Volume Control

A procession of sampler portions sets a new pace at the buffet line.

by Marilyn Odesser-Torpey (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
August 2007
 

It wasn’t very long ago that buffets were more about quantity than quality. And while some diners may still be prone to piling up their plates when presented with an edible extravaganza, more club and resort chefs are finding creative ways to change the traditional perception from “value through volume” to one that focuses on food variety, vivid visuals and fresh flavors.

And at Sea Trail Golf Resort & Convention Center in Sunset Beach, N.C., the action stations provide more than visual excitement and interactive energy. They also help to control food waste, says Food and Beverage Director Nigel Cossey.

“We invite our guests to enjoy as much food as they want, but I hate to see a plate come back with three medallions of beef left on it,” explains Cossey. “We train our chefs and other carving station staff to offer four ounces of meat at a time; it’s a nice size portion and guests are always welcome to come back for more if they want it.”

Dishing it Out
Open cooking areas and up-front ovens bring kitchen sights and smells to guests at the newly opened Bistro Buffet at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, to give the restaurant a visual edge over its many competitors in that city. At any given meal, about 11 cooks work the line, providing made-to-order items and keeping the 100-ft. table’s dishes filled with fresh product.

“Instead of mass-producing everything in the back and holding it in warming trays, we’ll do as much of the food preparation as possible up front,” explains Executive Chef Henry Garcia. “For instance, we’ll sear a pork loin in the back, then transfer it into one of the ovens out on the line, to finish cooking while we make the sauce.”

Smaller chafing pans on the serving tables (each holds somewhere between six and ten portions, compared with traditional pans that can hold two or three times that amount) also mean more frequent replenishment.
“That means more labor, but also less food waste,” Garcia notes. “At the very least, we’re saving at least 25 percent of our food costs.”

The Power of Portioning
Smaller chafers also discretely discourage portion piling when guests are serving themselves.
“[Diners] see how quickly we’re able to replace depleted dishes, so they know they won’t have to wait more than a minute at most if they want to come back for fresh, hot seconds,” says Garcia.

The Union League Club of Chicago’s Pastry Chef, Megan Fiorillo, and Executive Chef, Michael Garbin.

Dessert table waste is also trimmed by displaying half of the sweet selections in refrigerated service cases, to make sure they maintain optimal levels of freshness. Garcia also likes the visual impact of whole cakes and pies, but feels that traditional 12-inch slices are too large for the growing number of guests who like to sample their way down the dessert display. By reducing his whole desserts to seven-inch size, he’s able to maintain the proper level of eye appeal with portions more suited to sampling.

In-house butchering provides Max-Philippe Knoepfel, Executive Chef at Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria, Va., with lots of delectable tidbits in quantities too tiny to make entire entrées, but just the right size for an amuse bouchée (definition: usually a bite-size appetizer that amuses your mouth while you decide what to order) of beef bourguignon, or crisps of salmon skin for a topping option at the mashed potato bar.

Elevation Stations
Aside from controlling portion size and waste, à la minute preparation even elevates chafing dish classics such as chicken scallopini from expected to elegant, according to Michael Garbin, Executive Chef at the Union League Club of Chicago. And it gives station chefs ample opportunity to call guests’ attention to upscale ingredients, such as fresh herbs, or cooking techniques such as sautéing chicken medallions in mushroom essence.

House-made specialty sorbets in fresh fruit flavors such as raspberry or innovative combinations such as champagne orange add another dimension of sophistication to the Union League’s dessert buffet. Sometimes Garbin whips up a savory “cucumbertini” with a touch of dill. Since delicate-textured sorbets tend to melt quickly, he has wait staff members “pass” them as they would hors d’oeuvres during cocktail hour. “In addition to giving guests an additional taste experience, whether as a dessert or palate cleanser, the sorbet service is something unexpected in a buffet setting,” he says.

Belle Haven CC’s Asian buffet combines innovative cuisine with an artful display.

Although the Union League doesn’t have a commercial ice cream maker, it didn’t require a major investment to add sorbets to the buffet menus. A tabletop Cuisinart ice cream maker (under $80) allows Garbin to churn out small batches of product at a time for the freshest presentation.

Visual Victuals
Ice sculptures have long been a staple of buffet décor. But ice carvings that double as serving vessels can take buffets to exciting new levels.

At the Sea Trail Golf Resort, Executive Chef Thomas Sullivan carves sparkling display bowls and troughs from ice for seafood, and also fashions tiered displays from which to serve chilled shot glasses filled with gazpacho.

At Belle Haven CC, Max-Phillipe Knoepfel tints crushed ice with food coloring to turn a silver chafing dish or individual champagne flutes into decorative docks for three-ounce, single-use clear plastic cones. He then fills the cones with frosty soups, crab ratatouille or the dining room’s signature shrimp cocktail (made with chopped crustaceans, tomatoes and fresh fennel). For warm soups or seafood preparations, he nestles the cones into tinted sea salt, layered in individual glass flutes.

Knoepfel also uses an array of economical, always-on-hand ingredients—including deep red kidney beans, pastel green flageolets, colored salt, rice, grits, oats, and white and black sesame seeds—to create free-form designs on solid-colored tablecloths. At a recent Asian buffet, dramatic accents were added by empty paper Chinese take-out containers arranged into the shape of a dragon, and chopsticks stacked into three-dimensional patterns (see photo, above).

The take-out containers also make whimsical serving vessels for Knoepfel’s cellophane-noodle, Chinese vegetable and peanut ginger soy dressing-tossed Asian-style salad bowls, topped with house-made California sushi rolls (recipe at www.clubandresortbusiness.com). For dessert, he uses the same containers to create “noodle baskets,” by tossing honey-glazed Thai noodles with toasted sesame seeds and toasted coconut. Guests can crown their baskets with slices of fruit sushi (mandarin orange sections, fresh nectarine pieces and banana slices, wrapped in sweetened sushi rice) and dip into, or drizzle on, a milk chocolate sauce.