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Outwitting overeaters

Ann Marie Nicely, Contributor

Believe it or not there are guests who make deliberate plans to overeat when they know they will be visiting all-you-can eat buffets at places such as all-inclusive hotels, Sunday brunches and parties.

This presents a challenge to caterers and food and beverage managers as now they have to find ways not to offend such customers, thus making the dining experience pleasant, while at the same time ensuring a profit.

"You can't" is not the solution. Phrases such as "only two meats per person", "if you have this, you can't have that", "no seconds until all have been served" and "one spoon per person" have no place at buffet lines used for social events.

Such strategies are more suited for institutional catering, such as prisons and boarding schools. Another approach often seen is the positioning of a chef behind the buffet mainly to assist guests and answer questions about the dishes, but they also act as a deterrent for those diners who have intentions of eating the establishment down to the ground.

But, there are more subtle psychological ways food service professionals can curb customer's overeating and save their profits. Professor Brain Wansink, food psychologist at Cornell University, has done a number of experiments examining the factors that cause persons to overeat and revealed some interesting findings. He discovered that lighting, utensil and glassware size, variety of menu items, the size of dining tables and the distance of the buffet line from the seating area can influence customers' consumption levels.

advice

Here is my advice, which is reflective of some of Wansink findings, to running profitable buffets.

Set up the dining area some distance away from the buffet line.

Use smaller tables that would allow for fewer place settings per table. The more persons at a table, the more each individual eats.

Use small plates, serving utensils and glassware during buffet service.

Place the more expensive items, usually the expensive cuts of meats, at the end of the line.

Set up buffet using small serving dishes and replenish as needed. This will reduce waste at the end of the day.

Include dishes on the menu that can be proportioned and ensure portion sizes are smaller than usual as persons will be selecting a greater variety of items.

Keep the names of the dishes simple. Use of enticing dish descriptions is best suited for à la-carte restaurants.

Play fast-tempo music during the service to get persons moving swiftly.

It is a standard procedure with these buffets that no take-outs are allowed. Some restaurants, however, charge for this separately. An unusual strategy I witnessed at a sushi bar in Florida, which I am not sure will work in most situations, is that they charged both for the buffet and for plate waste as well - an approach that will surely make the greedy think twice. However, a more effective strategy that all-inclusive hotels could consider, is to place scales in guest bathrooms. This would surely play on the psyche of some guests.

Please email feedback to annjanicely@yahoo.com