Buffet tables are kind of entertaining which was initially invented in France. Such arrangement of a festive table has a variety of benefits. This kind of reception is an entertainment which eliminates need to purchase additional furniture items, because its main goal is a communication, but not tableful.

Buffet reception may be a good solution in cases when it is necessary to organize entertaining in short terms. The French name of buffet reception – “fourchette” can be literally translated as “on a fork”, it characterizes a process of eating.

The benefits of such event lay in a fact that a quantity of guests does not depend on quantity of furniture, which is available in the house. There is also an additional advantage for a mistress – she should not worry about serving dishes or if the food is warm enough or if the guests’ plates are full. Buffet reception is more suitable for young people, because it is not that convenient for elderly people to stand while eating.

Guests can communicate and move freely throughout the room, get together in interest groups; each of them can choose snacks on the table according to his or her taste. The snacks should be rather multifarious: variety is a guaranty of a good table!

How To Place A Table

The table should be placed in the center or in the corner of a room. It should be big enough, because there is plenty of dishes which must be placed on it. In some cases two tables may be put together and both covered with a mutual long tablecloth. The tables’ height should be the same. It would be better if the table legs would be hidden with a spread or special skirt for buffet table.

Clean dishes, flatware and table-napkins should be arranged along the edges of the table. The plates should be stacked – this allows saving space. You can additionally decorate your table with wineglasses, putting them in original and various ways.

The number of flatware kits and plates is better to be the same, but the quantity of knives ought to be twice as little.
Avoid putting chairs around the table.

They can be placed around the perimeter of walls or around small coffee tables. It is nice if at least one sofa will be available in the room where buffet reception will be held.

Serving

The dishes should be served by sectors or tiers (by means of special buffet racks), if it is possible.
The snacks, several kinds of sliced bread and salads should be closer to the edge of the table. The second should go with suitable tier – sweet dishes, pastries and fruits. Each dish with food cutlery, so as anybody, so anybody could serve themselves.

Table appointments at the very reception depend on the table location: if it is available on every side, it should be set circle-wise.

Lay on a table traditional salt and pepper. In case if some of the dishes go with sauces, such sauces should be placed near them.

It is not necessarily to serve the table with both cold snacks and desserts. You can organize sweet parties with desserts presented in menu only. Such kind of dinner is especially good for ladies: light wines, cakes, sweets and fruits – a sure version for bachelorette party.

Soft drinks can be served in jugs or poured into glasses. As for alcohol drinks, you can group opened bottles with these drinks on different ends of the table near glasses. One should also arrange an additional small table for empty dishes near the main one.

Buffet reception design involves the decoration of the table. Leave a free space in the center of it– you can put there a bunch of flowers, basket with fruits, candles, figurines and other decorations – edible or uneatable. The reception design should be thought out not less than decoration of a traditional festive table.

The Menu

There are no limits for such event in this way. The only requirement to the dishes – they should be served so to be easy-to-use. Choose different snacks which can be dished on a plate and eaten easily. Give the preference to the light salads – leave multilayered and stodgy salads for the New-Year party.

As the same cutlery is usually used for buffet table setting and for traditional feast, you can choose any dishes.
The only criteria lays in the fact that the food is be sliced and divided into portions. The dishes should be served in convenient way to help your guests to lay them on personal plate and to regale on meals standup. A fish is better to be served in a form of fillet, a chicken – without bones.

Canapés

Canapé is the easiest to cook and rather nourishing food. It is an ideal snack for buffet table. The benefit of canapés is a variety of recipes which you can use for cooking. The necessary ingredients could be found in any refrigerator and almost at any time.

Method is the same for all varieties of canapé. Take white or brown bread and slice off pieces 0.5 cm thick. Then make small, diversiform pieces. A loaf heel should be removed previous. You can use a standard kitchen-knife or special fourchette knife to put bread slices into shape. Canapé can be square-cut, circular-shaped or three-cornered. One can use metal cookie cutters to put canapés into shape of fish, flower, etc.

You may use fresh bread or dry it slightly in the oven. French stick is the most popular base for the canapés. Depending on the recipe, butter slices of bread or cover them with sauce; then top with snacks or garnishes on top. Canapés can be served with suitable flatware, which is usually used to put it on the plate, as well as with little party picks – this variant is more convenient.

Сheese Cream Canapés

Mix grated cheese with little amount of mayonnaise and gritted fennel; then spread this blend on the bread, which was covered previously with a lettuce leaf. Garnish your snack with potherbs or fruit slices, for example: grape, slice of melon or pear. It’s easy to vary this recipe with adding a little amount of garlic to the cheese or using a slice of tomato as a base instead of bread; garnish a dish with an olive pierced with party pick or toothpick.

Canapé With Charcuteries

Spread a mayonnaise sauce on the bread slice which was previously dried in the oven. Then top it with a lettuce leaf and put a slice of ham or smoked sausage on it. Use vegetables and potherbs as a garnish. Maybe such kind of snack is not refined enough, but rather nourishing for a big company.

Salmon Canapé

Butter a slice of the white bread and put salmon on it and then a slice of lemon or cucumber.
Tartlets are yet another solution for the buffet table.

They are a kind of shells made of dough. Different starters and salads can be served inside them. Tartlets can be about 3 cm and more in diameter. They are usually sold in large supermarkets but if you have cake pans you can bake them using a short paste.

Salads Served Inside of Tartlets

In principle, tart shells can be filled with any kind of salad. The only requirement – salads should not be too liquid. Otherwise the dough can get wet and loose its shape. That is the reason why it is not recommended to fill tartlets with vegetable salad which can bleed.

Make a salad with boiled shrimps, green peas and cucumber dressed with mayonnaise. Dredge it with grated cheese and garnish with sprigs of parsley or fennel.

Another variant is a salad made of fresh pineapples with smoked chicken fillet, seedless grapes and grated cheese. It would be nice to use as a dressing not just mayonnaise, but sweet yogurt as well. The teste of salad can differ depending on chosen sauce.

Tartlets filled with snacks

The classic recipe includes caviar. The sort of caviar depends on material wealth as well as a size of tartlet. However, the smallest ones are usually taken in order to make it easy for the guests to eat at one stroke. Put a few grams of softened butter on the tartlet bottom and then fill it with caviar. Cover it the springs of potherbs or a half of lemon slice.

Rolls

You may cook rolls based on bread or another product. The rolls have some benefits: it is rather convenient to eat them; they are hearty and look good on a festive table.

Lavash Roll

Spread a thin lavash with mayonnaise; then lay smoked cheese and keen carrot on its edge. Collar the roll thick and slice it across in order to get desirable size of portions. There are a lot of variations of stuffing. The rolls with smoked fish, cucumbers, ham or mushrooms are delicious equally.

Salmon Roll

Take wide and thin pieces of salmon and collar them as a cone. Lay them on a dish upside down (wide part should be on top). Put a little piece of butter and slice of lemon inside of every cone. Pre-cool the butter in a freezer to ease the cutting.

We wish you a great and delicious buffet table!