A buffet is a style of service where a meal is served and arranged on a table, so that the diners serve themselves the food. The word, as such, comes from the French buffet , and originally referred to the sideboard, that is, the furniture destined to store the dishes.
The buffet or buffet service is a method of service used when a large number of diners must be provided, so that everyone can choose, at their leisure and whim, the foods they want to consume, as well as the quantity.
The buffet food is characterized, in this way, by the food consisting of hot and cold dishes that have been arranged on a table to serve this purpose. However, when a buffet consists exclusively of cold dishes, it is called as a froid buffet, which in French means ‘cold buffet‘.
Buffet , also, can also designate the table or the set of tables that, in meetings, celebrations and public shows, are covered with this kind of dishes and obey this pattern of self-service.
Today the concept of buffet is associated with the restaurants “all you can eat ” (all you can eat), refectories where, for a fixed price, you can access all the variety of options of the buffet.
There are restaurants buffet specialized, for example, buffet Brazil where its strength is grilled meat, buffet of Asian food or buffe t breakfast where more pastry dishes are available.
The buffet, as such, was born in France, around the 18th century, and subsequently extends throughout Europe. Currently, it can be said that it enjoys popularity in much of the world.
On the other hand, the word buffet should not be confused with the word law firm, which refers to a law firm.