The History of the Buffet
The buffet was created as a way to give large numbers of people access to food throughout an extended period. Here is a brief timeline.
Middle Ages: When sizable groups of people were expected to dine, hosts ordered large joints of roasted meats, whole roasted fowls, and platters of cold foods to be laid out on narrow tables placed along the walls. Because this type of table was called a buffet , the service style became known as buffet service .
The 1700s: Buffets were served at parties and balls as well as at wakes and funerals. During the classic cuisine period of French cooking, the chefs of the aristocracy presented elaborate buffets consisting of hundreds of costly dishes and decorated with fantastic pièces montées .
The mid-1800s: Buffets were instituted in railway stations and on steamships. Thus, they are frequently associated with travel accommodations.
The late 1800s–early twentieth century: Grand hotels made buffets famous, offering lavish displays of elegant and costly foods. Blocks of ice, often carved into elaborate shapes, were used to keep the buffet foods cold. Chafing dishes, tabletop food warmers, allowed buffet planners to add a limited number of hot items to the previously all-cold-foods buffet. Caterers soon began to emulate hotel buffets for private parties, weddings, and other events.
Soon after the steam table was invented in 1897, it was adapted for commercial buffets. Cafeterias were installed in factories, schools, and hospitals throughout North America. In order to keep prices affordable, cafeterias served low-cost foods and priced them individually. Modern cafeterias offer a wider range of choices than old-style cafeterias.
The mid-twentieth century: Portable refrigeration units specially designed for buffet service once again revolutionized the buffet, making possible new buffet concepts. In the 1960s, restaurants began installing salad bars and invited guests to create their own salads. Before long, the simple salad bar was transformed into the all-purpose food bar, eventually offering a wide variety of cold and hot foods.
Meanwhile, buffets were getting larger and, in some cases, less expensive as well. In 1946, proprietor Herb McDonald of the El Rancho Casino in Las Vegas turned the buffet into a powerful marketing tool. McDonald created the prototype of the low-cost, high-value “mega-buffet” in order to attract gamblers to his casino.
Late twentieth century to the present: Buffets are now often equipped with both cold and hot action stations, at which chefs prepare foods to order in front of the guests’ eyes. Today there is a buffet for every occasion and for every budget. Low-cost, family-style buffet restaurants provide cheap, quick meals for workers and shoppers. Elegant, elaborate buffets are served at weddings and other formal events.
