Buffet & Smorgasbord


Buffet & Smorgasbord by A Class Catering.
Today I would like to give you some fun facts & history of the Buffet & Smorgasbord.

https://aclasscatering.com.au/weddings/cocktails-light-meals-menu-weddings/ The word Buffet comes from the french language meaning a furniture sideboard from where food is served from.
From a historical point of view however it is hard to say when & where people began eating food from the buffet or smorgasbord ??
The first 2 countries to adopt this style & concept of eating was Sweden & France.
For the Swedes its origins began as a way of feeding out of town visitors who’d arrived unexpectedly & offered a bread & butter board (smorgasbord) & over time their smorgasbord offered more courses like salted fish,eggs,boiled vegetables to cold cuts of meat,warm entrees & salads ending w/ dessert & coffee.
The French however offered a more lavished buffet as a sign of prominence & more of a way to focus on entertainment rather than the cooking.
The buffet/smorgasbord really became popular in the 18th century & the concept soon spread across Europe.By the 19th century especially in England & USA the buffet became very popular for meals especially at lunch & became traditionally known as ‘One O’clock’ Lunchtime.
As a rule back then all food was to be eaten w/ a fork or spoon as the knife was strictly forbidden at these buffet luncheon’s.
Typical menu selections included
All types of beverages
A beef or chicken bouillon  https://www.thespruce.com/homemade-beef-bouillon-recipe-1809042
A variety of hot entrees
A selection of cold entrees
Hot rolls & finger sandwiches
A selection of small cakes & pastries
By todays standards nothing much has changed.
All around the world today the buffet/smorgasbord is still very popular whether its at a ‘All you can eat Restaurant’ a ‘Hotel or Cruise Ship buffet’a ‘Breakfast buffet or a ‘Wedding buffet’ as it gives people a variety of foods to choose from at a reasonable price.
They are great for families w/children as well as those w/big appetites ?Its definitely a different dining experience as people can choose what they want to eat & eat as much as they want to eat.
At A Class Catering we are finding that the weddings we cater for nowadays are leaning more & more to our buffet menus like our Roast buffet https://aclasscatering.com.au/weddings/roast-menu-weddings/or Gourmet BBQ buffet & the ever increasingly popular the Grazing Station.https://aclasscatering.com.au/weddings/gourmet-bbq-menu-weddings/
Why ??? Well I think todays Brides & Grooms still want the traditional Wedding Ceremony etc but when it comes to the reception they want amore relaxed atmosphere & ambiance where everyone mingles & are having fun as opposed to the full on formal reception.
The Buffet/Smorgasbord which basically started as a bread & butter board has really come a long way & w/ todays fads & trends will continue to be apopular dining option for years to come
Til next week 

Buffet set up using Bay Maries

Buffet Set up using Bay Maries

Image result for buffet table

Buffet set up as seen on website https://www.google.com.au/search?q=buffet+table&tbm