A type of serving food is called a buffet.
Buffet is not a term accepted by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) . The organization, however, suggests the use of buffet or buffet , which have different meanings depending on the country and context .
A buffet, buffet or buffet, therefore, can be a mode of offering food . In a buffet, the diner finds the food ready to be consumed on a large table. In this way, each person can serve themselves what they want and in the quantity they want. This makes it easier to feed many individuals simultaneously, since different orders do not have to be taken nor are staff needed to bring each dish to a particular table.
The concept of buffet is used not only to name this way of presenting food: it is also used to name the tables where the food is available and the area that, in some places, allows people to consume meals on the go. For example: "Gentlemen, you are invited to come to the buffet whenever you wish" , "For the event, we will have a buffet available to all guests" , "If you are looking for Marcos, he is at the club buffet eating a sandwich" .
Free buffet
It is known by the name of open buffet , self service restaurant or free fork to a restaurant in which dishes of various origins are offered and you are allowed to consume the quantity and variety of food that you want for a fixed price. Generally, drinks must be paid for separately, as well as certain desserts, although it is normal for several sweet options to be included in the basic rate .
Although the open buffet is usually associated with oriental food, generally with dishes that come from China, there are also restaurants that offer Western dishes. In Argentina, for example, there is the free grill , which allows its customers to consume all the pieces of barbecue they want by paying a fixed price; The salad and some desserts are usually included and, in the same way as the traditional all-you-can-eat buffet, the drink is paid for separately.
A similar concept is that of rodizio , a service especially common in Portugal and Brazil , which offers a menu focused on roast meats, which include lamb, beef, chicken and pork. Just as in the open buffet, consumption is unlimited and it is the diners who must go to the different food tables to freely help themselves to the dishes they wish to taste. It is worth mentioning that restaurants that use the rodizio system are usually known as churrascarias .
An all-you-can-eat buffet is a restaurant that charges a fixed amount and allows diners to eat as much as they want.
Origin and current nature of the concept
The origin of the buffet took place in France in the 18th century and it did not take long for it to spread throughout the rest of the European continent. The term comes from French and refers precisely to the sideboard on which the plates of food are arranged, in view of the diners. In England it gained great popularity and by the middle of the following century it received the name court cupboard .
Nowadays, the idea of a buffet is increasingly linked to this type of all-you-can-eat service , an almost literal translation of the name they usually receive in English ( all you can eat ). On the other hand, in Argentina this same term (buffet) also serves to refer to the establishment located in a sports club that allows you to purchase drinks and food.
Buffet and buffet
Another notion that is written in a similar way to buffet or buffet is firm , a word that refers to a law firm. A law firm, in general, is a company that brings together several lawyers and provides a wide range of services related to legal care.
Buffet , finally, is the surname of an artist who was born in 1928 in Paris and died in 1999 : Bernard Buffet .