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Buffet Dinner - Salad question I need some input please

I had the opportunity to go to a Banquet as a guest instead of working. On the buffet was the salad and the main course which seems to be rather commonplace. The problem is, I really couldn't enjoy my salad because my dinner was getting cold. We offer the same setup at my venue. Does anyone have any ideas as to how we could go about letting the guests have a salad and then go to the buffet for their meal? We offer a buffet to save staff costs as opposed to a sit down dinner, also saving the Bride & Groom money. I thought about serving the salad to the guests at their tables first, starting with the tables that would normally be released first. But, then you would have to either pre-dress the salads, not giving the guests the option to choose their preferred dressing, or we could put bowls of dressing on each table, (which would result in additional staff time and more wasted dressings). Or possibly a salad bar, but then the guests have to get up twice and we would have to release tables twice. Does anyone have any ideas? This really bugs me. Thanks for your input.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Lewis on January 24, 2010 at 4:45pm

When I worked for a hotel, sometimes we would do a plated salad in a large martini glass (i.e. spring greens, etc). We would offer two dressing such as raspberry vinaigrette or Italian which the waiter would offer. This was easy because it did not take up space (already plated) the waiter would remove the glass when finished and you can go onto the entree or buffet easily from there. Most people don't want a large salad at an event. Think of it as an appetizer. Hope this helps !

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Aaron on January 24, 2010 at 5:00pm

Why not just do separate stations? It makes the entire flow easier and the line ups much smaller. Some people do decide to get up for each course, some don't. You also don't have to keep guests waiting as long until their table is called because people spread out amongst the tables.

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Permalink Reply by Fraternal Order of Eagles #437 on January 24, 2010 at 8:30pm

Thank you Linda and Sandra! I think I will try the station method first. I have a small reception Feb 14th, only 125 people. This may also cut down on the amount of salad that is wasted, since some people will take a salad and then sit down, take a few bites then go for the main course. So do you think I should open both stations at the same time? I really don't want to release tables twice and I hate seeing more people in line than necessary at the hot station, because there are times when swapping out pans or holding on an item from the kitchen might slow things down.

Thanks!
Kathy Hullmann

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Permalink Reply by Linda Lewis on January 25, 2010 at 7:24am

Hello Eagles, yes I think you can open both stations at the same time. Also, to make it more interesting
balance your salad with maybe some vegetables, crudites, and my new favorite "an olive bar". I think
it would be fun to do an upscale relish station and combine that with the salad.

You could do olives, sliced beets, baby carrots, artichoke salad,cole slaw, cottage cheese, etc.

And to make it really interesting add some walnuts, goat cheese and raisins to the salad bar.

This is also good for those with health issues that don't want to do a high fat dressing or eat too heavy before the meal.
Enjoy !

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Aaron on January 25, 2010 at 7:35am

I agree you can open both stations at the same time and also have some fun with it. I also love fruit on my green salads so that is also an option. This gives people the option to mix it up by either not having salad if they don't want to or changing up the order. Nobody judges when it's a buffet. The only couple of things I would add is to make sure the main course foods are on warmers (you'd be surprised that some people forget that), and I like the station tables to be round if you have round ones big enough to accommodate a circular line of food. People don't seem to feel like they are waiting as long when the line is going in a circle I find.

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Permalink Reply by Fraternal Order of Eagles #437 on January 29, 2010 at 9:26am

I use a horseshoe, people enter at the middle, silverware and napkins are there as well as salad bowls. On each side of the center is a salad and then dressings, next plates, veggie, potato and entrees. I do use chafers, and add hot water and light them about 15 to 30 minutes before I put hot food out. Sometimes traffic control is an issue, it seems that people go straight to the plates on the corners, then they are jumping back in line to get silverware and a salad. I was thinking about having the salads available as guests arrive. We do have round tables and could set one up for the salad. Then the guests will have had something to eat if appetizers aren't offered. This way, no one will release the tables, staff can just let people know that they are welcome to get a salad at their leisure. I will leave it open when we release tables for dinner as well. I would love to bring fresh ideas to the salad bar, however, our buffet prices begin at $8.95 and include coffee and tea. I can't add much more without skewing my food costs. Thank you all for commenting, I will let you know how it goes!

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Permalink Reply by Linda Lewis on January 29, 2010 at 11:08am

That sounds great. The best of both worlds without having to do a plated salad. Keeping my fingers crossed for you. Sounds like a great solution and one you can modify or add to later.

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Permalink Reply by Heart and Soul Events on January 29, 2010 at 2:39pm

You could have the salads pre-set on the tables and a cruet of dressing on each table, possibly a oil& balsamic mix; then a basket of warm bread/rolls on table to eat with the salad. Set in this way, it gives it a very intimate settng and your guests will love it. Then let them go to the buffet.

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Permalink Reply by Fraternal Order of Eagles #437 on January 29, 2010 at 8:47pm

I love the suggestion, but, at this time we have silverware and china, but are still using foam bowls. I think a plated salad would be a great option but with foam bowls?? Kind of tacky. lol We have round tables that seat 8, I think we would have to put 2 dressings on each table, there again I would have to use a small bowl for the dressing, I don't have enough of those for a large group. We need more "stuff", then I can bring our banquets up a notch or two. The way it is now, no one really notices what we are lacking. Well at least it's not blatantly obvious. It's possible that I might be able to get the salad plates this year, I have 25 catered events on the books right now, not including rehearsal dinners. If you know of a source for salad plates, tray jacks, roll baskets and cruets, please pass it along. Possibly a restaurant or catering outlet or auction. Thanks so much for the input.

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Permalink Reply by Heart and Soul Events on February 21, 2010 at 6:37am

I like the idea of pre-set salads and have with a more upscale dressing than your traditional - ranch, Italian, bleu cheese dressing. Salads can be very creative - from adding mandarin oranges or other fruit and nuts toppings, or veggies, avocado, etc. The more creative, the more memorable in the eyes of the guests. Hope this helps!

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Permalink Reply by Fraternal Order of Eagles #437 on February 21, 2010 at 4:14pm

Thank you for your insight. I will have to get salad plates before I pre-set salads on the tables. I did try setting up a salad table, and opened it about 30 minutes before dinner. It worked well, then for the hot food, we released tables, the main buffet as well as the salad table were both open. I will try this again on a little larger scale at my next event on Saturday. We will see what happens!