Help me brainstorm- bar mitzvah buffet

amother

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 12:04 am

I’m looking for a hall or to rent a tent- will price out both. But I really have no way of knowing who will show up, so I was thinking of having a buffet instead of plated meals. Could I do it in a moderately fancy way?

amother

DarkKhaki

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 1:32 am

My sister did this she had fancy tablecloth and fancy disposable dishes.
You can get fancy Sterno's, not just the cheap disposable kind.

dankbar

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 3:02 am

Yes if you set up stations.
One can be mini pitas, falafel balls, techina, chumus, salad.
One station carving station for sandwiches with clubs, pickles, ketchup etc.
One station can be burgers with buns, onions, tomatoes, mustard, pickles ketchup/fries
Sushi station
Drink/cocktail bar
Meatball/spaghetti/meat sauce pasta station
Chinese station like sesame chicken/pepper steak rice/lomein/ mini eggrolls
Salad station
Fruit station
Pastry station/miniatures/cakes/cookies/oblong tarts/
muffin/donut holes/rumballs/choco/cinammon bun mountain clusters.
Oblong variety of babkas with different toppings
You don't need to do all just choose some

Raisin

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 5:56 am

I've been to weddings where there was a buffet. You can use china and real napkins with a buffet if you want.

One wedding was a bunch of different salads, a few different meat dishes, etc. If you hire a caterer they may have their own real sternos.

Or you can go the station route (chinese at one, israeli another etc) which is more fun but less fancy.

amother

Whitesmoke

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 6:36 am

Buffet can be beautiful and very fancy.
But more work (if doing yourself) and more money.

If plating Let’s say you guess it will be max 150 ppl so you prepare 150 pieces of each thing and have fixed menu.
With buffet you need multiple options - more then your serve on a plate. And more of each thing bec ppl help themselves so you don’t know how many pieces they will take.

keym

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 9:57 am

amother [ Whitesmoke ] wrote:

I've done both.
The plus side of buffet is that any leftovers can be saved and used.
If you buy 200 pieces chicken. Plated, it goes to waste because someone eats the rice from the plate. Buffet, you can save anything that people don't help themselves to.

amother

Whitesmoke

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 10:07 am

keym wrote:

If you buy 200 pieces chicken and only 150 ppl are seated waiters only serve ppl seated. They shouldn’t put plates at empty seats.

keym

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 10:10 am

amother [ Whitesmoke ] wrote:

If you buy 200 pieces chicken and only 150 ppl are seated waiters only serve ppl seated. They shouldn’t put plates at empty seats.

Right.
But if 150 are seated, they will serve 150 pieces of chicken.
And if 50 of those people only want to eat the string beans on the plate, you're left with 50 pieces of chicken that end up in the trash untouched.

amother

Whitesmoke

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 10:18 am

You are right.

But I feel like if you are expecting 200 ppl you need 250 pieces of chicken in case ppl take 2. Or loose their plate and take again.

And you need 200 portions of another main to give a choice.
You can’t ‘only’ have one main at a buffet.

keym

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 10:23 am

amother [ Whitesmoke ] wrote:

True. But like I said, I've made both plated and buffet simchos
The buffet ones, I've had to buy more quantities of food, but I end up walking away with much more leftovers that I can freeze and use so it offsets the price quite a bit.
Buying 200 pieces of schnitzel AND 200 pieces of grilled chicken comes out very expensive.
But knowing that you'll likely end up being able to put away 100 pieces in your freezer to be used for yom tov offsets the expense.

amother

Mulberry

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 10:31 am

I was at a bar mitzvah once where dessert for the kids was an ice cream buffet with every topping imaginable to make your own sundae. Chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, sprinkles, nuts, cereal, fruit of all kinds, warm brownies and cookies...

They had more elegant desserts for the adults but most of us wanted to make sundaes! It was so much fun and so different.

amother

Alyssum

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 10:56 am

If you are having more than 1 main you don’t need to put out that much
For example if you are having 200 ppl
Shnitzel and Grilled chicken - you have more than enough with 200 SERVINGS. Even if ppl take 2x there are those that take something else. 250 is way too much, again if there is more than 1 main, for example 2 chickens, 2 beef.
I would also have a fish option and some vegan options

#BestBubby

Tue, Jul 27 2021, 11:16 am

keym wrote:

I am child of Holocaust Survivor and cannot see good food thrown out.

At chasunas I usually refuse the main course or ask the waiter if I can have only the sides.

But I won't take a main plate knowing I will only eat a little.

I love buffets and being able to serve myself as a guest so I can take only what I will finish.