What is the name of a joint meal during which the invitees serve themselves?

A buffet can be either a sideboard (a flat-topped piece of furniture with cupboards and drawers, used for storing crockery, glasses, and table linen) or a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve themselves. A form of service à la française, buffets are offered at various places including hotels, restaurants, and many social events.

Buffet restaurants normally offer all-you-can-eat food for a set price, but some measure prices by weight or by number of dishes. Buffets usually have some hot dishes, so the term cold buffet (see Smörgåsbord) has been developed to describe formats lacking hot food. Hot or cold buffets usually involve dishware and utensils, but a finger buffet is an array of foods that are designed to be small and easily consumed only by hand, such as cupcakes, slices of pizza, foods on cocktail sticks, etc.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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17 Comments

mungo

Poorly worded question.

Vernon Kingsbury

I have never eaten at a buffet where you stand and eat..I got this wrong because of the way it was written

Richard D. Boyle

At a typical buffet, you serve yourself at the buffet table and then carry your plate of food back to your table and sit down…like everyone else. You do not eat standing unless you are at a cocktail party or buying a hot dog outside on the street corner.

Player Dennis

Who stands at a buffet?

Marian Spitzig

Unless it is a cocktail party, I have never stood eating at a buffet.

JohnnyRoulette

Yeah, never seen a buffet where you stand to eat

billyboy915

Obviously the author never went for a buffet meal. SMH Oh wait... it's brian again. 🙄

Irene Townsend

Richard D. Boyle, Or a social gathering with not enough seating, most buffet / smorgasbord's that I know, do not always have seating unless at a formal function. Don't really see any comment about 'standing' so don't understand why you brought it up, anyway.

Raymond Cardona

Unless I have a different to the question I DID NOT see printed that anywhere a person stands and eats a meal. The only time a person stands is at a cocktail party where finger food is served. Bonnie

Pat Salloum

A joint meal, as opposed to what? I had to read it few times to understand what the question meant.

earlepg

Richard D. Boyle, Did I miss something or was a change made? I see nothing about standing at a buffet while there are several comments objecting to it.

Al Breyette

AA Buffet does not have to be a joint meal. A single person can go and have a buffet,

Nikki Proctor

At all Buffets I have attended we sit down to eat, picnics, we stand around and eat or sit on a blanket. The question is poorly worded. Should be "What is the name of the joint meal where invitee's serve or help themselves".

Arlene Gholston Long

Pretty sure this is the worst worded question I have seen on here, which is a metric *ton of badly worded questions

Julie Allen

Butlered Hors d' Oeuvres Service. Food is put on trays in the kitchen and passed by servers while the guests stand/walk around. Guests serve themselves, using cocktail napkins provided by the server. This is a typical style of service used for upscale receptions.