1. Chef Robert’s Modern American example menu:

• Mains:
  1. Roast turkey, Mexico-Oaxacan mole sauce (V)
  2. Crusted ocean trout fillet, Norwegian style spices (V)
• Sides:
  1. Glazed fig, fresh goats curd, almond crostini (GF, V)
  2. Southern-fried okra, whipped cream, potatoes
•  Salads:
  1. Beijing style crispy duck salad, greens, Hoisin, scallions
  2. Texas spinach salad, pecans, pear, brie, aged balsamic dressing
• Dessert:
  1. A traditional British delight of Indian Ras Hanout spiced apple pie (V)

2. Chef Tom’s Asian-fusion example menu:

• Mains:
  1. Crispy five-spice pork belly (DF, GF)
  2. Grilled chilli BBQ chicken (DF, GF)
• Sides:
  1. Seasonal fresh Asian greens tossed in truffle & porcini oil, grains (DF, GF)
  2. French-style baked Lemon oregano potatoes, cheese (DF, GF)
•  Salads:
  1. Vermicelli noodle salad, Thai basil, mint, fresh herbs, lime soy dressing (DF)
  2. Carrot salad, sesame ginger dressing (DF)
• Dessert:
  1. Dark chocolate brownie, barley cream, roasted peanuts (GF)

3. Chef Mattia’s Mediterranean example menu:

• Mains:
  1. 8 hours slow roasted Oberon lamb shoulder, salsa verde
  2. Fennel, salt-roasted pulled pork, applesauce
• Sides:
  1. Roasted baby carrots, labne, almond dukkah, bay leaves
  2. Broccolini, chilli, preserved lemon, baby capers
•  Salads:
  1. Pearl barley, roasted cauliflower, pomegranate fig, mint salad
  2. Wild rocket, heirloom tomato, asparagus salad, caramelised balsamic
• Dessert:
  1. House baked triple choc brownie, fresh cream, mixed berries

Wondering why you should choose a buffet over other catering options? Here are some of the most popular reasons why people go for a buffet at their event: 

• More food options. The most appealing aspect of a buffet is the fact that guests can pick and choose which meals they want to eat and which foods they don’t want. This way, people have a variety of foods to pick from and can focus on consuming the dishes they want to eat. The result is less food wastage – another added bonus. 
• More affordable. Without the need for table service, a buffet meal is actually more affordable than a traditional sit-down meal with servers and waiters. Since the food is placed on the table ready to serve and eat, guests can help themselves without the need for extra staff. 
• Bigger portions. Or more accurately, portions that reflect the appetite of the eater. Instead of serving dishes with the same portions, buffets mean that those with a smaller appetite can serve themselves smaller dishes, while those with larger appetites can satisfy themselves with a more substantial meal. Again, this means less food wastage. 
• Less time. With buffets, the appetisers and entrees can be served at the same time as the main dishes. This means that the act of eating a buffet meal takes up less time than traditional table service, where courses are brought out one after the other. This can be a useful advantage if your event is a wedding, conference, or gala dinner and you want to spend less time eating and more time doing other stuff. 
• More social. Since buffets invite guests to get up and help themselves at the table, you may find that guests are intermingling and socialising with people on other tables. This provides an added opportunity to socialise that wouldn’t be available with traditional table service. 

When should I order buffet catering?

If you want your guests to be mixing and mingling at your event, then buffet catering is the way to do it. Unlike a traditional table service meal, buffet catering encourages guests to get up from their seats, move around the room, and interact with one another. A buffet meal is also a fantastic way to cater for guests with different tastes and dietary requirements. Instead of serving just one meal or two dishes, guests have a few different meals that they can pick and choose from.  

Order buffet catering for weddings, functions, seminars, graduation parties, bar & bat mitzvahs, anniversary parties, training days, and any event that requires a substantial meal! 

Is a buffet the same as all-you-can-eat?

As much as we’d love to provide an all-you-can-eat experience for you and your guests, a buffet is not quite the same thing. While both involve food being presented on a table for self-service, a buffet is a defined set number of meals and side dishes. This means that you will receive a definite number of food, e.g. two main dishes and two salads. On the other hand, an all-you-can-eat food experience means that the food is essentially bottomless: once it has been eaten it will be replenished.

The word sounds French, but buffet-style meals originated in the Scandinavian regions. In the 1700s, Swedes and Fins would serve a number of schnapps and hor d’oeuvres before eating the main meal. These ‘smorgasbord’ or ‘brannvinsbord’ would be spread on small buffet tables, and were usually consumed by members of the upper class at the time. Eventually, the smorgasbords came to encompass more than just appetisers but the main meal itself, providing a number of options for people to pick and choose from as they eat. 

This form of dining became increasingly trendy and slowly spread throughout the world. The label ‘buffet’ was given to define this form of dining, referring to the type of French sideboard furniture that the meals were typically served on. In the 1900s, the upper classes of France and England began to favour buffet-style breakfasts over table service, as they felt it offered them more privacy than being waited on hand and foot. Later that century, the popularity of buffet meals spread to lunches that were consumed while standing up. 

During the Great Depression, buffets became more focused on quantity than quality, allowing restaurants to feed larger numbers of food without the need for wait staff. Today, buffets are enjoyed at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, more as an informal style of dining than a formal one for the upper echelons. They are associated with luxury, flexibility, and relaxed dining that comes with delicious food that caters for all tastes and fancies.