1 A buffet is the easiest way to serve a meal to a crowd. One way to make your buffet attractive is to drape lovely linens over risers of various heights set on the table so that the food is dramatically presented at different levels.
2 Also key to hosting an elegant buffet party is to make sure that the food is replenished often so that it remains fresh and attractive looking.
3 The easiest way to set up a buffet is on a freestanding, long table so that two lines of guests can be serving themselves at once. Alternatively, a round table arranged with starters and subsequent courses set out in a clockwise pattern will work well for smaller groups.
4 For easy service on a buffet, ladle cold soup into juice glasses and present them in a bowl of crushed ice.
5 Plates should be set at the beginning of the line but incidentals such as cutlery and napkins should be the last items on the table. Glasses for wine and other beverages should be placed either on the serving tables or passed around filled with drinks once people are seated and eating.
Dana McCauley is author of Pantry Raid: Out of the Cupboard Cooking (Whitecap 2002).
Read more in Food & Entertaining and Party Planner
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