The perfect buffet: Thrill your guests with clever solutions and striking designs

Nowadays, if you want to offer an impressive buffet, it has to be exceptional as discerning guests not only expect a varied selection of high-quality food, but they also want to be surprised and thrilled by its presentation. Therefore, the function and design of the buffet arrangement have to meet the highest demands. The crockery used plays an important role: it has to be easy to handle for the kitchen and service staff yet present the food effectively.

One particular advantage for restaurateurs: all Villeroy & Boch collections made from Premium Porcelain are easy to mix & match with each other as the biscuit colour of the porcelain is consistent.

Practical architecture

To give your guests a good overview of the food on offer and to allow “newcomers” to get their bearings quickly, the order of courses needs to be coherent and run from the starters to the main courses through to the desserts and cake. The buffet arrangement should have a clear architecture.

Large flat plates, like the ones from the top-selling Urban Nature collection, which has been designed to give “nature and naturalness” a casual yet stylish touch for hotels and restaurateurs, should be placed at the front. Pre-portioned food and snacks should also be at the front of the buffet. Small plates and bowls such as in the Affinity and Flow collections would be perfect here. High bowls, for instance the voluminous salad bowls from the NewWave design collection, are put at the back. Convenient functional solutions are very practical, such as the large bowl from the Flow range whose protruding handle for resting spoons and ladles prevents the cutlery from slipping into the food.

Etageres are beautiful eye-catchers, e.g. from the Artesano Professionale collection, which combines Premium Porcelain with natural materials such as acacia wood and slate. If you use one to display your buffet on more than one level, it will make the food look extremely appealing while giving guests easier access to it.

However, sauces or liquid food need to be placed in such a way that nothing can drip over other food when a guest takes some of it. The sauces should never be placed separately so as to make it easier for guests to tell which food and sauces belong or go together. But as too many different plates, bowls and dishes quickly make the buffet look confusing and chaotic, it makes sense to use clever tableware e.g. the two-in-one plate from the Flow collection.

Colour and structure

The design of the crockery also has to impress your guests. For a long time, buffets used to nearly always be laid out with pure white crockery, but decors are now coming back into fashion and add an exclusive touch to the overall display. Colourful or structured crockery can effectively upgrade a buffet or draw attention to a specific dish. A good pattern gives chefs new presentation options and highlights the culinary statement of the kitchen creations. However, you should plan where you place striking decorations, especially coloured all-over decors, as the decor should never be overbearing and suppress the intrinsic effect of the food.

Black is popular as it really brightens up vividly coloured dishes such as salmon mango carpaccio. Green food and salads also look impressive on black or glass plates, for instance from the Cera range. White plates and platters, especially with a relief structure, are perfect for meat dishes e.g. ham or roast beef. Villeroy & Boch's professional tableware has a warm ivory shade, which also beautifully showcases roast meat dishes.

All of Villeroy & Boch’s hotel ranges feature first-class material quality and professional functionality while boasting an impressive stylish charm. Matching glasses and cutlery add the perfect finishing touch to any buffet.

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