Ultimate Guide to Planning a Buffet Dinner Party

Planning a dinner party can be a stressful thing. You not only have to decide what to cook, but how to arrange the table, set the places, who to invite, and where to seat them. You can cut through a lot of this stress by planning a buffet style dinner party instead.

Making It Easy For the Guests

At your buffet dinner party, the table should first be set up so that it is easy for the guests to get their plates, utensils, and food. Traffic flow should be controlled. Everyone should have to enter at a certain side of the table and exist at the next. This ensures that everyone will have a chance to get what he or she needs.

Setting Up the Table

The way you set up the table should also focus on ease for the guests. The first things that should be on the table are the plates. Obviously, the guests need a plate in order to get their buffet dinner food. Utensils should not be gotten at this time.

Main dishes such as meat should be placed next. These should be cut or sliced already so your buffet guests can just take what they want.

Next on the table should be casseroles, vegetables, and other side dishes. After all main components of the food are done, you should then have gravies, sauces, condiments that can be added to the meat and other dishes. Bread or rolls should be here as well, with easily taken pats of butter.

At the end of the table, you should finally have the utensils. The knife, fork, and spoon should be rolled inside a napkin so that it is easies for the guest to pick them up with their plate.

Decorating the table is also an important part of the buffet dinner party. You will want to put all decorations along the middle of the table with the food on either side around the edges. You do not want dinner party guests to have to reach over other platters to get what they want.

Suggested Dishes

To make a buffet dinner party easier and less stressful, you should choose easy to prepare dishes that are easy for people to serve themselves. Spiral sliced ham or roast fowl or meat are great choices if they are cut ahead of time. Casseroles are easily self-served with a large spoon or spatula. Things like soup are not good choices, as they require the buffet guests to carry a hot soup bowl as well as their plate.

Planning a buffet dinner party is much easier than a traditional sit-down dinner. You do not have to worry about seating arrangements, place settings, or clean up between courses. By following the top tips and ideas, you will have a successful buffet dinner party every time.