12 tips to maximize the profitability of an open buffet
You go to an open buffet and you have paid your fixed price. If what you're in the mood for is a pasta salad and three-delicious rice, go for it. But if you've gone to really make the most of it, here are a few tricks to make the experience pay off like a pro. Probably no nutritionist would subscribe to the following. But if the rest of the year we eat sensibly, there is also room (very occasionally), for a little dietary gap. Because sometimes, just sometimes, you don't go to an all-you-can-eat buffet to eat... but to make the most of it. Here are the best strategies, gastronomic and logistical, to avoid leaving a buffet thinking you could have done better :)
1. Prepare yourself as if it were an important date.
Don't arrive with an empty stomach or a full stomach. Have a light but not non-existent breakfast: arriving starving will make you eat quickly and poorly. The trick is to arrive with controlled hunger, not as if you just came out of the desert.
2. Check the menu beforehand (yes, many buffets publish it online).
If you can take a look beforehand, do it. That way you'll know if there's seafood, live cooking, daily specials... and avoid wasting time (and appetite) on improvisation. Profitability starts before you sit down.
3. Make sure you don't overpay
Not everything is always included. There are buffets where drinks, desserts or certain "premium" dishes are charged separately. And in some, they even penalize you if you leave food on your plate. So ask before, not after. Value for money starts with knowing exactly what you are paying for... and what you are not.
4. Search. Study the map before serving
The biggest mistake is to jump on the first hot dish you see. Go around without grabbing anything. See what's worthwhile and what's just there for filler. Remember: what's plentiful is usually the cheapest. The good stuff is more hidden.
5. Invisible calculator: price vs. value
In a buffet, not everything costs the same... although it may seem so. Seafood, red almadraba tuna tartar, good cheeses, decent ham, freshly prepared dishes or slow roasts are usually what compensate the most. Potatoes, pasta and rice? Not so much. They take up space and don't rent.
6. Small portions, smart repetitions
Do not fill the plate with everything at once. Serve a little, taste, and if something deserves it, repeat. If the answer is no, not another spoonful. Your stomach has a limited capacity: manage it. This way you avoid the classic "I'll eat it so as not to throw it away" and reserve space for what is really worthwhile.
7. Don't sit next to the food
Stand away from the buffet. That will force you to walk and think before you get up. And it will give you perspective to see which dishes are replenished quickly (usually the good ones) and which ones no one chooses (hint: throw them away).
8. Run away from what you can eat at home any day.
Do you go to a buffet to eat macaroni and tomato? Or bagged salad with corn? No. Look for what you don't usually prepare during the week: things that require time, technique or expensive raw materials. That's making it profitable.
9. Prioritize the expensive, the special, and the made on the spot.
Carpaccios, good ham, cured cheeses, seafood, sushi, good pieces of meat or woks on the spot: that is value. Bread, potatoes, pasta with brick cream or three-delicious rice... that's stuffing. You decide whether you've come to stuff yourself or to savor.
10. Beware of what fills up too much and contributes too little
In a buffet, there are foods that seem harmless but ruin any strategy. Fried foods, for example: they crunch, yes, but they satiate in three bites and are usually more greasy than tasty. Thick sauces, especially those bound with flour or cornstarch, tend to make up mediocre dishes and leave you with a heaviness that does not compensate. And watch out for carbonated beverages: they bloat, slow down digestion and "steal" space. Your stomach is limited. Use it wisely.
11. Keep the pace: don't speed up, don't go on forever.
Eat slowly, but don't go on forever. If you go too slow, you will fill up before your time. If you rush as if they were going to close in 5 minutes, you will fall into the chaos of impossible mixes. To be profitable is also to maintain control.
12. Drink wisely (soda is not your friend).
A cold beer or a carbonated soft drink seems harmless... until halfway through the buffet you can no longer handle the wagyu beef carpaccio. Carbonated beverages bloat, slow down digestion and rob the stomach of space. And if they are not included in the menu, the game is doubly expensive. Better water (yes, also for strategy), and leave the rest for the end, if you still have room.
How about you?
As we can see, making a buffet profitable is not (only) a matter of eating more, but of eating better for what you paid for. Making the most of a buffet is not about gluttony, but about strategy. Do you have your own infallible tricks to make the most of an open buffet? Have you had a memorable (or disastrous) experience at one? Let us know in the comments: we look forward to reading your strategies and anecdotes.
Patricia González
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