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Tourism & Hospitality vocabulary · Food & Beverage Service

Buffet

Meaning in tourism & hospitality, with examples

/bəˈfeɪ/nounCore term

In tourism & hospitality, buffet means: A meal where dishes are laid out on long tables and guests serve themselves, choosing what and how much they want.

In Turkish: açık büfe, büfe

How it is used

The main service style in most resort restaurants, especially at breakfast. Staff talk about the breakfast buffet, open buffet, live cooking stations and refilling the buffet. Guests ask, "Is the buffet open yet?"

Example sentences

  1. The breakfast buffet is open from seven to ten in the main restaurant.

  2. Could you refill the salad section of the buffet? It's almost empty.

Common collocations

  • breakfast buffet
  • open buffet
  • buffet dinner
  • buffet restaurant
  • refill the buffet
  • à la carteDescribes food ordered as separate dishes from a menu, each with its own price, rather than as a set meal or a buffet.
  • continental breakfastA light breakfast of bread, pastries, butter, jam, fruit, juice and hot drinks, without cooked dishes such as eggs or sausages.
  • F&BShort for food and beverage: everything a hotel serves to eat and drink, and the department that runs its restaurants, bars, room service and events.
  • all-inclusiveDescribes a holiday or hotel price that covers the room, all meals, most drinks and many activities, so guests pay little extra on site.

More terms: Food & Beverage Service

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