Consumer service form " Buffet(line)" (Smorgasbord) is widely used in hotel restaurant establishments for organizing breakfasts, brunches, lunches, dinners. The name "buffet" is universal and combines both terms. Most often, the concept of "buffet" refers to a line of specialized self-service counters, which are made to order and are integral elements of the interior design of a restaurant establishment. The main difference between a “buffet” and a line of self-service counters is that here the quantity and weight of a serving of each dish is not limited for the consumer. The concept of a “buffet” refers to a temporary structure, on which all dishes, drinks, and the necessary tabletop equipment for keeping certain dishes hot are placed.Tables with specialized sections for short-term storage and display of dishes and products on the buffet line are mounted in a straight or broken line, in accordance with the interior of the restaurant ( Fig. 3.56).

Rice. 3.56. "Swedish Line"

They can be stationary or mobile. To speed up service, the line can be installed with a one- or two-way consumer approach. The distance between the buffet and the eating area in a restaurant hall or cafe must be at least 1.5 m.

Buffets can also be of non-traditional sizes and configurations: round, oval, square or rectangular.

To organize a buffet, a separate room or part of it is allocated. Information about the opening hours of the buffet, breakfast (lunch, dinner), and product range is posted in a prominent place.

The assortment of products on the “buffet line” is placed on the table in the appropriate order, first an assortment of juices, soft drinks, then dairy products, butter, margarine and oil mixtures, salads and vinaigrettes, cold dishes from fish, meat, poultry. Above the counters with cold snacks there can be a shelf on which there are bakery products(including our own production) in baskets covered with linen napkins. Baskets with regular, national and dietary types of bread are placed at the end of the buffet line so that consumers can take into account the selected dishes. Sauces and spices are placed either next to the corresponding dishes or in a separate place in the buffet. To prepare hot snacks, a tabletop or mobile stove is installed in the line. To keep soups or main courses hot, the line includes counters with built-in food warmers with space for gastronorm containers, or when organizing a buffet - with tabletop food warmers Chafing-Dishes (shafendishams). Mobile heating trolleys are installed for the corresponding utensils.

When organizing a buffet, in the absence of appropriate equipment, buffet tables or special tables are installed. In this case, the length of one line is 3-4 m, width - 1.5-2 m, height - 0.75-0.9 m. Tables are covered with a white or other color tablecloth and a “skirt” is created of the appropriate length (0.5 cm from the floor). To save space use suitable dishes(rectangular, triangular, square, multi-story, like a shelf, etc.), create a slide in the middle of the table along its axis or in the form of stairs (two or three) when placed near the wall and with a one-sided approach.

The buffet selection depends on the service time (breakfast, lunch, dinner). In the morning, it is recommended to use one of the options for the weekly menu of continental breakfasts: breakfast cereals (cereals), muesli, corflakes, fish gastronomy (herring, sprats, cold and hot smoked fish), meat gastronomy (ham, boiled pork, sausage, sausages, etc.). d.), natural vegetables, salads and vinaigrettes, pancakes, pancakes, casseroles, hard and soft cheese different varieties, cottage cheese, sour cream, yoghurts, kefir, fermented baked milk, milk (cold and hot), cream, egg dishes, milk porridges, baked goods, tea, coffee, cocoa, etc. Transfer sets are laid out on multi-serving dishes - table forks and spoons, spatulas, tongs, etc.

During breakfast, a steam table is placed on the table for heating eggs, in which shot glasses made of refractory material and a toaster are mounted.

The lunch menu includes 12-16 types of cold appetizers, 2-3 types of soups, 4-6 main courses, sauces, desserts (jelly, creams, compotes, fruits), pastries, hot drinks, juices and specialty drinks.

The dinner buffet menu includes 8-10 cold appetizers, 4-6 main courses, sauces, dessert, including fruits, pastries and hot drinks.

The assortment of dishes and culinary products varies by day of the week and weeks of national cuisine are held (domestic and the cuisines of the residents of the hotel complex). It is advisable to organize a separate dessert table for dessert, flour confectionery, hot drinks, on which stacks of dessert plates, tea and coffee cups with saucers, dessert, fruit sets, napkins, sets for rearranging, vases, cake racks, dishes with a cap with transparent material, sockets for jam, etc. For hot water, it is advisable to use electric kettles, electric samovars, thermoses, boilers, and the like.

Preliminary table setting depends on the type of service (breakfast, lunch, dinner). Bottles of mineral water are also placed on the tables. still water or jugs of melt, salad bowls with ice (in summer) on a pirozhkovy (snack) plate with a linen napkin.

During lunch or dinner, the hall can organize the sale of drinks and tobacco products for cash through the bar counter or using mobile carts.

To serve a buffet in a restaurant, teams of cooks or waiters are created. Each worker who is part of the team performs a specific job (setting tables, receiving and replenishing the assortment of dishes and snacks during breakfasts, lunches, dinners, preparing hot dishes, setting the dessert table and replenishing it dessert dishes and hot drinks, cleaning up used dishes, etc.).

The buffet operates on a self-service basis. At the beginning of the line, the consumer takes a tray, places it on the guide lines of the table (or counters), selects snacks and dishes and moves along the self-service line, accepting dishes with the help of cooks. Next, he sits down at the prepared table. Dessert and hot drinks are chosen independently. At the consumer's request, the waiter can serve him at the table.

The advantage of this form of service is to speed up the service for tourists and other residents of the hotel complex. On average, guests spend 15-20 minutes on breakfast; for lunch, dinner - 25-30 min. Breakfast on the buffet, if this is the main and only service, is organized from 7.00 to 11.00. When organizing other types of meals, the following operating hours are established: breakfast - from 8.00 to 10.00, lunch - from 12.00 to 15.00, dinner - from 18.00 to 20.00.

Cooks and waiters bear collective (team) responsibility. The financially responsible person receives snacks, dishes, hot drinks from the cold and hot shops, flour culinary and confectionery products from the confectionery shop, and products from the bar according to daily collection sheets, which are issued in duplicate and signed by the director, chief or senior accountant. The first copy is given to the person who received the product, the second remains with the production manager. The financially responsible person submits the fence sheets to the accounting department with an attached receipt for the delivery of proceeds.

There are many ways to appease and feed a client, but a buffet is one of the most budget-friendly ways to serve food in a hotel. First of all, you reduce the time spent servicing the client, increase his loyalty to the hotel and significantly save on staff. You also have the opportunity to plan the amount of food needed and thereby save food resources depending on the hotel’s occupancy. You need to feed the guest quickly, satisfyingly, tasty and with what he prefers. These needs are easily met by the method of “wholesale” serving of food.

A buffet (buffet) is a method of serving food in which many dishes are displayed side by side, and the food is sorted into plates by the guests themselves.

Buffet catering is becoming increasingly popular in the hotel business because it is very convenient to serve large quantity guests who can, without any special “ceremonies,” approach special tables where dishes are displayed and choose whatever their heart desires. Already developed service standards allow us to adapt to different categories of guests.

Agree that when ordering food in a restaurant you can’t always guess what your order will look like, especially with unusual names local cuisine, and sometimes you have to wait a long time for the ordered dish. A buffet allows the visitor to first see, choose, and then try culinary products or drinks, paying a fixed amount for it and without waiting for the order to be prepared. The buffet is also attractive because there is no permanent menu, which allows the chefs to diversify the dishes offered. And this cannot but please the guests.

Therefore, a buffet will be appropriate wherever you need to offer an assortment of dishes to a large number of guests in a short time. Its design allows you to serve many customers at the same time, and the cooks and waiters have enough time to prepare everything.

The rationale for a buffet is obvious, so let’s look at the main features of catering in a hotel using the buffet system.

Submission formats

Salad bars

The hallmark of true hospitality in a hotel is catering to the tastes of different visitors. Let's look at some standard options for serving food in a buffet format.

American style buffet

Mainly served in entertainment areas, such as near the beach, and aimed at a young audience. Similar to McDonald's, it includes hamburgers, cola and salads.

National cuisine

Usually presented at a separate table from the European one with local cuisine prepared in accordance with the traditions of the region. It is a good tool to attract tourists.

Diet table

It must be maintained in a high-category hotel, designed for a wealthy audience who care about health and proper nutrition, on which they spare no expense. Such a table includes light healthy dishes, for example, soups, salads, meat, fish and vegetables, stewed or steamed, not sweet and low-calorie desserts.

Brunch

It is a hybrid of breakfast and lunch (from the English breakfast and lunch) and is offered on Sundays from noon to 17 o’clock, the so-called “ family dinner" The menu includes dishes for both morning and afternoon meals. The difference between this format is that in addition to the culinary program, the brunch also offers a cultural program, such as live music, artist performances and other events.

Tea, coffee table

Served between lunch and dinner along with coffee, desserts and fruit.

Buffet areas

The buffet restaurant is divided into 2 zones: one where food is displayed, the other where there are places to eat.

The main element of the first zone is the food distribution line or buffet area, which can be stationary or mobile. As a rule, it is more elegant and functional than in the dining room, but it has the same purpose.

Fixed lines are connected to electricity and equipped with sockets. The mobile line is made up of ordinary tables on which special heating devices and containers for cooling dishes are installed.

The second zone, where guests are located, is usually divided into sectors - for smokers and non-smokers, indoors and outdoors.

Introduction

Everyone knows what a buffet is: all available treats are displayed for wide access and are constantly updated. The dishes are convenient for quick consumption, served in large quantities so that anyone can take as much as they want. Preliminary preparation, for example, cutting up a fried carcass or cutting vegetables has already been done. The guest can be busy not only with food, but also with communication. The combination of considerations of practicality, freedom of choice and an element of some conviviality in this method of presentation has made this format one of the favorites in the system Catering.

Where is the buffet usually served? Where convenience and speed are relevant, where issues of payment for food are resolved in advance, and service ceremonies are kept to a minimum.

The main niche of the buffet is hotels. Feeding a guest in the morning is sacred, and where an independent catering network is not developed, he must also be provided with a comfortable lunch and dinner. You need to feed the client quickly, tasty, with what he likes, and exactly when he needs it. It is possible to adapt to the regime of a business person with a strictly scheduled schedule, a vacationer hurrying to the beach or procedure, numerous groups of tourists busy with sightseeing, only by providing them with food with simple, proven service standards and the only time limit. Having paid a fixed amount, the visitor feels as free as in his own kitchen or with close friends. He can choose any types of dishes, drinks, culinary products and fruits at his discretion, in any order and quantity.

The objectives of a buffet in a restaurant are similar: the convenience of regular customers and attracting new guests. With a large influx of visitors, buffets in restaurants often operate in a stable manner. Beer bars and pizzerias have salad bars with cold dishes and snacks, and affordable cafes and fast food establishments have entire buffets offering cold, hot and desserts. At the same time, even in expensive establishments, affordable buffet prices will allow you to demonstrate the high level of cuisine and the comfort of the interior.

Having become acquainted with a restaurant in this light genre, the guest may come another time for alacarte service.

Another case where such an accessible format is simply irreplaceable is the organization of catering for large groups at various events. The occasion, surroundings and degree of democracy can be very different. An exquisite business buffet in its design and menu will undoubtedly differ from a corporate New Year's party, and that, in turn, from a picnic in nature. But in both cases, and in the third case, the buffet will allow you to enjoy your food without focusing on the choice (after all, everything is before your eyes). And, without adapting to field conditions, do more enjoyable things.

Chapter 1. Buffet

1.1 History of the buffet

The term "buffet" exists only in Russian. In Europe and the USA (from where democratic food formats spread), as well as in Asia (where they successfully took root), this type of service has long been called buffet (“buffet”). However, the Russian ear prefers the “buffet” option, and in support of this version there are enough arguments, historical and not so, to attribute this invention to the nation of northern seafarers.

Legend has it that even in ancient times, for large feasts, the Scandinavians prepared a lot of simple but varied shelf-stable food from salted and smoked fish and meat, boiled eggs, vegetables, mushrooms and berries, so that when new guests arrive you don’t have to think about what to feed them. It is clear that it is easier to implement this idea in a cold climate and in the national cuisine that is adapted to various kinds of preparations. A few opponents of the “Swedish theory”, however, argue that this most democratic way of serving food originates from the traditional Russian meal “vodka - appetizer”. But this hypothesis does not stand up to historical criticism: democracy was not born in Russia, and the point of the buffet is not in strong drinks.

In Sweden itself, this format of serving food is called smorgasbord, that is, “sandwich table”. Sandwiches here mean any hearty food that can be prepared from anything. The presence of bread is not as important as the principle: serving dishes that are easy to eat and, unlike, for example, pasta with tomato and cheese, do not lose their taste over time.

Another idea, also closely related to the national characteristics of the inhabitants of Scandinavia, is the principle of reasonable self-restraint in the absence of control. It was he who once so impressed our compatriots who traveled abroad. Russian historian and journalist of the second half of the 19th century, Konstantin Skalkovsky, in his book “Travel Impressions,” in the chapter on the Scandinavians and Flemings, described a meal at a local inn this way: “Everyone demands both, the maids barely have time to uncork the bottles. There is no accounting of what is consumed here; There is a book on the table, a pencil is tied to it on a pink ribbon, and the guest himself is obliged to write down what he ate and drank in the book. When leaving, he also sums up his account himself. It is clear that all mistakes remain on the conscience of the passenger, but the Swedes prefer to lose something rather than subject the traveler to humiliating control.”

The writer Alexander Kuprin, who visited Finland at the beginning of the 20th century, spoke even more touchingly about the northern self-assembled tablecloth: “The long table was laden with hot dishes and cold appetizers. All this was unusually clean, appetizing and elegant. There was fresh salmon, fried trout, cold roast beef, some kind of game, small, very tasty meatballs and the like. Everyone came up, chose what he liked, ate as much as he wanted, then went to the buffet and, of his own free will, paid exactly one mark thirty-seven kopecks for dinner. No supervision, no mistrust. Our Russian hearts, so deeply accustomed to the passport, the plot, the forced care of the senior janitor, to general fraud and suspicion, were completely suppressed by this broad mutual faith.”

To be fair, it should be said that in addition to noble impulses, the organizers of the “buffet” and “Finnish” tables that our travelers observed were also driven by practical considerations. This form of service was most common in restaurants and taverns located along the train route.

The visitor might not have time to pay for what he ate or doubt whether it is necessary to pay for the order at all if there is no time for food. For the convenience of both guests and hosts, a wise solution was found - travelers were offered to immediately pay a fixed amount and take any number of dishes from the buffet counter.

1.2 Buffet formats

There is a fundamental difference between the two types of buffet, which is the following: whether it is served for visitors who are subject to registration, or for the public, which is formally not connected with the establishment in any way. In the first case we are talking about hotels, in the second - about restaurants, snack bars, clubs, as well as service at banquets, buffets, barbecues and other various cocktails.

The buffet can be served every day at the same time, and sometimes it is served for any reason by the decision of the establishment manager or by order of the guests. It is clear that the composition of the menu and service in different formats differ from each other. One way or another, but with a large number of variations, a classic buffet presupposes the presence in its assortment of both cold and hot dishes, a separate order of certain items (in most cases, expensive drinks) with subsequent payment, as well as the presence of an open kitchen, that is, adding spectacle direct cooking by showcooking masters in white jackets.

Thus, a buffet is a series of mandatory rules, on the basis of which each specific establishment builds its own service system. The main one of these principles is a fixed payment for the entire service, which distinguishes this genre, for example, from the freeflow format, where the end of the “free flow” of distribution is the cash register. The second defining rule is self-service with the supporting role of staff.

Otherwise, all kinds of buffets differ, mainly in the timing, breadth of choice and nature of the restrictions.

1.2.1 Features of the hotel and restaurant

A buffet is an important condition for a comfortable stay at a hotel. In world practice, this form of catering is found in establishments of various categories with a number of stars from two to five, in resort giants and small urban boarding houses. According to the international classification, the presence of a buffet in a hotel of the three-star category and above is mandatory. There are reasons for selling rooms with breakfast included. Otherwise, the trouble is not only that hotels miss out on guaranteed income, but also that residents often make do on their own - they have breakfast in the room with a bun with milk or, even worse, use boilers, which affects sanitary conditions and fire safety.

The peculiarity of a buffet in a hotel compared to a restaurant is the limited capabilities of the kitchen and the size of the service area. For an average hotel, the restaurant business is an ancillary business; its task is to feed its guests, and, if possible, in a small room where the number of seats is small in relation to the number of rooms. On weekends and holidays, or even for longer periods, hotel occupancy can drop from 90-80 percent to 50-30, and in the high season, on the contrary, reach 100 percent. It is in this case that buffet technology, designed for a quick turnover of visitors, helps to effectively use the space of the food complex and at the same time reduce staff costs. The opening time for breakfast depends on the habits of the main contingent of guests of the establishment. The higher the category and payment, the more serious the requirements for the hotel; ideally it should provide both a light breakfast for early birds and a late, hearty, almost lunch.

In small hotels (up to 50 rooms) it makes no sense to serve a buffet. But even in this case, breakfast should still be served at some food outlet, for example, in a school-type buffet, where even one employee can prepare a minimum order (scrambled eggs, coffee), bring juice and mineral water. To avoid the reputation of a flophouse, it is better for the hotel to offer the client little rather than nothing at all.

The reason for the popularity of buffets in brick-and-mortar restaurants in recent years is also due to the intention of saving guests time and increasing traffic, and therefore sales. According to business research, free consumer access to products increases sales by an average of 20 percent, and according to food service experts, in a well-located cafe or restaurant, where occupancy is often close to one hundred percent, this figure may be higher.

1.2.2 Brunch

Brunch is a hybrid of the English words breakfast and lunch (“breakfast” and “lunch”). The daily meal is from about noon to 16-17 hours. The classic brunch was invented in America back in the 19th century. This is a special buffet offer in restaurants at large hotels on Sundays - the so-called family lunch. Its menu combines items typical for both morning meals and more substantial afternoon meals. Unlike the everyday “Buffet” breakfast or dinner, the range of brunch is much wider, the dishes are more complex and dense. The complex includes drinks, including alcoholic ones and - unlike beach buffets - high-quality and expensive.

Hotel expenses on this type of food often exceed the income from it, however, holding brunches is becoming a common practice for establishments that want to stay afloat and, even more so, grow. The reason is simple: a modern hotel will attract the attention of the paying public if it becomes not only a place to stay overnight, but also a cultural and business center. A large hotel has a sufficient number of regular guests, a margin of safety and advertising opportunities in order to create an image of a reputable house in which themed events are regularly held.

Another, more practical reason for hosting brunches is to keep the kitchen busy and to use the common areas when guests are away, which usually falls on the weekend.

In addition to delicious food, brunch organizers must provide guests with the appropriate atmosphere of an establishment where it is pleasant to linger and where they will want to return again. Therefore, in addition to the culinary program, brunch usually also offers a cultural program - live music, performances by artists and other entertainment.

1.2.3 Hotel service formats

In high-level hotels, in parallel with the general buffet, several more specific buffets are organized. This is a sign of true hospitality, but only large complexes aimed at a diverse audience - mainly beach hotels of a fairly high price category - can follow this principle. The buffets of such conglomerates are scattered throughout the territory and are served either independently or complementing each other in terms of service time. Here are a few standard options to suit a variety of tastes.

Salad bars. Usually maintained in high-end hotels, they open at noon or a little later for guests who did not have time to have breakfast, especially if hotel restaurants open in the late afternoon. They do not imply a wide range. As a rule, they offer snacks and some other easily prepared dishes. May include light soups, while at a Swedish breakfast, soups are rather the exception.

American buffet. Often served closer to the beach for a younger crowd who don't want to leave the sea. A simplified version of McDonald's for those who choose hamburgers and cola. True, more herbs and fresh vegetables are usually added here.

Diet table. Focused on light, healthy dishes: these are salads without heavy and spicy dressings, soups, meat, fish and vegetables, stewed or steamed. Desserts are not too sweet and low in calories. In one form or another diet table must be present in a high-category hotel, otherwise the wealthy public, usually concerned about their health, will not come there, nor will they send their children and parents, on whom they usually do not spare money.

National cuisine. In some hotels it is presented on a separate table, especially if the owner does not intend to mix it in a simplified version with the European menu, but offers dishes prepared as required by tradition.

Tables with a specific culinary focus. An option for gourmets who prefer some delicate or complexly prepared product (for example, fish). It is pointless and unprofitable to prepare such dishes in large quantities.

Tea, coffee, and in addition - a dessert or fruit table. Served between lunch and dinner, at hours corresponding to traditional English tea drinking. It is in demand by those who usually do not attend lunch (there are many such guests, especially in hot countries), but plan to come for dinner later. Its advantage is that foreign odors do not interrupt the aroma of tea or coffee.

For those who lack all of the above, or those who make random forays into restaurants, so-called intermediate feeding points are sometimes offered in between serving large and small buffets. In terms of culinary execution, they resemble ordinary fast food: baked potato with various fillings, pancakes with fillings, pizza, waffle rolls, cold and hot drinks. Everything is placed on the tables in special dishes that maintain the desired temperature of the dishes, or taken out and distributed at the request of suitable guests.

And so on until the next main meal begins.

1.3 Buffet in Russia

In relatively well-fed times, Russian catering establishments also did not adhere to the principle of such strict portioning. From fiction and newspapers of the pre-revolutionary era, we learn that in city taverns there was often a fixed fee for a certain set of dishes, simple and satisfying or more refined, and there were no restrictions on their consumption. Anyone who paid 3 kopecks for sauerkraut with cranberries could take as much of it as he wanted. According to one version, it was thanks to the buffets set at receptions, mainly military ones, that the word “freebie” appeared. According to V. Dahl's dictionary, a “freebie” was the top of a boot, in which a spoon was often stored and where pies could also be hidden.

In the Soviet years, the buffet was not widespread for an obvious reason - it still presupposes some abundance, or at least the appearance of it. Neither hotels nor restaurants during the unique socialist economy sought to serve a large flow of guests, but rather to please them.

In the 1990s, rare islands of relatively affordable public catering carefully tried to feed the people, not forgetting to be on the safe side. Thus, consumption in salad bars was controlled by the number of approaches and the diameter of the plate. And only when serious competition arose in the democratic segment of the public catering system, obvious restrictions were lifted, which sometimes even led to oddities like advertising “500 dishes for 500 rubles.”

However, despite the advantages, the ability to choose between more than one option still makes a strong impression on the Russian consumer, and the very concept of “buffet” is often used inappropriately.

1.4 Organization and maintenance

1.4.1 Organizing a buffet

The buffet style restaurant has two areas: one where food is displayed, and the other where there are seats for guests.

The main element of the first zone is the buffet line, or serving line, which is more elegant and functional than in a regular dining room, but essentially has the same purpose. It can be stationary or mobile. The first is a professional complex capable of maintaining the required temperature regime. Fixed lines are connected to electricity and equipped with additional sockets and decorative lighting. They allow you to take a more thorough approach to catering, but reduce the use of space. The mobile line is constructed from parts, and in the simplest version it is made up of ordinary tables with buffet skirts. If it cannot be connected to electricity, then the organizers will have to take care of maintaining the required temperature. In this case, special devices are used, heated like a spirit lamp or in some other way, and the ice under the cooled dishes is regularly replaced. .

The most important task when organizing a buffet, or rather, the necessary equipment base for regular events of this format, is to correctly calculate optimal quantity buffet lines. There should be exactly as many of them as needed to provide quality service to a certain number of guests, plus the equipment should fit harmoniously into the restaurant premises. What matters here is not only the “installed capacity” of the establishment (in other words, how many people the kitchen can feed at a time), but also the nature of the planned events. Four hundred guests who have breakfast at different times from 7 to 10 am, and four hundred people from the conference who came to lunch at the same time - these, as they say, are two big differences.

The second zone is for guests. In a large restaurant, it is also usually divided into sectors, more or less private, for smokers and non-smokers, indoors and outdoors. However, this rule - providing comfortable conditions for the client - will be followed in a high-category hotel even under strict spatial restrictions.

The main principle when organizing a buffet is convenience. First of all, for guests, since a large crowd of people in one place is always a potentially risky situation. In each establishment, the optimal arrangement of stations is individual - depending on the area and configuration of the room, the location of doors, windows, columns. However, the general requirements are the same for everyone: enough light and space, good ventilation and the exclusion of counter flows of visitors. Even at the planning stage of the complex and before purchasing equipment, it is important to understand how guests will get into the hall, approach any point of the large table and each individual station, how they will navigate the laid out dishes, take trays, dishes, and cutlery. At the same time, it is necessary to track the waiters’ routes in detail, since even their subtle inconvenience will become a big problem when working under time pressure.

The path to the buffet should be safe, without steps (it’s easy to trip when going downstairs with a plate). You definitely need a convenient (preferably separate, fenced) approach to the table for cooks and waiters, otherwise, with a large crowd of people, they will have to stand and wait until a place is free. An example of an original solution to the problem is the oval table of the Balchug Hotel. The staff is placed inside the serving oval, and ready-made dishes from the kitchen are brought there on trays. And guests can watch the work in full swing on this “island”.

Finally, a very useful element that is often missing from the buffet area is the wardrobe. Although people are expected not to wear outerwear to a restaurant, this rule is not always enforceable. Visitors are sometimes in a hurry to run errands and do not have time to return to their room. They can leave their bags and suitcases in the room for the duty staff. But the hanger often doesn’t fit there, and out of desperation they put it right in the hall. Then you need to make sure that guests with food do not walk past the hanging clothes.

Food area. The main part of the buffet is the distribution complex. In addition to devices that maintain the temperature of dishes, it consists of ordinary buffet tables, which must be neatly and elegantly decorated. As a rule, plain tablecloths are used for this, and the color is chosen depending on the interior. Most often, to avoid excessive variegation, they prefer classic white or other calm colors. light colors. The same can be said about the dishes - they should have simple, elegant shapes and not attract much attention. Color accents will include a variety of snacks, salads, and pyramids of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Each table has its own category of dishes, and along the edges or on auxiliary tables there are stacks of plates, trays with glasses, cups and cutlery. For this format, both special utensils and ordinary serving utensils are used, mainly plates that are needed when serving. This should only be professional cookware, impact-resistant, designed for heavy traffic. The accepted practice is to assume a double or triple supply of plates, cutlery and wine glasses per guest. In addition, tables for used dishes are located in convenient places, where the guest can put what he no longer needs - a glass, a tea or coffee cup, a dessert plate.

Separate from the food there are stations for making tea, coffee, and juices.

There are several ways to serve hot drinks with this type of serving. These can be pantry machines for heating water, machines for filtered coffee and hot water for tea, as well as coffee makers. With a fairly high traffic volume of a large hotel buffet, there is one station for preparing drinks for 6-7 tables. In Europe, it is customary to serve coffee and tea in individual teapots and coffee pots made of porcelain or in alloy steel jugs.

At the buffet, food is not only served, but also prepared right in the hall. At breakfasts, scrambled eggs and an omelet with fillings are most often fried in this way, upon request of guests; at more respectable events, they do everything that the client chooses and orders. When there is no need for spectacles and the owner does not want to fill the hall with unnecessary smells, the visitor is simply brought a separate, easy-to-prepare dish, taking into account his wishes.

Self-service, typical for a buffet, implies that in certain corners of the buffet you can cut your own gourmet cheese or fresh bread, toast, bake waffles or make fresh juice. To do this, professional devices (toasters, waffle irons, juicers) are placed on separate tables, but not “industrial” ones, but elegant models. In some countries that respect freshly brewed coffee, sand is heated in special containers, in which the guest can make his own oriental coffee, experimenting with various mixtures.

Order on the table. At a stationary buffet in a hotel or restaurant, all dishes are served at the same time. At a banquet or a large buffet, cold appetizers are offered first, and only then hot food is brought. The dessert table can be set from the very beginning of the event, with one exception - perishable desserts with cream appear closer to closing, at least after the hot dishes.

People's tastes and preferences vary, so the rules for distributing food are based on a certain average standard, as well as common sense considerations and the accepted order of meals. The main law of serving: appetizers should be next to appetizers, hot dishes should be next to hot dishes, desserts should be next to desserts. Cold snacks and bread are placed closest to the entrance. Behind them are soups. Then the main courses (separately fish, separately meat). Sauces and seasonings intended for a specific dish are placed next to it. Desserts are placed separately, most often towards the end of the line. Drinks are available on a special bar table, also near the entrance. It is not customary to place drinks and food on the same table. An exception may be made for a special drink included in the menu from the chef.

There shouldn't be chaos at the buffet. The order of dishes is subject to a single standard, and a person visiting this establishment for the first time will look for fried bacon closer to hot appetizers, and fruit salad - near light dairy dishes or desserts. When serving a large number of guests, certain components of the buffet must duplicate each other. For example, salad bars with the same set of appetizers will be placed symmetrically to the left and right of the central table.

Another logical serving principle: dishes in the direction from the entrance to the farthest part of the hall should be arranged from simple to complex, from light to high-calorie. Thus, in the most common version of a buffet - at a hotel breakfast - near the entrance you can find cottage cheese, muesli, yogurt and fruit salads. Following them are cheese and sausage slices, pates, followed by solid dishes of sausages, meatballs, and fried bacon. The table will be set separately with dried fruits and nuts. Finally, “excesses”, that is, positions that will attract the attention of only certain guests, can be placed in the depths, closer to the exit from the distribution area. At breakfast, it is usually complex desserts, exotic fruits, and champagne.

A separate bread corner will be organized. The bread is laid out on a tray with a lid or on a wooden board, to which is attached a napkin (to hold the bread) and a knife so that everyone can cut off a piece themselves (because sliced ​​bread dries out quickly). Recently, fresh bread with original additives (nuts, dried fruits, special salt, spices) has become increasingly popular. Therefore, quite often the bread corner, like pastries, is located next to the tea and coffee station.

1.4.2 Buffet service

The main feature of the buffet format, which determines its democracy and efficiency, is the specificity of serving guests.

The personnel involved in the preparation and holding of such an event work as one team and are more focused not on an individual approach to each client, but on ensuring order and cleanliness, maintaining the table itself in accordance with the rules throughout the entire duration of the event. If the process is well organized and streamlined, then a small team of waiters will be able to cope with a significant number of visitors, even taking into account the risk of their uneven arrival.

The extent to which self-service replaces traditional service depends primarily on the category of the establishment, as well as the number of guests and the capacity of the hall. At a Swedish breakfast in a giant economy-class hotel, the client can count on a clean table, help in finding a dish, necessary explanations, but it is unlikely that an individual request will be fulfilled. In a high-star hotel, the principle of self-service for each guest is implemented to the extent that it is convenient for him. The guest has the right to claim both elements of traditional service and unobtrusive assistance from staff at the first hint of difficulty. In such establishments, hot dishes are usually brought to order from the buffet or from the kitchen - porridge, pancakes, scrambled eggs, omelettes, pastries and much more.

The degree of attention to the visitor depends not only on the money paid, but also on some other factors, including human ones. An important point is local cultural traditions. For example, all other things being equal, in Asian hotels, active contact between staff and guests is a much more common style of service than in Europe. In Thailand, a group sitting at a table can ask the waiter to bring crabs or pancakes for everyone and some other snacks to choose from - and will be met with complete understanding. At the same time, in a European mid-category hotel (“four stars”) it is not customary to approach the staff with individual requests. Service standards also depend on the format of the event. If at a regular breakfast the duties of the waiters are regulated, then, for example, the nature of the buffet service is determined by its customer. He can choose minimal service, when workers set the table and only look after it until the end of the buffet table, or he can assign an individual assistant to each guest.

In a large hotel, where several buffets with different concepts and prices are maintained, service standards also differ.

The convenient location of both restaurants - a large one with the main flow of guests on the ground floor and a refined, intimate type upstairs - eliminates the possibility of mixing visitors. In any such case, the areas for two different regular breakfasts should be discreetly separated. The fact that other guests staying in the same hotel receive a different level of service and more attention from staff should not be obvious.

Preparation. Preparing the buffet should begin the day before, as soon as the approximate load is known. If we are talking about breakfast, then the reception service usually provides this information by lunchtime of the previous day, but in any case no later than 15-17 hours, so that the cooks have enough time to maneuver. Based on the data received on the number of visitors, and possibly on their preferences, a stock of products is planned in the kitchen warehouse and an order is placed for their delivery from the main warehouse. Directly at the production site, buffet chefs are assigned tasks and given products.

The day before, the cooks carry out the necessary preparations: hang, wash, peel, cut vegetables for side dishes, perform preliminary heat treatment, portion and package semi-finished products for cooling and storage, and label them. The sous chef supervises the work, and the day shift cook assists if necessary.

Then the night shift can be involved in the process - until recently, the kitchen of a restaurant, and especially the food processing plant of a large hotel, could not do without it. Now in modern enterprises this practice is gradually becoming a thing of the past. New professional equipment makes life much easier: semi-finished products are placed in a refrigeration unit, a device that provides instant freezing without loss of taste, and in the morning they are quickly brought to the desired condition.

Some types of desserts and certain cold dishes may be prepared the night before. To avoid weathering and loss of aroma, they are covered with film and placed in a regular refrigerator. With this approach, it makes sense, instead of attracting the night shift, to increase the morning shift - then she will do everything an hour or two before the start of breakfast.

In a small hotel, with the correct distribution of labor, one or two cooks will have time to organize breakfast in from forty minutes to one hour.

Complex hot dishes (if they are on the menu) are prepared from evening or overnight semi-finished products, simple ones (sausages, bacon) are fried immediately before opening. Sausage and cheese slices are made only for the first visitors and are laid out a few minutes before opening, just like fresh pastries. Finally, another morning duty is preparing the mobile stove for operation, if some of the hot dishes are prepared in the hall.

A waiter who does not take part in organizing the table must be on site half an hour, at least 15 minutes before the start of his work. There can be no delays: if a Japanese delegation is staying at the hotel, they will be waiting in full force for the doors to open. And it is dangerous to hesitate with a hungry guest.

Upon arrival, the guest must receive full information about the food options at the hotel. It must be written in the memo in the room, however, it should be duplicated orally upon check-in. All necessary information - opening hours, cost (included in the room payment and one-time), as well as the code name of the complex, if the establishment supports several types of food - must also be posted at the entrance to the restaurant.

A visitor entering the buffet area has the right to be noticed. This is a general principle, but try it out at a morning buffet at a beach giant where 1,000 people are having breakfast at the same time. In fact, of course, there is an employee there who performs the functions of a hostess, and, most likely, more than one. However, even three employees are not enough to personally greet everyone who enters. However, in this case, a general friendly atmosphere is enough for guests.

In a city hotel, where not only residents come to the buffet, each visitor is noted and registered. Serving one-time clients in a hotel restaurant is a separate issue. There are three main things that all staff, especially the head waiter, should remember. The first is to ensure the comfort of the staying guests, which should be a priority for the hotel. The second is to preserve the image of a cultural and business center, hospitable and friendly not only to its own people. Finally, the third, most important point is the desire to sell the entire complex prepared for today. There are different ways to cope with this situation. If the hotel is quite occupied, then they usually do not reserve tables for the buffet for visitors from the city, but they also try not to refuse those who come in from the street. Of course, there is always the risk that a large group of guests will unexpectedly show up and have to eat breakfast or lunch in close quarters.

In addition to greeting and registering those who come, the duty of the hostess is to ensure that guests do not violate the established rules. A typical nuisance at a beach complex is visiting a restaurant in swimsuits. But even in a high-category city hotel there are guests who do not consider it shameful to appear at breakfast in a bathrobe. Making comments is not a pleasant experience, but the organizers of a buffet as a social event should take care of the image of their establishment and the comfort of other guests.

According to the general rules of comprehensive service, waiters at a buffet are not required to anticipate the wishes of each client, help him when choosing dishes and stand behind him during the meal. However, they should be visible, approach guests at the first signal and answer their questions. A minimal and unnecessary courtesy is to help the visitor cope with drinks, especially hot ones. While at a beach hotel you'll have to walk from the coffee machine to your table with a hot cup in your hand, in hotels where the waiters have the opportunity to pay a little attention to everyone, they usually bring the coffee pot to the guest table and pour the first cup. Even if organized guests do everything themselves, there should always be one of the employees in the buffet area.

In any hotel there are guests who, having paid for the buffet service, do not want to come to the restaurant. In such cases, roomservice during operating hours is paid separately. If the guest cannot attend the meal for objective reasons (for example, he leaves early for an excursion), he should be provided with a free lunch package - a professionally packaged set of sandwiches, pastries, water, juices and fruits.

1.4.3 Buffet equipment

To successfully organize a buffet, you need a whole range of devices that will allow you to conveniently serve food and maintain it at the desired temperature. With the growing popularity of this style of serving, the development of appropriate equipment has become a promising direction in recent years. The basic requirements here remain unchanged: ease and efficiency of use, elegant appearance. Priority is given to modular systems - they should be easily disassembled into components, adapt to any local landscape and event format. Practical Germans and elegant Italians were the most successful in the given parameters.

The latest buffet equipment is made from modern technological materials - alloy steel, durable food-grade plastic, glass and porcelain, which are corrosion-resistant, durable, and have a beautiful shine. No less attention is paid to design - the equipment should look elegant, have classic or “cosmic” streamlined shapes. Collections for restaurants with national cuisine are usually made in a brighter and more original style, with wooden and porcelain elements. Country style sets are also not particularly popular. And this is understandable - the usual motive of saving, including time and effort, works. It’s easier to choose accessories for classic shapes and colors. For a popular model that is unlikely to be discontinued, it is easier to order add-ons or replace a part. The buffet is one big showcase, and it should be designed in the same style.

Equipment assembled “from the woods” will inevitably create the impression of a lack of funds or a careless approach.

Temperature maintenance. In accordance with sanitary rules for short-term storage of ready-made dishes, soups, sauces and hot drinks when served must have a temperature of no lower than 75°C, main dishes and side dishes - no lower than 65°C, and salads and cold appetizers - up to 5°C.

When serving alacarte, a piping hot dish can be served on a plate, in a pot, or even in a frying pan. But in order for it to remain warm on the buffet table for several hours, it must be served in steam tables (steam boilers). These are mobile containers into which gastronorm containers of a standard size of 53x32.5 cm are inserted. Depending on the size and model of the food warmer, it can accommodate from one to three types of ready-made dishes. A high temperature is maintained inside the bain-marie using the principle of a water bath.

There are two options for heating the bain-marie itself - using alcohol burners or using heating elements. The most common are compact tabletop models with burners, with a hinged lid (chafing-dishes, in the Russian version - shaping), which are used to maintain the temperature of main courses. For soups and other hot liquid mixtures, devices with a heating element at the base are often used. Most often, food warmers are made of stainless steel, but there are also series of more expensive equipment made of porcelain with a higher degree of heat transfer. Inexpensive chafing-dishes have flat, removable lids with a handle in the center. More convenient are models with semicircular roll-top lids that tilt back 90 or 180°, as well as with a special mechanism for fixing them in the half-open position. Separate food warmers are designed for heating dishes.

Leading equipment manufacturing companies have developed a variety of food warmers suitable for various foods: for deep-fried dishes, for “dry” foods (for example, sausages or buns), as well as for moist heating, etc. A special steam table for hot drinks can be used for preparing, storing and dispensing chocolate, tea, cocoa and milk.

Salad bars. Salad bars are essentially a type of showcase - they look beautiful and offer guests complex mixtures of many ingredients in a convenient form. (In supermarkets, for example, they put out not only salads, but also semi-finished meat or fish products.) In modern public catering, this is the most popular equipment due to the constant growth in demand for ready-to-eat vegetables, fruits, salads and all kinds of multi-component and low-calorie mixtures .

By design, the salad bar is a table with a built-in refrigeration or heating bath, where standard-sized gastronorm containers are placed. Some models have an ice maker; in others, less expensive, cooling occurs due to crushed ice, which is also a decorative element. The melting water flows out through the drain hole at the bottom of the structure.

The salad bar can be covered with a glass canopy, or it can be open, but with a backlit hood that provides protection from dust. A display is built into the case, which displays the current temperature in the display case. Shelf guides are usually attached to the edges of the salad bar. They are very convenient: when choosing food, the visitor places a tray or plate on them. To display cold dishes on the buffet, salad bars are used, made in the same design as food warmers, which allows you to decorate the entire line in the same style.

There are three main types of salad bars.

Thermal modules (+30...80°C) are designed for laying out hot food, side dishes, baked goods and are technologically designed according to the principle of food warmers. They are very often used at a Swedish dinner, when guests need to be provided with a large selection of hot dishes for every taste - from spaghetti with cheese to fried fish and pancakes. Refrigerated salad bars (temperature range -2...+ 10°C) usually contain cold appetizers, salads and seafood, as well as butter, cottage cheese, and yoghurts. And finally, neutral modules are used for the presentation of vegetables, fruits, etc.

There are special versions of these designs that combine refrigeration and thermal modes. A line built from three similar display cases allows you to display hot dishes, snacks, and desserts, and heat-resistant glass in each of them additionally separates sections with different temperatures.

1.4.4 Sanitary rules

There are several rules that are also useful in the household, but in the case of large volumes of cooking and a flow of guests, they must be followed strictly.

The first sanitary principle of a buffet can be called “kosher”. This is the maximum possible separation of different products and dishes. Nothing should be lumped together. A general feeling of clutter can be detrimental to guests' buffet experience.

But even more dangerous is the mixing of not only odors, but also microbes. The milk table is served away from fish and meat snacks. Meat snacks should never lie not only on the same plate, but even on the same tray with fish. If there is not enough space, it is better to leave only fish dishes on the buffet, and bring meat dishes from the kitchen upon order or vice versa. Desserts, fruits and berries also need to be placed separately. Each dish must have a serving device - either tweezers or a spoon and fork.

The biggest challenge of a buffet is that in addition to the cooks and waiters, many people come into contact with the food. This is mainly dangerous for products that have a semi-liquid or “wet” consistency, especially for multi-component dressed salads. Therefore, the best way to handle them is to serve them in small portions and refresh them frequently.

It is in the interests of the buffet organizers to ensure that spoons, spatulas, and tongs are regularly replaced: someone will touch them with a finger, someone will drop them and quickly pick them up, and a child may lick them. If one spatula for a cake may be enough, then one spoon in a salad or in a curd mass is clearly not enough. It is good form when each visitor takes similar products with a separate spoon - not the one with which he has already served the neighboring salad, and not the one with which he managed to try something. To do this, there should be plates next to such dishes: one with clean spoons, the other for used cutlery.

The third principle: everything that can be packaged must be packaged. This is especially true for buffets in giant hotels. Pieces of butter on a beautiful plate with crushed ice may look more substantial, but where the number of visitors is large and it is not possible to maintain the dish in perfect condition, it is better to limit yourself to prepackaged briquettes.

Finally, the fourth rule is to use the latest technologies and, if possible, do not skimp on modern equipment. For example, muesli can be served in two ways. The first is a shelf with special bowls into which muesli and a variety of breakfast cereals are poured. The second option is dispensers. It is clear that the second option is much more hygienic.

1.5 Economics of the buffet

The buffet format, to a much greater extent than all others, allows you to control, plan and conserve resources used in food production and in serving guests.

The essence of such savings is clear: the cost of producing any product according to an individual customer order and delivering it at a certain time is always higher than if it is sold in large quantities. This is the principle of any wholesale sale. From this point of view, a buffet can be compared with regular breakfasts or lunches according to an integrated system (business lunches), since it has the same benefits and advantages and at the same time is, if not a cheaper format (for the same category of establishments), then much more flexible. Firstly, its menu is obviously easier to adjust. Secondly, guests are free to choose their dishes.

Here are the most obvious ways to save money on a buffet.

A farm that is controlled not by the spontaneous demand of the client, but by the proposal of the manufacturer, with a skillful approach, has many advantages. First of all, this is an opportunity not to purchase “just in case” products that may not be fully used, and also not to worry about storing them. The stability of a partner is beneficial to everyone, including suppliers, so long-term contracts for the purchase of a particular product can be concluded in advance and at a discount. If the establishment does not experience problems with sales, then, based on the statistics of its traffic, you can accurately calculate the amount of food that will be sold in one day with almost zero leftovers. .

Save time. First of all, this concerns visitors. It is for this reason that the buffet has become so popular. Here, lunch, even for a large group, takes on average no more than half an hour, and breakfast - 15 - 20 minutes.

An undoubted benefit for the establishment itself is saving staff time. If we proceed from the average norm - one waiter for 5 tables, or about 15 guests, then about thirty workers would be required to serve five hundred people in a short period of time. In reality, no more than fifteen are occupied at breakfast in a large hotel.

Planning the menu in advance allows you to avoid increasing the number of cooks at the buffet as the hotel load increases - they can distribute the work over time and standardize certain actions. Of course, even with a rational approach, during periods of serving large groups, the load on the kitchen increases, but, as a rule, management prefers to increase the number of shifts rather than the number of workers.

Even if you simply compare the wholesale price of products (which can be purchased in advance without risking anything) and the retail price (but which includes the food of the average guest in the price), you can immediately see that the buffet economy has a large margin of safety.

According to reviews, even from those hotels where rooms are not sold without breakfast (or all clients prefer to include it in the price), only 70-80 percent of guests actually come to the restaurant in the morning.

The rest are sleeping, have not returned from a two-day excursion, or have not shown up for some other reason. The guest is usually also offered to save money, taking into account possible omissions.

Breakfast in a hotel, as a rule, has two prices: the first is the one that is included in the room price if the visitor orders accommodation with breakfast, and the second, significantly higher, is for a one-time visit, which, in addition, is paid by clients “from the street” .

All these and some other advantages, with a competent and careful approach, can multiply the net profit of a food enterprise.

However, at the same time, the managers of a restaurant or hotel must clearly understand what can and should be saved on, and what is difficult and dangerous for the establishment’s reputation, and under what conditions it would be wiser to refuse buffet service.

service buffet hotel restaurant

1.5.1 Three pillars of profitability. Law of Large Numbers

The profitability of a buffet directly depends on the number of guests. The more of them gather, the higher the restaurant’s profit will be, and vice versa - an insufficient amount visitors makes this format unprofitable. In this sense, its main difference from a la carte serving is that when properly executed and maintaining quality standards, a buffet implies a rich selection of dishes prepared with some reserve. In high-class hotels, even the morning menu consists of 70-80 items, but even in a three-star hotel with a small number of rooms there should not be a single slice of cheese on the table at the end of breakfast. The necessary surplus is included in the cost of the service, however, with a small number of people paying, it still will not pay off.

It is believed that a buffet is economically feasible if the hotel has at least 100 rooms and operates at a good occupancy for most of the year. In the low season, even in such a hotel it is unprofitable to provide a buffet breakfast, and many establishments in the three-four star category switch to a continental or expanded continental format (hot dishes are prepared according to the client’s order).

Things take a completely different turn (both figuratively and literally) if we are talking about a large hotel, where business and cultural events take place every day and the kitchen constantly organizes coffee breaks, lunches, dinners and buffets for big and small groups. During a buffet, a large proportion of the food in the kitchen is half-cooked, and if it is not fully consumed at one buffet, it can be used at another event during the same day without sacrificing quality. For example, in one day in a hotel with such a system the following can be held: breakfast for residents and guests “from the street”, a corporate buffet for regular clients, lunch for conference participants.

With such an organization of production, even small events become profitable, since they can be easily combined with large ones.

Hotel demand

This is a powerful factor that can provide super profits for both the kitchen and the entire hotel. They are often used without a twinge of conscience. The price of the same hotel room can vary greatly depending on the season, the density of conferences, conventions, exhibitions and other events - this is normal practice, and we are not talking about it now. However, sometimes, at the same time as increasing the room rate, the hotel sets a high surcharge for full board. If there are many restaurants in the vicinity, then the guest will have the opportunity to eat outside. This situation - money leaving the complex during periods of high load - is what the manager should avoid.

For example, the additional payment for board to standard half board (in other words, for dinner) in an Alpine hotel in high season is about 20 euros (and at this time rooms are sold only with full board). As a result, in the evening the guest receives a simple salad bar and hot food made on an assembly line. For the same amount, he would order a signature dish at a nearby alacarte restaurant, but the money has already been spent.

If the hotel is located in a hard-to-reach place, then you can not openly impose full board, but set such a markup in your own alacarte restaurant that on the second day the guest himself will ask for the package. Such tricks work best in deluxe hotels, where one way or another excess profit will still be received.

Cooks' skills

The third success factor is no less important than the previous two, especially for a hotel with a wide range of regular guests. Moreover, in conditions of fair competition it can be considered the main one.

The democratic format of the buffet does not allow it to be filled with delicacies and culinary masterpieces, and the creativity of chefs is usually limited to the set simple products. Staying within this framework, it is necessary to maintain a high standard of basic, non-changing items (porridge, omelettes, classic varieties of cheese or ham, etc.) and constantly experiment with that part of the menu that quickly becomes boring. This is where national cuisines come to the rescue. After all, the well-known and beloved traditional salads (“Greek”, lobio, vinaigrette and many others) and classic folk snacks (for example, French terrines - meat loaves) were once invented precisely for reasons of economy and ease of preparation. Each national cuisine has its own recipe for hot dishes made from simple ingredients. Only from rabbit can you create Ukrainian, French, and many other dishes. Another approach is different ways of preparing the same product: stewing, baking, rolls with various fillings... Finally, the third method of expanding the range is the development of new sauces that would be interestingly combined with standard dishes.

The culinary team of a large hotel is also required to be able to quickly modify and supplement the menu according to the requests of new guests. For example, for athletes there should be an emphasis on healthy eating. For the Chinese and Japanese, the hotel sets a separate table with traditional dishes - miso soup, egg noodles, tofu cheese, mushrooms.

1.6 Buffet menu

The assortment of the buffet primarily depends on the format offered to guests - an early city breakfast or a full meal at a beach hotel, which is served around the clock. There is little in common between them, but in any case, the set of dishes should be of high quality, varied and taking into account the fact that this is one meal for everyone.

The buffet menu is developed by the chef and approved by the general director of the restaurant. And if the first one focuses on gastronomic issues, then the task of the second one is to evaluate the proposed set from the point of view of competition and profitability. Based, on the one hand, on the needs of customers and on the other hand, on the benefits of the establishment itself, several main characteristics of such a menu can be identified.

Compliance with the event format

Any service is considered high quality if it corresponds to the application. The breakfast menu differs from the lunch menu, which in turn differs from the brunch offerings. The guest needs to be given no less and no more, but exactly as much as he expects to receive at a given time in a given place and for the money paid. Taste preferences may vary greatly, but at an early bird breakfast, a diner is more likely to appreciate a variety of pastries and cheeses than a baked leg of lamb. If the main morning crowd is businessmen who have a series of meetings planned for the day, then they will refrain from any unfamiliar food and limit themselves to the standard set. A guest of a beach hotel, where the celebration of life is noisy, on the contrary, will be disappointed by the sanatorium-type food - conservative, dietary, especially at lunch and dinner.

Compliance with the general concept of the establishment

A hotel or restaurant of a European or cosmopolitan concept must justify it with its buffet. The same applies to establishments of national cuisine. In the first case, despite local food traditions, as a rule, a certain set of classic European dishes is supported, but, for example, the dessert section may consist of a couple of local items, or may be absent altogether. In the second case, on the contrary, the menu can be left to the discretion of the masters of national cuisine, and the mandatory European program is reduced to a minimum.

Price bar

This is the main parameter that determines the number of items in the menu, the share expensive products and ingredients, as well as the degree of complexity and creativity of the dishes. The establishment's cuisine, quality and status of its buffet usually correspond to its general status. The price level for breakfast in hotels is determined by the total daily cost of the room and can reach approximately 1/3 of this figure. It is clear that the amount of 30 dollars or more spent by a client on breakfast must be justified.

Democratic

All other things being equal (star rating, hotel concept or price level of the restaurant), the buffet assortment, compared to the alacarte menu, consists of dishes that are relatively easy to prepare. The reason for this is not only economic considerations, but also the original focus of the buffet on fast service. This is especially true for breakfast.

Seasonality

To one degree or another, it is inherent in any menu. In summer, the choice of vegetables and fruits expands, with an emphasis on light natural salads and cold soups. In winter, more hearty and high-calorie dishes are offered. It is easier to introduce changes to the buffet assortment, since it is not strictly fixed from the beginning. In advertising brochures for a hotel or restaurant, only the main culinary directions of the table and “highlight” dishes can be noted. Certain restrictions are imposed by the category of the hotel, but otherwise the administration and chefs are free to create seasonally.

A separate topic: is it worth changing the basis of the buffet menu, which does not depend on the season, and how often should this be done? There is no clear answer to this question. In hotels where the guest spends at most two weeks and where he is unlikely to return again soon, the basic menu may remain virtually unchanged. But, of course, hotels in which the majority of visitors are regular customers who spend a lot of time there, the range of snacks and hot dishes should be updated regularly (according to reviews from guests, at least once every two to three months).

Menu and stardom

The range and quality of buffet dishes depend on the category for which the establishment claims, but not always directly. The wealth of choice and quality of products is primarily a matter of funds invested in the event. It is clear that the same hotel's buffet menu will vary greatly depending on whether the buffet is served for a holiday brunch, a daily dinner during high season, or a weekday lunch during periods of low occupancy. Therefore, it makes sense to compare the buffets of individual establishments, all other things being equal, for example, breakfasts, lunches or dinners, which are served from day to day.

A client choosing a high-class hotel expects not only quality, but also variety from the food. However, having provided a minimum set corresponding to the “star quality”, the owner of the establishment does not always strive to improve it. Of course, high-quality food for guests is one of the main competitive advantages. But if the hotel has other advantages - name, location, luxury of rooms, then it may not qualify for victory in all categories. And vice versa, not meeting the requirements of a higher “star rating” in a number of parameters, it sometimes increases the cost of living due to the original menu and good cuisine, including on the buffet.

In this case, the traditions of national cuisine are of great importance. For example, according to numerous reviews, of the inexpensive hotels, the most diverse (at first glance) in terms of the number of items and at the same time the most stupid buffet is in Turkey.

In four- and five-star hotels there will not necessarily be more dishes, but the share of outright “fillers” will be reduced to a minimum and the menu will be filled with noble, expensive products. The ubiquitous mussels will be replaced with king prawns, regular sausages with delicious spicy sausages, and freshly squeezed juices will be presented not only with the usual orange juice.

Continental buffet

In the morning, the hotel offers two types of food: continental breakfast and buffet. The continental version is very ascetic - jam, bun, juice, coffee with milk or cream. Expanded continental means the abolition of boundaries in quantity, but not an increase in the number of positions. It is interesting that the continental breakfast once arose as a counterweight to the English one - hearty, with scrambled eggs and bacon. However, in the vast majority of modern English hotels, the Bad and Breakfast complex represents the same minimum food set, even more meager than in continental Europe.

Hotel breakfast is the most common buffet genre. It is usually served from 7 to 10 or 10.30 am on weekdays, and until 11 am on weekends. There is a certain minimum of food that a hotel claiming to be a three-star hotel must offer. However, the thoroughness of compliance with standards varies from hotel to hotel. For example, European city three-star establishments are known for their economical approach. A complex buffet usually offers for breakfast two or three types of cheese and sausage, pastries, butter, jam, muesli, which can be topped with milk, and sometimes a boiled egg. Drinks included in the price of breakfast are packaged juices, tea, coffee from a coffee machine. Some hotels honestly call this assortment a continental breakfast, others rely on the undemanding and unawareness of customers, while others, following the rule that “the buffet must include hot dishes,” add scrambled eggs and sausages to the list and believe that this is enough.

In European hotels of the “3 Superior” and “four star” categories, the food is a little more varied. As a rule, a small assortment of dairy products appears - yoghurts, cottage cheese, where you can add herbs or chopped fruits. The choice of gastronomy is increasing: gourmet cheeses (brie, Roquefort or its local analogue) are being added to cheap cheeses, the range of sausages and smoked meats is expanding, and more complex snacks are appearing, for example, pates. You can safely count on scrambled eggs or an omelet, cooked to your taste, as well as the standard offer of fruits - apples, oranges, bananas. Certain delights can be offered in drinks - the guest will be able to prepare freshly squeezed juice, brewed coffee or tea from various mixtures.

However, there is no general standard here either - there are also four-star hotels that offer only instant coffee, which for some guests kills the beauty of breakfast, and other unpleasant surprises. This is one of the reasons why many clients try to choose network complexes where there are no surprises, and all products and services are standardized.

1.6.1 “Full American Breakfast” - this is how the set is proudly called traditional dishes relatively healthy American cuisine. Minimum assortment: stewed beans, sausages, bacon, potato cutlets, small baby-cheese (like Russian syrniki).

Cold appetizers - at least 12 items, including 2-3 types of fish, 2-3 types of meat, 2-3 salads. This means more complex dishes than slicing salmon or smoked sausage, but in a light morning serving, without heavy sauces.

Vegetables, including olives, black olives, lettuce leaves.

Hot dishes - at least 12 items.

Baked goods of the highest quality, usually in-house - up to 15-20 types in good hotels. Nowadays, bread made from various grains and with all kinds of additives is very popular: with seeds, nuts, dried apricots, etc.

Dried fruits - at least 5 types.

Nuts of expensive varieties. As a rule, almonds and cashews are always present.

Fruits, berries - the assortment may vary depending on the season and location of the hotel. But in expensive establishments it is in any case quite wide and consists mainly of delicate and delicious varieties.

Desserts - this section, loved by many, is also usually varied and filled with the chefs’ signature finds.

Packaged juices. The choice depends on the preferences of regular customers and the imagination of managers, but tomato, apple and orange are required. In a high-category hotel, there is a juicer in a certain place and next to it there are peeled, chopped vegetables and fruits on ice - carrots, apples, citrus fruits, from which the guest can make juice for himself or ask the waiter about it. The latter option is found where fresh juices are served for an additional fee.

Water - drinking and mineral in bottles, with and without gas.

Champagne - finishing touch luxurious breakfast. Even if the majority of guests do not intend to relax in the morning, champagne is a sign of attention to visitors and a symbol of a holiday, which someone can have on a weekday.

1.6.2 Breakfast to choose from

The above list is a kind of “gentleman’s” set, giving an idea of ​​the number of positions for the main items rather than the gastronomic focus of breakfast. In fact, any cold dish (with the possible exception of cheese and sausage slices), and even more so hot dishes and desserts always reflect either the national flavor or the chef’s favorite culinary ideas. In high-category hotels, they often do not try to please all guests on one table, but serve several thematic lines with special buffet menus. For example, at the same time in small halls the following can be covered:

Business breakfast (quite high in calories and designed for a quick meal),

Low calorie breakfast

- “Russian” breakfast (more cold appetizers and delicacy fish, vodka is not served, caviar is rarely served).

It is important that different lines should be covered in separate rooms to avoid confusion. Otherwise, a guest who paid for a more modest breakfast will be able to pick up dishes from a more expensive buffet, even without malicious intent. Different menus may vary in price very slightly, but each of them will still have its own “zest” - the most delicious and popular dish. If you mix them in one room, then the load on such dishes can seriously increase. And then the establishment will have to choose: either feed all guests with delicacies, or still work with a profit. .

1.6.3 Lunch and dinner in allinclusive style

It only makes sense to prepare and serve large volumes of dishes where they are guaranteed to be in demand. Only allinclusive hotels, most often beach hotels, are contracted to regularly and uninterruptedly feed guests in this genre. Naturally, in most cases their menu will be more modest than, for example, the menu of an exquisite buffet table in a top category hotel in the capital.

The afternoon meal is usually served from 12 to 15 hours and combines the features of both a light lunch and a more substantial late lunch, which is closer to an early dinner. Any European lunch begins with vegetable salads, so this category of dishes should be presented on the buffet in a wide range. In addition, two or three types of the first are served, among which there must be vegetarian and neutral soups - a mild soup for average taste, for example, chicken or cream of champignon soup. The assortment of main hot dishes, depending on the hotel category, contains from 2-3 to 12-15 items. The choice of side dishes can be more or less varied, but must include potatoes (whole boiled or mashed and fried), several types of pasta and stewed vegetables. The same, if not richer, table in terms of main courses of meat, fish, vegetables and side dishes is prepared for a Swedish dinner. .

It is clear that constantly maintaining a menu of numerous items and being ready to immediately increase the yield of a dish that is currently very popular is extremely difficult and, most likely, unprofitable. Therefore, hotels often simplify the range of buffets included in the price of stay, while simultaneously opening small restaurants with a certain culinary focus, where they can serve both paid and free, but limited groups of guests. Another way is to offer a combination of formats. For example, a public buffet of cold appetizers plus hot dishes to order from the alacarte menu. This will undoubtedly improve the quality of service.

Typically, hotels and tour operators briefly present the food format in promotional materials so that guests can find out in advance what awaits them and choose what they like.

For example:

“Five course Mediterranean dinner with choice of main course and dessert buffet.”

“Lunch: buffet - soup, hot dish (meat, or fish, or chicken + five side dishes), three different appetizers (moussaka, cheese pie or casserole), five salads, for dessert - two types of fruit.”

"Breakfast and lunch - buffet, dinner - choice from the menu, vegetable buffet."

“Dinner: buffet - menu as for lunch, with a change in the type of dishes, but without soup.”

“In addition to the main course chosen from the menu, we recommend taking advantage of a small buffet consisting of traditional Italian antipasti.”

1.6.4 Drinks

Drinks are included in the buffet breakfast. They are served free of charge with allinclusive service, but this is not always pleasing, since in addition to tea and coffee, the “generosity attraction” includes the cheapest local wine and beer, as well as frankly chemical fruit drinks such as “Invite”. In expensive allinclusive hotels, in addition, there are bars where relatively high-quality alcohol is served free of charge, but poured in small portions under the supervision of a waiter.

In other types of buffet-style service at lunch and dinner, drinks are paid separately, even mineral water and tea. By acting in this way, the hotel, firstly, provides itself with another reliable source of income, especially since the prices for portioned drinks are not wholesale, but full-fledged retail. Another practical consideration is that this regulates the consumption of free food, especially expensive fish and meat, which are inconvenient to eat dry.

The quality and quantity of all drinks, both paid and free, depend on the characteristics of the country, the attention of managers to this issue and, to a lesser extent, on the star rating of the hotel. If a European hotel offers you the opportunity to squeeze the juice out of an orange yourself, then this is a good establishment. Juices will not be made for free anywhere in Europe, with the exception of very expensive complexes, where the room fee covers any of your whims. Apparently, Turkey is still a European country, because freshly squeezed juice there is also served for a completely symbolic fee - from 1 to 2 dollars or euros (it doesn’t matter there) per glass. Although there are so many local oranges in Turkey that if you just cut them one by one and squeeze the juice with your hand, you can squeeze at least a liter for a dollar with good wages. Complimentary freshly squeezed orange juice is served in Egypt in relatively high-category hotels. This is probably a concern for the image of the resort. It would be strange if orange juice cost a lot of money in Egypt or Morocco. In exotic countries, where they are accustomed not to a mass and undemanding guest, but to a more discerning one, Fresh Juice is no longer considered a delicacy - it is easily made from a variety of fruits and they don’t charge a lot of money for it.

A good and relatively inexpensive way to win the favor of guests is to offer them quality tea and coffee. Interestingly, there is no direct relationship between the hotel category and the level of service of these drinks. Sometimes even in a three-star hotel, visitors are treated to brewed coffee or given the opportunity to prepare it themselves. However, the usual European three-star standard is machine-made coffee, which is poured “from the bucket” and served in coffee pots. In five-star hotels it is already indecent to serve such a drink - the drink must be prepared in portions, directly upon order and before consumption. Sometimes more complex orders, such as cappuccinos or lattes, are offered at an additional cost. In countries that respect coffee, a container with hot sand is placed in the hall, various varieties are served in ground form, and guests can enjoy the ritual of making coffee in the Oriental way.

Almost the same goes for tea. Bags are not always a cheap option, but they do meet the standard of fast service. However, if a guest comes to the buffet for more than half an hour, it makes sense to offer him natural brewed tea - even with the most modest cuisine, this move seriously raises the status of the establishment.

Chapter 2. Practical part

2.1 Examples of “HollidayINN Sokolniki”

Restaurant "Moscow

Restaurant "Moscow", with a capacity of up to 450 people, offers a buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner with dishes of Russian and European cuisine. The modern interior of the restaurant, decorated in light colors, creates space and comfort. A wide selection of salads, cold and hot appetizers, as well as main courses will not leave even the most demanding visitor indifferent. Themed brunches are held here on Saturdays from 13:00 to 20:00.

Opening hours: Daily

Breakfast: 07:00-10:30 (weekends 07:00-11:00)

Lunch: 12:00-15:00

Dinner: 18:00-22:00

At the capital's Holiday Inn Sokolniki hotel, brunch is held not on Sunday, but on Saturday - the favorite day of rest for working Russian city dwellers (on Sunday they slow down the fun and begin to prepare for the new working week). Neighborhood residents, family groups, former classmates and just friends gather for brunch. Here, the duration of the meal has increased to seven hours - from 13 to 20, so that guests have the opportunity to get enough sleep in the morning.

The cost of brunch depends both on the level of the hotel and on the variety of the menu presented. It is rarely less than 700-1200 rubles, but almost never more than 2400, since the event still has the status of a democratic one. Small children are fed for free, teenagers are fed at a lower cost. Usually children are also entertained, freeing up parents for communication. The standards of service here, all other things being equal, are higher than at an everyday “Swedish” lunch or dinner. Dishes are updated and replaced more frequently, and the program sometimes consists of several complete changes.

The main restaurant of the Holiday Inn Sokolniki hotel can easily feed 320 customers at once, but for a larger number of visitors, additional lines are installed to avoid queues. In order not to have to solve the problem of their correct placement each time anew, clear instructions have been developed for restaurant managers with rules for “refining” the hall depending on the number of guests.

In addition to the buffet lines, in the first zone there are tables for dishes, cutlery, and stations for preparing and serving individual dishes and drinks. As a rule, all this takes up no more than 1/3 of the area where food is organized. Visitors, taking a tray from a special table at the entrance, choose their food themselves. If necessary, they are assisted by a consulting chef.

Often, brunch is organized as a mosaic of different “stations”: oriental - with sushi or open Vietnamese cuisine, sea - with crabs, shrimp and oysters, sweet - with all kinds of desserts, etc. Such a festival may have one idea, which is no less advantageous: “themed” food is always healthier than a chaotic choice, and “meaningful” food is more interesting. Here are examples of originally selected topics that speak for themselves:

"Orthodox Christmas Brunch"

"The Best of the Former USSR"

"When East and West Meet" (fusion)

"Asparagus and Strawberries"

"Oysters, goose and smoked fish"

"Shanghai Express"

"Cheese hole"

Below is the menu for a rather modest Italian brunch (costing about 800 rubles) at the Moscow restaurant.

Meat and vegetable snacks:

Traditional Italian salads with meat, chicken, beans, beans, pickled and fresh vegetables.

Cold veal with tuna sauce.

Tongue with pesto sauce.

Assorted Italian sausages.

Assorted Italian cheeses.

Whole baked:

Pork ham (served with hot side dish).

Turkey (served with vegetable side dish).

Salmon (served with vegetable side dish).

Fragrant Italian bread

Drinks to choose from: vodka, red and white wines, fruit juices.

In the restaurant of the Holiday Inn Sokolniki hotel, a lunch for conference participants, organized for 450-600 people, in addition to the team of cooks, is served by 14 waiters, three supervisors and one hostess.

The Holiday Inn Sokolniki offers two breakfast options: in the restaurant on the ground floor (450 seats) and on the more expensive, elegant line in the spacious, bright room on the top, 25th floor (alacarte is served there in the evening). Customers who choose superior rooms receive a bird's-eye breakfast with a beautiful view of the city. The line is designed for eighty seats, but usually no more than fifty people come in the morning, which provides guests with additional privacy and comfort. Unlike the restaurant below, there are more expensive dishes, linen rather than paper napkins, and fresh flowers on the tables. The waiters bring hot dishes to order in 3-4 minutes, while in the lower hall the visitor goes for scrambled eggs himself and even stands in line when there is an influx of people.

Interview with employees on the topic "Buffet".

The holding of the World Hockey Championship helped us a lot,” says Marina Venikova, head chef at the Holiday Inn Sokolniki hotel. “We had a team of athletes living with us for quite a long time, and they had to be fed tasty and varied food. To do this, we developed a technique in which dishes were never repeated for two weeks. The buffet selection shouldn't be too different from what you're used to at home. We must strive, with a limited set of products, to prepare different dishes so that they are completely different from each other, and to serve them beautifully.

Vladimir Ivanov, director of catering services at the Holiday Inn Sokolniki, says that orders for the buffet at his hotel are accepted from a minimum number of thirty guests. Naturally, with an event for six hundred people, profitability is higher, but simultaneous servicing of such a number of visitors, which exceeds the capacity of landline Swedish lines, requires additional effort, while the flow of small and medium-sized batches makes the work of the food complex more measured. Of course, depending on the format, number of guests, menu composition and many other factors, the profitability of events of the same establishment can vary from sky-high heights to large negative values. Some of the orders are definitely of an image nature, and the costs for them significantly exceed the income.

According to Vladimir Ivanov, a characteristic of the successful operation of the hotel’s food complex is the food-cost indicator in the amount of 28-30 percent of the sales cost of all dishes. Only large establishments with consistently high occupancy levels can lower these numbers from this general industry benchmark. At Holiday Inn Sokolniki, the food-cost indicator was reduced to 24.5 percent. About 26.5 percent are personnel costs. That comes out to about 50 percent of the net income, which should actually cover other costs - not only the kitchen, but the entire complex. .

2.2 Restaurants at hotels in Miass

2.2.1 Hotel FonGrad

On the territory of the hotel there is one restaurant “FonGrad”, which is the main one and operates on a buffet basis, and a cafe “For Friends”, which operates on the beach in the summer.

Restaurant "FonGrad" pays great attention to every detail. The menu fully corresponds to the general style of the hotel:

Bavarian cuisine will appeal to gourmets, and a specially designed children's menu will help your child make independent decisions.

In a family hotel, little restaurant visitors are given no less attention than adults. A list of non-alcoholic cocktails based on freshly squeezed juices, homemade fruit drinks, fruits and berries has been compiled for them. A special children's buffet has been organized. The highlight of the FonGrad restaurant is the fresh baked goods, which are served directly from their bakery.

The cafe "For Friends" has developed a menu taking into account the characteristics of children's nutrition. Children will be offered both hot dishes and sweets. Appetizing dumplings with potatoes and lard, mushrooms, cottage cheese, cherries, served in pots. Sweet tooth will be pleased puff pastries with apples, buns with raisins and poppy seeds. If a child has special food preferences, then he favorite dish Will definitely decorate the holiday table.

2.2.2 Hotel Krutiki

There is one restaurant “San Marino” on the territory of the Krutiki hotel. The restaurant's assortment includes dishes of Russian, German and Japanese cuisine. Restaurant "San Mariino" offers the following types of menu: evening menu, children's menu, buffet menu, banquet menu, breakfasts, coffee breaks, buffet.

At the San Mariino restaurant you can spend a romantic evening, a corporate event or a wedding, or just have lunch or dinner.

While eating, you can watch TV, news or a sports match. If you want to spend the evening with friends over a glass of beer and watch football, but at the same time do not want to visit crowded and stuffy sports bars, then this is perfectly realized in our restaurant. Soft areas and a large plasma TV contribute to a comfortable evening. .

2.2.3 Hotel Golden Beach

On the territory of the Golden Beach hotel there is a restaurant “GoldenBeach” and “BBQPark”.

The restaurant with the romantic name "Golden Beach", located on the very shore of the lake, is designed to enchant and delight.

You will appreciate the festive atmosphere, luxurious serving, attentive service and exquisite dishes of European and Oriental cuisine. All dishes are prepared by a team of professionals. There is a buffet system for hotel guests.

"Golden Beach" is -

The restaurant is located on the very shore of the lake

Cozy family restaurant

High restaurant service

Haute gastronomic cuisine

Extensive wine list

“BBQPark” is the largest barbecue park in the Urals!

In the barbecue park you will be the first to taste inimitable meat and poultry dishes with original sauces and herbs, which will be cooked on a live fire right in front of you!

In the new season, the area of ​​the barbecue park was expanded. Now we can host about 250 guests under the roof of a cozy park. Another third level has been completed overlooking Lake Turgoyak, which is less than 20 meters away.

Fresh air, live sound, and a pleasant, friendly atmosphere reveal the true taste of the dishes from our chef.

Ribeye steak (Australian marbled beef)

Pork neck steak

Pork neck shashlik

New Zealand lamb loin on ribs

Lamb pljeskavica

Marinated chicken fillet

Marinated chicken wings

French duck breast

Marinated squid

Marinated tiger prawns

Salmon fillet

Trout baked in foil

There is also an assortment of side dishes and sauces.

2.3 Interesting facts

In the Moscow restaurant Scandinavia, for example, the Christmas buffet runs throughout December. On weekends it is served from 3 pm to 10 pm, on weekdays from 6 to 10 pm, which gives scope for corporate parties. Swedish chefs prepare dishes that are traditionally served to guests in Sweden at the beginning of winter before Christmas. A large gingerbread house and other edible surprises are prepared to decorate the table. An ice skating rink is being built in the restaurant's courtyard, and skates are provided to visitors free of charge. .

The popular chain “Yelki-Palki” has successfully adapted popularly beloved Russian dishes into the “buffet” format, which even with an average level of quality are difficult to spoil: jellied meat, herring, boiled potatoes, stewed vegetables, etc. In many taverns of the network, hot “Carts” were installed, in which portioned fish and meat dishes and 3-4 types of side dishes were served. Thus, the buffet has taken root in Russia. .

At the beginning of 2008, statements from the Ministry of Defense appeared in the press that Russian soldiers would henceforth be fed on a buffet basis. Then, however, there were reservations that the soldier’s buffet would have to fit into a far from Swedish daily ration costing 82 rubles. The list of items included in it was impressive in its variety: 250 g of meat, 150 ml of milk, a piece of rennet hard cheese (10 g), egg, bread (750 g), potatoes (600 g) and vegetables (300 g), fish (120 g) , the same amount of cereals, pasta (40 g) with butter (30 g butter and 20 ml vegetable). Drinks instant coffee and juice (100 ml). And also little things that will add variety to the table - spices, tomato paste, jelly and dried fruits. Bonuses were provided for some categories of employees. Those serving in the Far North are given an additional 50 g of meat, 40 g of cookies and 50 g of condensed milk. And for sailors - half-smoked sausage (25 g) and pastries.

Looking at this list, you think what kind of skill a soldier’s cook must be to organize a buffet on such a food basis. Moreover, as follows from the words of representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the meaning of the innovation is to provide the soldier with food variety, that is, the opportunity to choose one option from two or three salads, first and hot dishes, which, based on the amount of grams gained, will still fit into the ration.

Conclusion

In this course work, I examined the topic “Organization of catering for tourists “Buffet”. She paid attention to the history of its appearance in Rus', noted the economical aspects and species diversity. She spoke in detail about the features of organization and service.

Note that, despite all the attractiveness, the buffet has many negative aspects. It was they who predetermined the decline in popularity of the format. More and more buffet restaurant chains are abandoning the concept. Buyers are fed up with the largely ephemeral possibilities of the format, and restaurateurs note its unprofitability.

The main disadvantages of a buffet are low profitability, a large volume of spoiled products, the need to keep the entire range on the buffet, and short shelf life of products.

In an effort to increase profitability, the owners of some establishments reduce the quality of food, which further alienates consumers.

The popularity of the buffet has also been seriously affected by rising food prices. Restaurateurs can't raise prices often for fear of losing customers. Low prices contribute to an even greater decrease in profitability - practically, the format has ceased to be profitable.

The paradigm of consumer behavior has also changed. Previously, the client paid attention to the amount of food and its price. Today, he cares more about the taste and quality of food and does not strive to eat the maximum number of dishes.

But, despite this, the advantages of the buffet are difficult to overestimate. They are obvious and immediately catch the eye.

Beauty - the beautiful appearance of the buffet, the choice of a huge number of dishes from various products.

Freedom - an unlimited number of approaches to the buffet, and an unlimited amount of food that you can take.

Speed ​​- there is no need to wait for the dish to be prepared and served by staff.

Popularity - the buffet is an already proven and proven way of eating, which is popular with tourists all over the world.

Let us conclude that a buffet is considered the most democratic form of food; it allows the guest to eat tasty, varied and quickly. That is why he took root in hotels.

Applications

Annex 1.

An example of a restaurant menu in a three-star hotel.

Cold appetizers

Lightly salted pink salmon

Herring in Russian

Boiled ham

Assorted sausages

Cheeses assorted

Seasonal vegetables

Salads (meat, fish, vegetables)

Dairy products and egg dishes

Fruit and drinking yoghurts

Butter

Boiled egg 3/5 minutes

Omelettes, natural and with fillings

Hot breakfast

Baked fish

Vegetable stew

Boiled sausages

Cutlets (meat, chicken, fish, vegetables)

Fried bacon

Casseroles

Rice, buckwheat

Assorted porridges

Corn and rice flakes

Muesli in assortment

Fruits and drinks

Assorted fresh fruits

Fruit salad

Dried fruits (prunes, dried apricots, raisins)

Juices and fruit drinks

Bakery products and pastries

Assorted pies

Baking with raisins

Assorted cakes

Appendix 2

Example of buffet menu No. 1

Cold canapés

Canapes of lightly salted salmon in a rosette of cream cheese with shrimp

Gourmet rolls made from Russian pancakes with salmon, Philadelphia cheese and red caviar

Sturgeon canapé “Brochet” with creamy horseradish

Bacon rolls with prunes

Pepperoni and cheese on a skewer with gherkins

Parma ham served on fresh melon

Mini trout aspic with raspberries

Cheese canape with grapes and shrimp

Eggplant and cheese with a sprig of basil

Cherry tomatoes with mozzarella cheese

Vegetable crudité - carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumbers with cheese sauce

Hot canapés

Mini veal skewers with bacon Mini salmon skewers with cream sauce Mini chicken curry skewers with prawns

Special dishes

Suckling pig “Table” under white glaze (served on a mirror)

Chocolate fountain with strawberries and exotic fruits

Snacks Nuts-mix

Olives and black olives

Cascade with fresh fruit and wild berries

Italian mini cakes

Meringue with coconut

Strawberries and dates in white chocolate

Mineral water

French vintage red wine

French vintage white wine

Champagne

Appendix 3

Example of buffet menu No. 2

Canapes and toast

With smoked mackerel, pickled cucumber, butter and dill

With cream cheese, scampi in a mosaic of cherry tomatoes

With raw smoked roast beef, champignon cap and pearl onions

With raw smoked pork, a slice of fried zucchini, cherry tomatoes and parsley

“Cap” of peasant ham, decorated with a cucumber fan

With tender chicken fillet fried in sesame seeds and herbs

With cheddar cheese, gherkins, pine nuts, nut butter and a sprig of parsley

Cherry tomatoes with colorful sweet peppers, young corn on the cob and basil

Tartines

With “sea” pate, shrimp and herbs

With salmon caviar, corn and dill

With veal pate, leeks, lingonberries and a sprig of basil

With ham mousse hot pepper chili and peanuts

With fricassee of mushrooms, onions and cream cheese

With vegetable paste of paprika, spinach, juicy tomatoes, garlic and herbs

Cold appetizers Baltic assorted:

Lightly salted herring, garnished with lemon

Hot smoked mackerel garnished with olives and black olives

Sprats in oil on a salad leaf with herbs

Anchovies

Toast with pollock caviar

Meat plate, decorated with fresh vegetables and aromatic spices:

Carbonade with olive and dill sprig

Raw smoked sausage, fanned out on a lettuce leaf

Neck with cranberry sauce

Assorted cheeses with walnuts, grapes, kiwi and pineapple slices:

Olterman

Maasdam

Bouquet of fresh vegetables ( juicy cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet colored peppers, radishes, assorted greens) Pancakes “A la buffet”:

With salmon and cream cheese

With mushroom cocotte Provence ham curls stuffed with spicy cheese mousse with gherkins, walnuts and spices

Cucumber tub stuffed with sea filling with shrimps and herbs

Mushroom kebab (marinated champignons with pearl onions on skewers in a mosaic of black olives)

Assorted filled pies

Bread buffet

Fruit fantasy (assorted seasonal fruits) Gift from the catering company - dessert “Tropical Paradise” (cascade of canapés with cheese, kiwi, multi-colored grapes, pineapple slices and candied fruits)

Appendix 4

Example of a barbecue menu.

Cold appetizers

Vol-au-vents with red caviar

Hot smoked sturgeon

Smoked eel

Norwegian salmon marinated in herbs

Crayfish neck rolls with avocado and trout

Brezolla - fried beef fillet with cumin, coriander, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar and cardamom

Jamon Serrano - Spanish dry-cured ham, served with pieces of Mediterranean melon

Pork baked with garlic and hot guindilla pepper

Boiled tongue with horseradish

Suckling pig roll with cured ham, pickled green beans and smoked bacon

Rabbit and partridge roll with Iranian mint dip

Poultry roll with spinach and goat cheese

Mozzarella cheese with tomatoes and pesto dressing

Grilled zucchini with sheep cheese

Eggplant rolls with pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and herbs

Fish platter

Cold cuts

Basturma, sujuk

Smoked turkey fillet

Salad bar

Pickled onions

Radish red

Petiole celery

Daikon salad (white radish with walnuts

and lemon dressing)

Carrots, cut into strips

Garden greens

Korean spicy carrots

Basket of vegetables and herbs, served with vinaigrette sauce olive oil, infused with aromatic herbs

Fish platter

Specially salted salmon with chili pepper and cilantro, served with rye toast and garlic mayonnaise

Cold smoked butterfish fillet

Smoky mackerel with allspice

Herring spicy salting with onion and vegetable oil

Cold cuts

Basturma, sujuk

Assorted sausages with spices

Smoked turkey fillet

Salad bar

Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers

Pickled onions

Radish red

Petiole celery

Daikon salad (white radish with walnuts and lemon dressing)

Three cabbage salad (white cabbage, red cabbage, kohlrabi)

Carrots, cut into strips

Assorted salad leaves (lolo rossa, frisee, arugula, radicchio)

Garden greens

Pomegranate seeds, grated parmesan

Korean spicy carrots

Peppers stuffed with vegetables in tomato sauce

Suluguni cheese with tomatoes and garden herbs

Sauces for the salad bar Olive oil Sauce soy vinegar balsamic blue cheese

Georgian lavash Bread (assorted) Garlic rye croutons

Beer table

Salted peanuts

Assorted crackers

Roasted pistachios with salt

Chips assorted

Cheese balls with olives and sweet peppers on a bamboo skewer

Cheese Chechil

Grilled pineapple, seasoned with freshly ground black pepper and cane sugar

“Vanilla” salad from fresh fruits (pineapples, oranges, kiwi, papaya, quiche-mish grapes, strawberries)

Juicy pear grilled with cane sugar and Kenyan pepper, decorated with whipped cream and a cocktail cherry

Grilled pink apple with wild cranberries

Baby bananas cooked on the grill, served with delicate Amur honey

Fruit abundance (apples, grapes, pineapples, pears, cherries, apricots, kiwis, physalis, strawberries)

“Fruit boom” - cocktail with slices fresh pineapple and orange, with cocktail cherry and ice

Hot pear cupochon

Light summer strawberry, cherry, melon cupochon with lemonade, garnished with lime and ice cubes

Mineral water (still, sparkling)

Bibliography

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Organizing a buffet

Buffet (buffet)- a method of serving food in which many dishes are placed side by side and separated into plates by the guests themselves (for example, at a buffet table). In many countries, this method of service is called pantry, but the name Buffet used in Russian and several others .

In Scandinavian countries, however, there is a tradition of serving cold snack table in a separate room, from which, after eating, guests move to the dining room, where they eat a traditional lunch. What is called in Russian buffet, in many other languages ​​it is called buffet, due to a change in the meaning of a word buffet in Russian, term Buffet took his place. With traditional self-service, there is one or more counters in the hall on which appetizers, first and second courses of fish and meat, vegetables, cheeses, and desserts are displayed in order. The guest, walking along the counter, can choose the dishes that he likes best. He can put food on the plates himself, or the waiter does it.

There are two main types of organizing a buffet in terms of payment. The first is the most democratic option, in which you can choose a plate of any size and approach the distribution table “multiple times.” The price does not depend on this. According to the second option, payment is made depending on the size of the plate (the so-called plate system) on which the dishes are placed: small plate, medium and large. Payment is made for each approach.

The buffet was born in Europe and until recently was the prerogative of restaurants in the hotel sector. At food service enterprises, the buffet is usually presented in two options - “salad bar” (cold appetizers only) or “buffet” (snacks, hot dishes, dessert). Some Russian innkeepers organized a service in their establishments that was similar in concept to the current buffet: a visitor to the inn, for a fixed fee, could choose any of the dishes displayed on the table.

In the 18th century, an innovative service technology in Sweden acquired the name “sandwich table”, and then spread throughout the world. Nowadays, a buffet is one of the most common forms of serving breakfast in hotels, a favorite way to hold brunches and banquets in restaurants. The following service schemes are traditionally adopted at public catering establishments:
1) Order a la carte(a la carte) - the traditional organization of the work of restaurants and cafes, when the service is exclusively individual.
2) Buffet- the client himself can choose the snacks and dishes he likes from those presented on a specially arranged buffet (table, serving line), put them on a plate in the required quantity and bring them to his table.
3) Buffet(translated from French as “fork”) - all kinds of dishes are prepared and served in such a way that their portioning and consumption does not require any other cutlery other than a fork. A buffet usually involves free movement around the hall.
4) Distribution line- on one side there is a client with a plate, and on the other there is a cook, ready to serve him what he chooses. Most often, this form of service is used in canteens of various organizations and in holiday homes.

The advantages of this scheme are that the client can receive advice on the composition of dishes and benefit from the help of a chef.

The popularity of buffets has deservedly come primarily in hotel restaurants, since this is the fastest form of customer service, which can significantly save visitors’ time. The second advantage is that the buffet allows you to visually evaluate the menu, the composition and consistency of the dish, the smell and appearance. Another advantage is that the serving size of the dish you like is limited only by the size of the plate. The right to choose is an important prerogative that the client can count on - the buffet provides it in full. In addition, the law of the human psyche comes into play here: it’s nice to think that you got more than you paid for - and that’s exactly the feeling the buffet leaves. This is often the marketing move of the restaurateur - to allow guests to get acquainted with the restaurant in one way or another and then attract them there with la carte service.

Existing standards in Europe determine the minimum amount that should be spent on a person's food per day, but they are all recommendations in nature, and the hotel owner has the final say in determining costs. From the main criterion for evaluating a buffet follows a less reliable, but still relevant criterion of seasonality. For example, a small 4* hotel with 100 rooms spends an average of 5 euros per guest on breakfast. Considering that two people live in each room, it is easy to calculate: when the hotel is packed to capacity during high season, you can see on the table food and drinks purchased for the amount of plus or minus 1,000 euros. However, at 40% occupancy of the hotel, the price of the buffet drops to 400 euros. Maintaining the range and quality of dishes with such arithmetic is quite difficult.

Organizing meals on the buffet principle is convenient when serving large groups of visitors, participants in conferences, congresses, etc. On average, 15-20 minutes are spent on breakfast, 25-30 minutes on lunch and dinner. When served, visitors do not have to wait for the ordered dishes and the bill. To organize a buffet, a separate room or a part of it convenient for service is allocated.

Information about opening hours and the cost of breakfast, lunch or dinner is posted in a prominent place at the cash register. The assortment of the buffet depends on the time of meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and includes a variety of dishes, which allows each consumer to create his own diet. If necessary, the restaurant can provide clients with special (dietary and vegetarian) dishes.

To organize a buffet, special commercial and technological equipment from various foreign and domestic companies is used, which includes:

* counter for trays;
* refrigerated counter for cold and sweet dishes;
* counters-bain-marie counters for soups and main hot dishes;
* counter for hot drinks;
* trolleys with squeezing devices;
* counter for cutlery, etc.

All over the world there are two standard models for organizing a buffet:

1. Buffet with elements of cooking lines. In addition to refrigerated display cases and food warmers, elements of heating lines are installed in the hall for visitors - grills, electric stoves, wok stoves and similar equipment. In this case, in addition to displaying ready-made buffet dishes, visitors have the opportunity to receive freshly prepared hot dishes.

2. Buffet containing only prepared dishes. As a rule, it has a modular design and consists of food warmers, refrigerated display cases and auxiliary neutral modules, on which additional equipment, for example, juice coolers, is usually installed. Often, push-out plate dispensers are installed in neutral modules, which is technologically correct, as it eliminates the accumulation of plates on the surface of the modules.

Visitors, taking a tray from a special table located at the entrance to the hall, select and portion food on their own, but if necessary, they are assisted by a consulting chef.

Now we can say that buffets are popular both in family restaurants and in beer clubs, salad bars are widespread in snack bars and pizzerias, and almost all establishments have their own restrictions, be it a limit on the number of approaches or other additional conditions. But, of course, such a service scheme is that rare case when both the client is satisfied and the owner is profitable.

The bride and groom want to turn the celebration into a spontaneous event where every guest will feel comfortable. Strict banquets gave way to buffets. Traditional feast - buffet. Newlyweds very often choose this option for a wedding. More details below.

For a long time, weddings were held according to a certain scenario: bride price, painting, toastmaster, banquet. But now young people are showing ingenuity and moving away from strict traditions. Many themed and styled weddings have appeared.

How to prepare for a wedding without going crazy? Download the free checklist. He will help you organize your preparations and do everything calmly and on time.

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Definition

A buffet is a lunch arrangement where dishes are placed on tables and guests choose their own snacks. Guests can put food on the plate themselves or the waiter can do it.

Why do they often choose this particular form of feast?

1. Firstly, it eliminates the need for strict ceremony and taking out dishes at a certain time.
2. Secondly, this type of catering is budget-friendly.
3. Thirdly, guests can choose sandwiches and snacks to their liking and do not have to wait for the waiter to bring out their favorite delicacy.

It is most convenient to organize a buffet on fresh air. Convenient when... In this case, you can grill vegetables and meat and immediately serve the hot dish to your guests. But even if the wedding is held in the cold season, you can rent a banquet hall, stock the tables with treats, or organize several zones: tartlets, desserts, fruits. Since many people are now following a healthy diet, It’s better to put a lot of light snacks, vegetables and farm products on the tables.

The wedding buffet in the photo below turned out great:

What dishes to put

Since many guests will be eating while standing, it's best to focus on dishes that don't require a plate. It can be:

• sushi;
• canapes;
• profiteroles with fish and meat salads;
• julienne with mushrooms and chicken;
• cheeses;
• cold cuts;
• seafood;
• snack baskets;
• pizza;
• hot sandwiches;
• original cut fruits;
• barbecue: fish, shrimp, meat and vegetable kebab.

For sweets, guests can be offered buns, candies, cupcakes, glazed gingerbread cookies, and muffins. Sweets are placed in a beautiful mound or placed on a special multi-tiered stand.

It’s good if the baked goods and confectionery products match the overall style of the wedding. Thus, shell-shaped candies and star-shaped cakes are suitable for a nautical wedding, and homemade cookies, berries and treats without dyes and GMOs are appropriate for an eco-friendly wedding.

Then the guests also fill their glasses themselves. Carafes of lemonade, fruit drinks, and juice are placed on the tables. During the cold season, guests can choose grog or mulled wine. Strong drinks are usually avoided, preferring wine and champagne.

Wedding planner

For buffet organizers, a plus may be that they do not need to worry about seating cards, since each guest will find their own seat. But for guests this can be a disadvantage, since not everyone is ready to organize themselves.

Elena Sokolova

Leading

The buffet does not require long feasts. At weddings of this type, there are most often no hot dishes.

Arkady

Advantages and disadvantages

If we talk about choosing this form of holding a feast, then it is worth knowing in advance about pros and cons of a wedding buffet. Perhaps this type of wedding organization is not suitable for you and it is better to pay attention to a traditional banquet.

The pros are below.

1. If the wedding is held on a summer terrace or in the open air, a change in weather can spoil the celebration. In addition, not all establishments are suitable for hosting a buffet.
2. Since a buffet is closely related to the concept of a buffet table, there may be no tables and chairs at a wedding, and this is not always convenient. It is better to organize a relaxation area, for example, think about a bar counter.
3. It is easier for organizers (host, musicians, DJ) to work according to strict regulations. If a banquet is being held, the host knows in advance when to raise guests for competitions and when to give the guests a break. To hold a buffet reception, the host requires special professionalism.

How to organize an outdoor buffet

You can hold a wedding yourself, for example, in the form of a country picnic. Guests can freely walk around the territory or relax on the verandas, sit on the grass, and take food from the grill. But most often they turn to a catering company to organize a buffet.

Specialists will bring the food themselves, help with arranging dishes on plates, and deliver equipment. In fact, even if you decide to take over the entire organization of the evening and even refuse the host, someone should stand behind the grill, because it is unlikely that the groom himself or the parents of the newlyweds will do this. Although you can cook some of the dishes yourself.

Let's consider the advantages of organizing a buffet for a wedding at home.

1. Budgeting. If you are not going to surprise your guests with creative delights, holding a buffet will cost less.
2. Naturalness. Dishes can be prepared from products from your dacha or even gifts from the forest.
3. Saving. There is no need to throw away leftover food, especially if the wedding is being held in your own country house.

Let's look at the disadvantages.

It’s great if young people have familiar chefs who are eager to fight and are ready to organize the preparation and serving of dishes. Good luck if you have as friends such an altruistic cook, a fan of his work, ready to sacrifice his own holiday for the pleasure of his guests. However, usually there are no such acquaintances and here you have to decide: cook it yourself or trust the agency.

How to decorate

Serving food in a buffet style does not mean that the wedding cannot be held in a special style. The buffet is combined with a rustic, vintage and eco-friendly wedding; it can be at a celebration in a nautical, rustic, or pirate style. Suitable for boho, loft and casual styles.

Decorate a buffet for a wedding depending on the theme of the wedding:

How to cook your own dishes: recipes

Let's look at a few popular wedding buffet recipes.

Tartlets with red fish

You will need:

• tartlets made from shortbread or waffle dough,
• fish,
• sour cream,
• cottage cheese,
• dill,
• black pepper,
• olives, optional
• Red caviar.

The cottage cheese is whipped in a blender. Add sour cream, chopped herbs, pepper, and salt. Place the mixture into tartlets and decorate with a piece of fish and caviar. You can add a pitted olive.

Appetizer of crab sticks

You will need:

• packaging of crab sticks,
• chicken egg,
• hard cheese,
• mayonnaise,
• dill,
• garlic,
• lettuce leaves.

Chilled sticks need to be unwrapped and filled with the following composition: boiled finely chopped protein with cheese, dill and garlic. Then you need to roll the rolls, dip each side of the stick in mayonnaise, and then in the crumbled yolk. The appetizer is placed on lettuce leaves. For lovers of natural food, you can make homemade mayonnaise.

Stuffed eggs

You will need:

• eggs,
• mayonnaise,
• walnuts,
• greenery,
• garlic,
• pomegranate seeds.

Boiled eggs are cut lengthwise and the yolks are removed. The yolks are finely chopped, mixed with grated hard cheese, finely chopped nuts and garlic. Salt, add mayonnaise. The egg white halves are filled with yolks. Decorate the appetizer with a sprig of parsley and pomegranate seeds. Place each egg on a small piece of lettuce leaf.

Spring rolls

You will need:

• pancakes,
• ground meat,
• green onions.

Bake small thin pancakes. Place the meat filling on top. Roll up and secure with onion feathers. The dish is well suited for a rustic wedding.

Fruit canapé

You will need:

• banana,
• kiwi,
• a pineapple,
• grape.

Fruit slices are collected in a tower, and the canapes are secured with a toothpick. A grape decorates the top of the fruit snack.

Conclusion

The buffet is suitable for buffets with a small number of invited guests. If there are more than a hundred guests, it is better to give preference to a classic banquet. Alternatively, you can start the evening with a buffet and then move on to the banquet hall. Even a short-term wedding tires guests and newlyweds, so it is advisable to place many chairs in the room where guests can relax between dances and competitions.