I've just had an amazing pasta meal cooked by a 5-star hotel chef and at a very affordable price in the safety and comfort of my own dining room.
I am doing my bit in keeping local businesses alive as best as I can.
Amid these crazy times, people are avoiding buffets like the plague (pardon the pun) and hotels are the hardest hit as the pandemic drags on.
Swanky hotels with extravagant all-you-can-eat buffets now seem like petri dishes than a nice place to dine in.
Think communal salad tongs! Shudder!
Pre-Covid-19, I would drool at the mere thought of the rainbow swirl of desserts, pastas, curries, satay...
In an effort to keep their staff, a local award-winning 5-star hotel has taken the initiative to repurpose their buffet cooking stations into take-away counters, offering meals at modest prices.
Now, with all the trappings of a luxury hotel gone, the restaurant looks more like a canteen.
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Pre-Covid-19
The food pre Covid 19 looked scrumptiously delicious!! I have heard there are still buffets here but pretty much everything is served by servers wearing masks and gloves with appropriate social distancing. We haven't been to any buffets since this whole thing started. I don't think they'll ever be like the "good old days" but I do think they'll try to make them work but it won't ever be self serve again.
ReplyDeletebetty
This buffet discussion is very good, Veronica.
ReplyDeleteThe buffet service restaurant in my city has stopped completely, no longer operates because people are afraid that the food on the table will be exposed to the virus. It's sad, because buffet dishes are actually affordable and have a large selection of menus.
Buffet dining here has been shut down totally by COVID, but I suspect it will make a comeback once the threat is deemed to be over. It is hard to choose a favourite food, but I think if I had to pick one type it would be dim sum, and the best ever was at hotels in Hong Kong and Bangkok.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how long it'll take us to be okay with eating at a buffet again but I do miss them at the all inclusive resorts.
ReplyDeleteSomeday the buffets will return. Nothing better than a brunch buffet. I miss them as many do.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day and week. ♥
I never cared for a self-serve buffet because of the germ factor. But, I do miss eating out, not only due to COVID, but with my new diagnosis of Celiac disease. I have found a wonderful restaurant near us that offers safe food for me, so we carry out weekly. I want to make sure that we support the places that we want to be around after this is all said and done.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's amazing - what an eating expreience!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2020/12/i-miss-fall-colors.html
I will add a wow to looks fantastic trouble is i would have to try a bit of everything lol I am soooo envious haha!
ReplyDeleteHave a safe buffettastic week 😷😷😷
sadly that is todays situation. :(
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of beautifully prepared meals at a reasonable price to take home. I am so tired of my cooking and yearn for a chef's vision.
ReplyDeleteYummy innovation.
ReplyDeleteBuffets have been banned here since the start of the pandemic. I never cared for them anyway.
ReplyDeleteBut I always liked breakfast buffets when overseas.
We have a love/hate relationship with buffets. We love the varieties but hate overstuffing ourselves (we have no self control:-) ), so we have tried to stay away.
ReplyDeleteOur last memorable buffet was at a Bangkok hotel last December, where we celebrated a special birthday. Sadly, Bangkok and its hospitality industry are suffering, as are cities around the world. You earn my respect for supporting your local businesses.
Sharing my Bangkok post...
Have Food Will Travel: Bangkok, Thailand
Whoa, opulant buffets! Here in the USA the buffets are often considered as a second choice in food (and definitely do not look like in your images). Since I lived in a rural area for the past 6 years, I don't even know how the hotels are doing, but do know the restaurants and small eateries are hard hit. They have developed a similar approach. You can order food and pick it up at the curb side. Thank you for sharing this experience with All Seasons in your culture, and happy you had an amazing meal:):) Have a beautiful week, Jesh
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful buffet! I can't believe that only a year ago, we were doing things like eating at a buffet! I shudder to think about how germy they are now. Way to support your local businesses!
ReplyDeleteI would say it's a shame to turn a luxury hotel into a canteen. Even if we don't eat luxury meals every day, it's nice to know that something like this is waiting for you somewhere, on special occasions.
ReplyDeleteHave a fine day, Veronica!
What a great idea. I think they may be a thing of the past.
ReplyDelete...from what I hear buffets may be a thing of the past.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, in last years we experienced in the kitchen the idea of simple as possible. What I see here, it's quite fabulous, but too complicated for me. I admire people who 'creates' I may say, such menus!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these images!
Happy WW!
Way to support your local businesses, Veronica. I think post-covid, the hospitality sector will be creative again. Perhaps they can still offer buffet but the food items are in individual portions ready to go. #MCoW
ReplyDeleteThat's a creative idea to keep business open!
ReplyDeleteYour link at 'My Corner of the World' this week is an exciting addition! Thanks for joining us!
So sad! All the respect for those who, like you, support the local economy.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the buffets will be back, I do not worry, but it is very sad that the world's politicians have chosen to destroy the economy of all states (and the lives of many people). Sure, there is a problem, but - it seems - the way they manages it does not bring the expected results.
The swine flu pandemic ("2009 H1N1 flu") lasted from January 2009 to August 2010 - all facilities were closed in Mexico but the virus spread anyway (masks were worn then, but not in all countries of the world). Then everything went back to... normal. Before: sars1 pandemic, between November 2002 - May 2004... „Spanish flu, 1918... Life always wins. 😊
We haven't eaten out since the beginning of March. I have always preferred table service to buffets though.
ReplyDeleteOne of the pubs in our local village is doing takeaway with a smaller than usual menu. You order and pay by phone then arrange a time to collect so you are not queueing for it with others.
https://allatseawithme.blogspot.com/2020/12/wordless-wednesday-olden-norway.html
Oh my gosh look at all the gourmet food, and I don't have enough eyeballs to see everyhthing it all looks so good. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy!!! Thanks so much for sharing girlfriend. Hope you had a great time here, and be healthy, be safe, and promise me, don't forget your mask! Sending BIG HUGS! Oh, and my blog is moving I'll try to get the link up ASAP probably this week. HUGS
ReplyDeleteWow, that is a fancy buffet!! I think they will make a comeback once all of this dies down. We have always cleaned our hands after serving ourselves because everyone touches the serving spoons!
ReplyDeleteHow can you not start the day with such goodies in such a pleasant and airy setting .. Good day, Vero!
ReplyDeleteI've thought about them being a think of the past. So sad! I wish this pandemic never existed.
ReplyDeleteI'm having my kids go full remote in January. The US people are overall just so irresponsible. My new job is remote ever, since the pandemic started. It's a horrible nightmare how it's been handled here. So many think it's against their rights to wear a mask. Selfish if you ask me.
Ohhh, I like the chocolate fountain, yummy.
ReplyDeleteIt all looks very tasty and I like to have a buffet.
Will there still be Buffett in the future? I don't know, but I think so.
I'm also buying take-away at the moment. All of this annoys me too. A restaurant has drawn up a hygiene concept and has spent a lot of money and then you have to close anyway. So many things don't fit here in Germany.
Have a nice evening.
Greetings Eva
Oh, this seafood buffet was really amazing!
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that such buffets cannot be offered at the moment, but a good idea for the hotel to now offer affordable take-away food. I think that if the vaccinations work, there will be buffets again.
Best wishes 🌟☃️🐿️❄️🕯️⛄💫
Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2020/12/servus-ihr-lieben-am-ende-meines.html
Look at that seefood!
ReplyDeleteI think they will come back when we won't wear masks anymore.
Perhaps people will be better to wash their hands?
My wife has her own personal chef - me!
ReplyDeleteGood idea though Veronica, if a little pricey for many people.
Buffets were allowed here in Finland during summertime, when infection was low, so probably they will come back everywhere in the world when this disaster ends. Hopefully!
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend, Veronica! :)
Hallo aus Norddeutschland,
ReplyDeletevielen Dank für Deinen Besuch bei mir.
Du warst noch nie auf einem Weihnachtsmarkt?
Ich liebe es! In diesem Jahr sind Weihnachtsmärkte in Deutschland wegen Corona verboten.
2019 waren wir in Dresden, hier gibt es die schönsten Weihnachtsmärkte.
In einem Blogpost vom Dezember 2019 gibt es schöne Fotos, Link:
https://hummelellli.blogspot.com/2019/12/adventsfreuden.html
Liebe Grüße von der Ostseeinsel Rügen, Mandy
It is sad to see the restaurants so empty, but I am glad to see some of them are being innovative now a days to survive. Your meal sounds delicious!
ReplyDelete-Soma
Hello Veronica, Thank you for visiting one of my websites which I really liked and appreciate very much. Because getting to know new friends from other countries is also what blogging is. And I put a comment back there for you because I don't know if you recieve and see a comment. But I have one more that you might also like to visit. I will respond with this one now.
ReplyDeleteYesterday restrictions came again here in the Netherlands, which was also very necessary, but not really nice for the catering industry and other shops and everything is closed here again and now my husband and I are making our own buffet for Christmas to make it cozy for us together. With covid I lost my last family members and friends but as angels they are there.
Many people here and elsewhere do not understand what they are doing to their fellow man, for example by not keeping a mask or keeping a distance. The vaccine has not yet been approved here and I also do not know which list I will be on with my health problems. Or what vaccine my husband and I will receive. But we hope and wish that one day it will be again as we are used to.