'll minimize food waste and encourageyou to take less food, which might be exactly what you want. when you go to your table, make sure you'reas far away from the buffet as you can get.
don't take a tray, either. the added convenience has been shown to increasewhat we pile on. the experts also suggest that you take a lookaround first. if you know ahead of time that your favoriteroast chicken is halfway down the buffet, you're less likely to pile the carbs on yourplate before you even get there. thanks for watching! click the mashed icon to subscribe to ouryoutube channel. plus check out all this cool stuff we knowyou'll love, too!