A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve themselves. A form of ''

service à la française (, ) is the practice of serving various dishes of a meal at the same time, with the diners helping themselves from the serving dishes. That contrasts to ("service in the Russian style") in which dishes are brought to the table sequentially and ...

'', buffets are offered at various places including

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

s, and many social events. Buffet restaurants normally offer all-you-can-eat food for a set price, but some measure prices by weight or by number of dishes. Buffets usually have some or mostly hot dishes, so the term cold buffet (see

Smörgåsbord Smorgasbord or Smörgåsbord (, ) is a buffet-style meal of Swedish origin. It is served with various hot and mainly cold dishes. It assumed its present form in the 19th century, following old traditions. Smörgåsbord became known in the US ...

) has been developed to describe formats lacking hot food. Hot or cold buffets usually involve dishware and utensils, but a finger buffet is an array of foods that are designed to be small and easily consumed only by hand, such as cupcakes, slices of pizza, and foods on cocktail sticks. The essential feature of the various buffet formats is that the diners can directly view the food and immediately select which dishes they wish to consume, and usually also can decide how much food they take. Buffets are effective for serving large numbers of people at once, and are often seen in institutional settings, business conventions, or large parties.

Home entertaining

As a buffet involves diners serving themselves, it has in the past been considered an informal form of dining, less formal than table service. In recent years, however, buffet meals are increasingly popular among hosts of home dinner

parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

, especially in homes where limited space complicates the serving of individual table places.

Origins

In the 19th century,

supper Supper is used commonly as the term for the main evening meal, although its use varies considerably. Supper may be used to describe a snack or light meal in the evening, either after or instead of dinner. Etymology The term is derived from th ...

, a lighter meal some hours after the main

dinner Dinner usually refers to what is in many Western cultures the biggest and most formal meal of the day. Historically, the largest meal used to be eaten around noon, midday, and called dinner. Especially among the elite, it gradually migrated to ...

, was sometimes served as a buffet (and so called), especially late at night at grand balls, where not everyone present eats at the same time, or in the same quantity. Even in a very large building, at a large ball there might not be enough space to seat all guests at the same time, or servants to serve them in the manner required by the prevailing customs. A large cooked

English breakfast A full breakfast or fry-up is a substantial cooked breakfast meal often served in Britain and Ireland. Depending on the region, it may also be referred to as a full English, a full Irish, full Scottish, full Welsh or Ulster fry. The fried br ...

with various choices was also very often routinely served this way, for similar reasons. Even when many servants were on hand, there might be an element of

self-service Self-service is a system whereby customers acquire (or serve) themselves goods or services, paying for the items at a point-of-sale, as opposed to a shop assistant or clerk acquiring goods or providing services in addition to taking payment. Comm ...

. The term ''buffet'' originally referred to the French

sideboard A sideboard, also called a buffet, is an item of furniture traditionally used in the dining room for serving food, for displaying serving dishes, and for storage. It usually consists of a set of cabinets, or cupboards, and one or more drawers ...

furniture where the food was placed, but eventually became applied to the serving format. At balls, the "buffet" was also where drinks were obtained, either by circulating

footmen A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...

supplying orders from guests, but often by the male guests. During the Victorian period, it became usual for guests to have to eat standing up. In fact John Conrade Cooke's cookbook ''Cookery and Confectionery'', (London: 1824) says it was already "the present fashion". In a report on a ball in 1904, a departure from "the usual stand-up buffet supper", with parties being able to reserve tables, was praised. Scandinavians like to claim that the buffet table originates from the ''

brännvin Brännvin (Swedish language, Swedish spelling; see ) is an old Nordic countries, Nordic term for distilled beverage, distilled liquor, generally from potatoes, grain, or (formerly) sawdust brandy, wood cellulose etc, and is today primarily used a ...

sbord'' (Swedish

schnapps Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to ...

, or shot of alcoholic beverage) table from the middle of 16th century. This custom had its prime during the early 18th century. The ''

smörgåsbord Smorgasbord or Smörgåsbord (, ) is a buffet-style meal of Swedish origin. It is served with various hot and mainly cold dishes. It assumed its present form in the 19th century, following old traditions. Smörgåsbord became known in the US ...

'' buffet did not increase in popularity until the expansion of the railroads throughout Europe. The ''smörgåsbord'' table was originally a meal where guests gathered before dinner for a pre-dinner drink, and was not part of the formal dinner that followed. The ''smörgåsbord'' buffet was often held in separate rooms for men and women before the dinner was served. ''Smörgåsbord'' became internationally known as "smorgasbord" at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

exhibition, as the Swedes had to invent a new way of showcasing the best of Swedish food to large numbers of visitors.

As displays of wealth

While the possession of gold and silver has been a measure of

solvency Solvency, in finance or business, is the degree to which the current assets of an individual or entity exceed the current liabilities of that individual or entity. Solvency can also be described as the ability of a corporation to meet its long- ...

of a regime, the display of it, in the form of plates and vessels, is more a political act and a gesture of

conspicuous consumption In sociology and in economics, the term conspicuous consumption describes and explains the consumer practice of buying and using goods of a higher quality, price, or in greater quantity than practical. In 1899, the sociologist Thorstein Veblen c ...

. The 16th-century French term ''buffet'' applied both to the display itself and to the furniture on which it was mounted, often draped with rich textiles, but more often as the century advanced the word described an elaborately carved cupboard surmounted by tiers of shelves. In England, such a buffet was called a court cupboard. Prodigal displays of plate were probably first revived at the fashionable court of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

and adopted in France. The

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

displays of silver and gold that were affected by

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

were immortalized in paintings by

Alexandre-François Desportes Alexandre-François Desportes (24 February 1661 — 20 April 1743) was a French painter and decorative designer who specialised in animals. Desportes was born in Champigneulle, Ardennes. He studied in Paris, in the studio of the Flemish painte ...

and others, before Louis' plate and his silver furniture had to be sent to the mint to pay for the wars at the end of his reign. During the 18th century, more subtle demonstrations of wealth were preferred. The buffet was revived in England and France at the end of the century, when new ideals of privacy made a modicum of

at breakfast-time appealing, even among those who could have had a

footman A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...

servant behind each chair. In ''The Cabinet Dictionary'' of 1803,

Thomas Sheraton Thomas Sheraton (1751 – 22 October 1806) was a furniture designer, one of the "big three" English furniture makers of the 18th century, along with Thomas Chippendale and George Hepplewhite. Sheraton gave his name to a style of furniture characte ...

presented a neoclassical design and observed, that "a buffet may, with some propriety, be restored to modern use, and prove ornamental to a modern breakfast-room, answering as the china cabinet/repository of a tea equipage."

20th century

In a 1922 housekeeping book entitled ''How to Prepare and Serve a Meal'', Lillian B. Lansdown wrote: The informal luncheon at small tables calls for service by a number of maids, hence the "buffet" plan is preferable.

Variations

There are many different ways of offering diners a selection of foods that are called "buffet" style meals. Some buffets are "single pass only", but most buffets allow a diner to first take small samples of unfamiliar foods, and then to return for more servings if desired. To avoid misunderstandings in commercial eating establishments, the rules and charges are often posted on signs near the buffet serving tables. * One form of buffet is to have a display counter or table filled with plates containing fixed portions of food; customers select plates containing whichever dishes they want as they walk along. The food display may either be staffed, or the customers may pick up the food plates themselves. This form is most commonly seen in

cafeteria A cafeteria, called canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether in a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a scho ...

s. Another derivative of this type of buffet occurs where patrons choose food from a buffet style layout and then pay based on what was chosen (sometimes based on the weight of the food, or color-coded plates). * A variation occurs in a

dim sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cu ...

house, where seated patrons make their selections from wheeled carts containing different plates of food which the staff circulate through the restaurant. Another variation is a

conveyor belt sushi , also called revolving sushi or rotation sushi, is a type of sushi restaurant common in Japan. In Australasia, it is also known as a sushi train. Plates serving the sushi are placed on a rotating conveyor belt that winds through the restaurant ...

restaurant, where seated patrons select dishes from a continuously moving conveyor belt carrying a variety of foods. In another variation, Brazilian ''

rodízio ''Rodízio'' (, ) is an all-you-can-eat style of restaurant service in Brazilian restaurants where waiters bring a variety of foods repeatedly throughout the meal, until the customer signals that they have had enough. Traditionally, refers to ...

'' style buffets feature roving waiters serving ''

churrascaria A ''churrascaria'' () is a place where meat is cooked in ''churrasco'' style, which translates roughly from the Portuguese word for "barbecue". ''Churrascaria'' cuisine is typically (but not always) served '' rodízio'' style, where roving ...

'' barbecued meats from large skewers directly onto the seated diners' plates. In Brazil, the ''rodízio'' style is sometimes also found in Italian (restaurants serving pizza are especially common), and more recently in Japanese restaurants, and also other types of foods. * The "all-you-can-eat" buffet is more free-form; customers pay a fixed fee and then can help themselves to as much food as they wish to eat in a single meal. This form is found often in restaurants, especially in

s. In some countries, this format is popular for "Sunday

brunch Brunch is a meal, often accompanied by "signature morning cocktails" such as mimosas, bloody marys, espresso martinis, and bellinis, taken sometime in the late morning or early afternoon – the universally accepted time is 11am-2pm, though mod ...

" buffets. * A so-called

Mongolian barbecue Mongolian barbecue () is a method of preparing Stir frying, stir-fried noodle dishes. Despite its name, the dish is not Mongolian cuisine, Mongolian, nor was it influenced by Mongolian cuisine. It was developed in Taiwan by a waishengren during ...

buffet format allows diners to collect various thinly-sliced raw foods and to add flavorings, which are then

stir-fried Stir frying ( zh, c= 炒, p=chǎo, w=ch'ao3, cy=cháau) is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries ...

on a large griddle by a restaurant cook. * Some

hot pot Hot pot ( zh, c=, s=wikt:火锅, 火锅, t=wikt:火鍋, 火鍋, p=huǒguō, l=fire pot, first=t) or hotpot, also known as steamboat, is a dish (food), dish of soup/stock (food), stock kept simmering in a cooking pot, pot by a heat source on ...

restaurants offer all-you-can-eat buffets, in which diners directly gather or order plates of thinly-sliced raw foods and flavorings, and cook them in boiling pots of soup at their tables. * A

salad bar A salad bar is a buffet-style table or bar where customers can create their own salad plates from individual salad ingredients or completed dishes. Salad bars are commonly found in restaurants, food markets, and cafeterias. Salad bars are a pop ...

is commonly offered in

delicatessen A delicatessen or deli is a grocery that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessens originated in Germany (contemporary spelling: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th centur ...

s and

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

s, in which customers help themselves to

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...

and other

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments called '' salad dressings'', which exist in a variety of flavors, a ...

ingredients, then pay by weight. Sometimes only cold foods are offered, but often warmed or hot foods are available at a "hot foods bar", possibly at a different price by weight. * Open buffets are often associated with a celebration of some sort, and there may be no explicit charge or the cost may be included in an admission fee to the entire event.

Art show An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is occasionally true, it is stated to be a "permanent ...

openings at galleries and museums are often accompanied by a modest buffet for invited guests. As a compromise between self-service and full table service, a staffed buffet may be offered: diners carry their own plate or tray along the buffet line and are given a portion by a server at each station, which may be selected or skipped by the diner. This method is prevalent at catered meetings where diners are not paying specifically for their meal. Alternatively, diners may serve themselves for most prepared selections, but a

carvery A carvery is a pub or a restaurant where cooked meat is freshly sliced to order for customers, sometimes offering unlimited servings in a buffet style for a fixed price. The term is most commonly used in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, ...

station for roasted meats is staffed. Some buffet formats also feature staffed stations where crepes,

omelette An omelette (sometimes omelet in American English; see spelling differences) is a dish made from eggs (usually chicken eggs), fried with butter or oil in a frying pan. It is a common practice for an omelette to include fillings such as chiv ...

noodle soup Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is a common dish across East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayan states of South Asia. Various types of noodles are used, such as ...

barbecued meats Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

, or

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

are custom prepared at the request of individual diners.

All-you-can-eat

The

all-you-can-eat restaurant An all-you-can-eat restaurant (AYCE) is a type of restaurant in which a fixed price is charged for entry, after which diners may consume as much food as they wish. Self-service buffets are a common type of all-you-can-eat establishment, but som ...

was introduced in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

by Herbert "Herb" Cobb McDonald in 1946. The buffet was advertised in flyers for only one dollar, and a patron could eat "every possible variety of hot and cold entrees to appease the howling coyote in your innards". Many

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

s, colleges, and universities offer optional or mandatory "meal plans", especially in connection with

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

for students. These are often in an "all-you-can-eat" buffet format, sometimes called "all-you-care-to-eat" to encourage dietary moderation. The format may also be used in other institutional settings, such as

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

s, large factories,

cruise ships Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on tours known as " ...

, or medium-security prisons. In 2007, the first all-you-can-eat seating section in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

was introduced at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

. The trend spread to 19 of the 30 major league parks by 2010, and numerous minor league parks by 2012. The basic menu includes traditional ballpark food such as

hot dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

nachos Nachos are a Tex-Mex dish consisting of tortilla chips or '' totopos'' covered with cheese or chile con queso, as well as a variety of other toppings and garnishes, often including meats (such as ground beef or grilled chicken), vegetables ( ...

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...

, and

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

s. In 2008, all-you-can-eat seats were also inaugurated in numerous

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

and

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

arenas. Some buffet restaurants aim to reduce food waste by imposing fees on customers who take large amounts of food, but then discard it uneaten.

Restaurant buffets

In Australia, buffet chains such as

Sizzler Sizzler USA Restaurants, Inc., doing business as Sizzler, is a United States–based restaurant chain with headquarters in Mission Viejo, California, with locations mainly in California, plus some in the nearby states of Arizona, Nevada, New M ...

serve a large number of patrons with carvery meats, seafood, salads and desserts. Cruise operators in Sydney, conduct Sydney Harbour sightseeing cruises with continental buffets having multiple seafood options. Buffets are also common in

Returned and Services League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia, also known as RSL, RSL Australia and the RSLA, is an independent support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. History The League was formed in ...

(RSL) clubs and some motel restaurants. In Brazil, ''comida a quilo'' or ''comida por quilo''—literally, "food by hekilo"—restaurants are common. This is a cafeteria style buffet in which diners are billed by the weight of the food selected, excluding the

tare weight Tare weight , sometimes called unladen weight, is the weight of an empty vehicle or container. By subtracting tare weight from gross weight ( laden weight), one can determine the weight of the goods carried or contained (the net weight). Ety ...

of the plate.

Brazilian cuisine Brazilian cuisine is the set of cooking practices and traditions of Brazil, and is characterized by European cuisine, European, Amerindian, African tribes, African, and Asian (Levantine cuisine, Levantine, Japanese food, Japanese, and most rece ...

's ''

'' style is all-you-can-eat, having both non-self-service and self-service variations. In Hong Kong, the '' cha chaan teng buffet'' is a relatively new variation on traditional low-cost Chinese snack and coffee shops. In Japan, a buffet or smorgasbord is known as a ''viking'' (バイキング - ''baikingu''). It is said that this originated from the restaurant "Imperial Viking" in the

Imperial Hotel, Tokyo The is a hotel in Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda ward, Tokyo. It was created in the late 1880s at the request of the Japanese aristocracy to cater to the increasing number of Western visitors to Japan. The hotel site is located just south of the Im ...

, which was the first restaurant in Japan to serve buffet-style meals. Dessert Vikings are very popular in Japan, where one can eat from a buffet full of desserts. In Sweden, a traditional form of buffet is the ''

'', which literally means "table of sandwiches".

United States

In the United States, there are numerous Chinese-American cuisine-inspired buffet restaurants, as well as those serving primarily traditional American fare. Also,

South Asian cuisine South Asian cuisine includes the traditional cuisines from the modern-day South Asian republics of Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, also sometimes including the kingdom of Bhutan and the emirate of Afghanistan. Also som ...

(notably in

Indian restaurants Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...

), pan-Asian cuisine, and

Mediterranean cuisine Mediterranean cuisine is the food and methods of preparation used by the people of the Mediterranean basin. The idea of a Mediterranean cuisine originates with the cookery writer Elizabeth David's book, ''A Book of Mediterranean Food'' (1950), ...

are increasingly available in the buffet format, and

has also become more popular at buffets. In some regions of the US, Brazilian-style ''

'' barbecue buffets served ''

'' style are becoming popular.

and

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

are famous for all-you-can-eat buffets with a very wide range of foods on offer, and similar ones have also become common in

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

s elsewhere in the United States. For 2019, buffet food sales in the US were estimated at $5 billion, approximately 1% of the total restaurant business that year.

Gallery

File:Buffet Germany.jpg, Ham and cheese in a German breakfast buffet File:Hot Buffet line aboard Celebrity Equinox.jpg, Staffed hot buffet line aboard the '' Celebrity Equinox'' cruise ship File:Crayfish buffet at Tukkutorin kala.jpg, A

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

buffet at restaurant Tukkutorin kala in

Kalasatama Kalasatama (; ; literally translated "fish port") is a neighbourhood in the city of Helsinki, Finland. The area is officially part of the Sörnäinen district; and like Sörnäinen, Kalasatama is located a little more than one kilometre north fro ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland File:Buffet brekafast (5078306699).jpg, Breakfast buffet File:Sveas brunch.jpg, Brunch buffet File:Cheese and cold cut station in clipper lounge.jpg, Cheese, coldcuts, and bread station in brunch buffet File:Slovenia (15068507911).jpg, A platter of

lunch meat Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, delicatessens, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in ...

and cheeses in Slovenia File:Buffet-2.jpg, German-style dinner buffet File:Man at chain buffet restaurant.jpg, alt=A customer gets food from a buffet in a restaurant., Cafeteria-style self-service buffet File:Prasmanan 1.JPG, ''Prasmanan'', Indonesian-style buffet

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Bundled products or services Eating parties Food combinations Serving and dining