Menu
Unilever Food Solutions » Home
  • Home
  • Chef Inspiration
    • Chef Inspiration
    • Fighting COVID-19 together
    • Stock & Soup Secrets
    • Chef Lifestyle & Tips
    • Smarter Hotel Buffets
    • Tea in the Food Business
    • Managing Your Restaurant
    • Allergens & Intolerances
    • Healthy Eating
    • Tips for Chefs
    • Food Trend & Festive Occasions
    • Western at Your Fingertips
    • Events and Promotions
    • Food Safety
    • Knorr Concentrated Chicken Liquid Seasoning - When Extraordinary Happens
  • Recipes
  • Products
    • All Products
    • Bouillons and Stock Bases
    • Mayonnaise & Dressings
    • Sauces
    • Seasonings
    • Seasonings and Bouillons
    • Tea
  • Who we are
  • Tiếng Việt
      • Tiếng Việt
      • English
    • Select your country
  • Contact Us
  • {query} Search Products
  • {query} Search Rewards
  • {query} Search Recipes
  • {query} Search Other
All
  • Tiếng Việt
    • Tiếng Việt
    • English
    • My account
    • Contact Us
    • Log out
  1. Home
  2. Chef Inspiration
  3. Smarter Hotel Buffets
  4. Catering for a Crowd: Best Practices for Preparing Banquets and Buffets
  1. Smarter Hotel Buffets
  • Facebook-Link opens in a new window - article - Catering for a Crowd: Best Practices for Preparing Banquets and Buffets
  • Line-Link opens in a new window - article - Catering for a Crowd: Best Practices for Preparing Banquets and Buffets
  • Pinterest-Link opens in a new window - article - Catering for a Crowd: Best Practices for Preparing Banquets and Buffets
  • Google Plus-Link opens in a new window - article - Catering for a Crowd: Best Practices for Preparing Banquets and Buffets
  • Smarter Hotel Buffets

Catering for a Crowd: Best Practices for Preparing Banquets and Buffets

Simple service tips that can make a world of difference to your banquets and buffets.

Wedding feasts and corporate dinners are perpetual affairs, especially for countries competing to be world-class MICE venues. In turn, this has also contributed to the increased demand for quality banquets and buffets.

High demand and expectations also means high profit potential for restaurants and hotels. However, preparing for banquets and buffets can be stressful for chefs – we have to plan a great menu, meet diners’ expectations, and strike that fine balance between having enough food to go around and wasting too much food because of inaccurate estimates.

Fret not, we’ve spoken with some of the industry’s top chefs and put together a list of 4 recommendations they have for planning, preparing and successfully running outstanding banquets and buffets.

Plan how your diners will move

Plan how your diners will move

Banquets and buffets involve a lot of group movement. In a banquet setting, you need to think about guests who are mingling with one another as service is going on.

Meanwhile at buffets, you know that diners will be busy shuffling around the buffet floor, selecting their favourites from buffet stations at various locations of the dining area.

As a restauranteur, you need to plan how your diners will move around. Some questions you may want to ask are:

  • Is there a logical flow to my buffet lines?
  • Will diners be accidentally bumping into each other as they enter and exit queues and navigate between food areas?
  • Is there enough space for everyone to move around easily?
  • Does the service staff have enough room to properly serve diners at banquets?
  • Can seating arrangements be better optimised for the convenience of diners and/or service staff? 

With effective planning, you can avoid many potential service-related issues and deliver first class service to diners.

Place drinks separately from food

Place drinks separately from food

At buffets, getting drinks holds up the line. Filling up a beverage cup takes time and queues form quickly. To avoid this issue, place drinks on a separate table away from where you set out the food. Better yet, prepare your drinks and place them in glasses so diners can simply pick them up and go.

A similar issue can occur at banquets. When it gets busy, servers serving drinks may get in the way of those carrying food. To avoid this situation, set up a different area in your kitchen for making drinks. This simple arrangement will allow servers to move around more freely.

Make napkins easy to grab

Make napkins easy to grab

Be sure that there are plenty of napkins around, and that they are always within easy reach. At a banquet, keep extra napkins handy at side-serving tables. And at buffets, put out large stacks of napkins at the end of where you're serving food. This makes it easier for guests to grab extras when they need to clean something up.

Place cutlery at the end of lines

Place cutlery at the end of lines

If there’s one common problem in buffet lines (especially catering lines) that needs to be addressed, it’s this – placing cutlery at the start of the buffet line. There’s simply no reason to ask diners to balance their cutlery on their plates, or in their already full hands. After all, diners are there to enjoy delicious food.

So, we recommend allowing diners to fill their plates with food, then pick up their cutlery at the end of the line. Your diners and service staff will appreciate this simple but important gesture.

Knorr Hickory Barbeque Sauce 1kg

Knorr Hickory Barbeque Sauce 1kg

Knorr Barbecue Sauce (Hickory Smoke) is made from a unique blend of tomato paste & spices for that special smoky aroma & taste. It enhances the flavour of any kind of meat & is also versatile for use as a marinade, sauce/gravy base, dip or condiment for burgers and sandwiches.

Find out more
Buy it now How to order Free sample

Knorr Demi Glace Brown Sauce Mix 1kg

Knorr Demi Glace Brown Sauce Mix 1kg

Knorr Demi Glace Brown Sauce Mix is prepared from selected ingredients. It is easy to prepare and can be used as a base for other sauces such as Bigarade Black Pepper, Bourguignonne Colbert, Madeira, Truffle and many others.

Find out more
Buy it now How to order Free sample

Knorr Chicken Powder 1kg

Knorr Chicken Powder 1kg

Knorr Chicken Powder made with quality chicken meat. Can be used in all kinds of cooking applications to their enhance their meaty taste. Ideal for Western and Asian Cuisine.

Find out more
Buy it now How to order Free sample

Knorr Lime Seasoning Powder 400g

Knorr Lime Seasoning Powder 400g

Made for Chefs by Chefs. A versatile seasoning with the refreshing taste of lime, perfect for many food or beverage applications

Find out more
Buy it now How to order Free sample

Top recipes

  • Thai Fishcake
  • Yum Woonsen Talay
  • Honey Hickory BBQ Pork Spare Ribs
  • Stir-fried Chicken with Cashew nuts
  • Asian Vinaigrette with Village Chicken
See all recipes (115)

Back to Smarter Hotel Buffets

Related Articles

    • Smarter Hotel Buffets
    7 Essential Tips for Conference Caterers
    • Smarter Hotel Buffets
    Reinventing Classic ASEAN Dishes
    • Smarter Hotel Buffets
    5 Ways to Make Your Banquet Really Stand Out
    • Smarter Hotel Buffets
    Tips for Planning a Successful Buffet

  • Home
  • Chef Inspiration
  • Recipes
  • Products
  • Who we are
  • eNewsletter sign-up
  • Select your country
  • Please Recycle
  • Legal terms
  • Privacy notice
  • Cookie notice
  • Sitemap
Register for our eNewsletter to keep up to date!

By signing up now you will receive recipes, industry trends, free samples and more.

Find us on...
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
Unilever Food Solutions » Home

© 2021 Unilever Food Solutions | All rights reserved

Unilever Food Solutions » Home

Install this webapp on your iPhone Install this webapp on your iPad Install this webapp on your Android phone Install this webapp on your Windows phone

Tap the share icon below and choose add to homescreen. Tap the share icon above and choose add to homescreen. Tap the share icon below and choose add to homescreen. Tap the share icon below and choose add to homescreen.

x