So, if you're throwing a big party or an event, like a wedding reception or birthday gig, chances are good that you'll be setting up a buffet. Buffet may be so convenient and yet prone to common shortcomings.
Provide plenty of serving utensils
To prevent guests from using their hands when making their own plates of fruits, veggies or bread, be sure to stock the buffet with a spoon for each menu item.
Put drinks on a separate table from the food
Getting a drink, especially if there is coffee, with its attendant pourers and packets of sugar, is a different flow. It's a separate station, and you need to make it easy for people to swing by and refill their glass, without pressing through the buffet line. You also want it near the kitchen, as jugs of water and pots of coffee are heavier than food trays, and more prone to spillage.
Plates at the front, cutlery at the end.
A rule of thumb is not to make people pick up their forks, knives, spoons, sporks, or cups at the beginning of the line. All that should be at the beginning of a food line are plates, and maybe napkins. All cutlery and anything else that has to be juggled goes at the end (or, even better, on the tables where people will sit down and eat).
Arrange the food table strategically
Put most plentiful or cheapest types of food at the beginning; push the scarcest or most expensive to the end.
Don't leave the buffet unattended
Even though it is a buffet, endeavour someone is on ground to monitor it. This will ensure that the buffet is properly monitored and coordinated. It will also prevent the buffet from being a mess.
