The cold bevs might be free flowing at your favorite buffet, but could they
actually be a trap set to trick you into spending more and eating less?
All that meat and piles of pastries are technically ours for the taking,
but how do buffets make money if everything is up for grabs?
Despite the illusion of unlimited food, buffets ensure that nothing on the menu
is truly ours by manipulating our sense of control and influencing our decisions.
Of course, it's important to eat what you enjoy, and buffets give you the chance to
choose your favorite foods. But in order for a buffet to be profitable,
their job is to fill our bellies as quickly as they can by steering our gullible mouths
toward the most filling options while discouraging the more expensive dishes.
Next time you visit a buffet, look at how the salads and sides are presented in generous
proportions, while that succulent lamb roast is carefully supervised by a server at the carving
station. By seeming to restrict the availability of costlier items while making sure the filling
food is served in excess, buffets can make us fuller more quickly, saving money in the process.
"I told you, the buffet man!"
"Boy did we do the wrong thing!"
"Crab legs, shrimp, potatoes!"
Don't blame the masterminds behind buffets for how stuffed you are
halfway through dinner — the true culprits may be right in your hands.
If you observe the serving utensils at a buffet, you'll notice that oversized spoons are often used
for cost-efficient, filling foods like vegetables, while tiny tongs are sometimes reserved for more
expensive options like meat. Even your plates and bowls may be intentionally downsized,
a characteristic of a secret buffet line of standard equipment. Smaller plates,
though they stop you from grabbing more than you can eat, encourage multiple trips to the buffet,
creating the illusion of being fuller despite taking smaller portions.
Another tactic that buffets employ is to slow your eating pace with carefully
chosen utensils. For example, those smaller forks make you eat more slowly,
which ultimately makes you full faster. And chopsticks, which are more challenging to
handle unless you're an expert, are made readily available instead of silverware at Asian buffets.
Most buffet layouts are meticulously designed to guide our decisions. Cheaper,
more filling options such as vegetables and rice are strategically positioned at
the beginning of the buffet. A salad bar may also stand in your way, tempting you to load
your plate with inexpensive yet substantial salads, soups, or bread. This specific layout
is designed to make it harder to resist these items and easier to overeat them.
"Open your eyes Clyde! Don't you see what's going on here? The buffet's rigged!"
"No way!"
"They got cheap product up here at the front, and meanwhile,
the big ticket items are here right in the back!"
Not only that, but the big guns like steaks, seafood,
and expensive desserts are usually at the end of the buffet line, sparingly served,
and concealed by cheaper fare. Some buffets only bring them out once every customer's
hunger has subsided and they are too full to eat. Occasionally, they may advertise
delicacies but hide them so effectively that they might as well not be available at all.
We all know that buffets are successful because of the vast variety of food available. However,
the multitude of options is also a tactic to lead us to feel full faster.
As human beings, we are naturally drawn to new experiences and flavors, and buffets are designed
to trigger our instinct to try as many things as we can. There will always be something that will
appeal to almost anyone at buffets, and even picky eaters may be tempted to try new foods out of
curiosity. This plays perfectly into the buffet's strategy of encouraging us to continuously refill
our plates with a little bit of everything until we unknowingly become too full.
Moreover, the wide range of colors, aromas, and textures stimulates our appetite, making
us more excited to experience the dishes and more likely to eat beyond our usual limits. So,
even if we're only sampling each delicacy one at a time, it becomes extremely hard
to keep track of how much we've eaten when we're so preoccupied with the task at hand.
You've barely begun eating and yet you're already feeling uncomfortably full. Why? The answer may
lie in the empty plates before you that were piled high with potatoes, rice, pasta, and bread.
While it may seem like a great deal to load your plate with generous servings of golden fried rice
and dinner rolls as a way of getting the best bang for your buck, these starchy and gluten-rich foods
are actually inexpensive fillers strategically designed to satiate you quickly and affordably.
"When I see someone just filling up their plate with rice and pasta,
I do think to myself, 'you're playing into the restaurateur's hands.'"
This is because starchy foods are rich in carbohydrates,
which are broken down into glucose. Starch can be easy to overeat, and food companies,
including buffets, capitalize on this by enhancing the starchiness of their offerings,
triggering the immediate pleasure response in our brains. Coupled with the fact that buffets often
exclude whole-grain versions of these foods and prominently feature them at the beginning of the
buffet line, we are all the more compelled to choose the options that add bulk to our
meals at a minimal cost, while also failing to provide the nutritional value we expected.
Of course, if that's what you like to eat, go for it. But if you find yourself feeling full after
just one round at the buffet, those potatoes might be the reason why you don't have room for dessert.
We all know the health implications of eating too much butter and cream,
yet it's incredibly difficult to say no to these thick and appetizing fill-me-ups.
Loaded with high-calorie and high-fat creams and butter, buffets offer a plethora of soups,
stews, broths, and pasta, tempting us to indulge by the ladleful.
These dishes often contain fattening sauces and come paired with carbs and fiber-rich
food such as potatoes, lentils, beans, or grains,
which are meant to slow our buffet game down. Additionally, the liquid content of soups and
stews also promotes a sense of fullness and keeps us satiated for longer periods.
Don't be fooled by pasta dishes with seemingly light sauces or those healthy-looking soups. White
sauces in pasta are intentionally enriched with saturated fats that make you full,
while soups may be glazed with unhealthy oils. Instead, opt for red sauces like
marinara for your pasta and avoid bisques as they often have a higher fat content.
Vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, spinach, and broccoli, as well as proteins such as eggs,
chicken, and pork, can be inexpensive if they are purchased in bulk or sold during peak
season. The one thing they have in common is that they efficiently and economically
fill us up. Even the seemingly harmless buffet salad bars that folks sometimes start with add
bulk to your plate, contributing to that infamous fullness buffets are known for.
So here are a few pro tips to keep in mind for your next buffet outing: Avoid the meatloaf,
as it may contain cheaper cuts of meat padded with bread, and always question why that
chicken pot pie is served in huge slices while the fine meats come in small cubes.
You know what they say, if you want to lose weight, going for a diet heavy in fruits,
vegetables, and whole grains is the way to go.
"I like fruit. Don't you like fruit? I like fruit!"
However, when it comes to the all-you-can-eat buffet experience, it's not so straightforward.
While it's true that fiber has numerous benefits, it's not advisable to partake in too much of it if
your goal is to sample everything laid out in the buffet. Foods that are high in fiber take up the
bulk of your stomach and promote a feeling of fullness that can last longer. In fact,
they may even prolong the digestion process. Fiber also absorbs water and expands,
leading to unwanted gassiness — which is the last thing we want in such a crowded social space.
While it's unrealistic to absolutely ban green-leaf veggies, fresh fruits,
and grains at buffets, if you want to sample the richer foods a buffet has to offer,
it's wise to leave room for the true stars of the show.
Visiting a Pizza Ranch or Golden Corral is akin to tasting a glimpse of fried chicken
heaven. And while buffet-goers often forgo all dietary rules as soon as they catch a whiff of
that irresistible crispy golden goodness in the air, it might actually be detrimental to your
buffet experience if you head straight for the foods that are still dripping in cooking oil.
Buffets offer an array of fried delights, from meat coated in sugary sauces to potatoes,
noodles, and dough balls swimming in oil and flavorings — they even take seemingly
innocent vegetables like zucchini and dunk them in the fryer. While these deep-fried
options may be plentiful, they are among the least healthy choices at buffets.
Moreover, fried and crispy foods tend to be highly caloric and laden with saturated
fats. The crispy texture and added fats make these foods incredibly enjoyable,
resulting in faster consumption and creating a feeling of fullness more quickly. Additionally,
chances are the oil used to deep fry these goodies may also be the cheapest option to
fill up the fryers and might also be reused more than is ideal — talk about health risks!
While it's tempting to indulge in these fried delicacies,
we advise you to enjoy them in moderation or give healthier menu alternatives a try.
Striking that balance between stuffing yourself full and caring for your well-being is key.
Sometimes the true allure of a buffet lies not in the savory dinner options,
but in the irresistible indulgence of the dessert section. When we beeline for these treats,
we do so with the intention to pamper ourselves and feel luxuriously decadent.
However, it's worth being aware that sugary sweets are designed to trigger cravings for
more sweet foods. And since desserts can be a particularly significant source of fat,
sugar, and calories, it can be all too easy to consume them mindlessly.
By associating the buffet experience with this feeling of indulgence,
we willingly succumb to the temptations carefully placed by buffet owners. Hence,
it's crucial to be mindful of our choices. Instead of opting for desserts we can have any time,
it may be a more rewarding experience to try something new and rare, like a specialty item.
Alternatively, we can choose healthier dessert options such as yogurt or fruit.
The next time you feel disappointed for not reaching the dessert display,
remember that you might actually be doing yourself a favor. Pace
yourself — the chocolate fountain isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Though it may seem inconsequential, those seemingly innocent dollops of cream,
spoonfuls of dressing, or sauce-coated proteins are actually hiding tons of
unwanted elements that make us fuller quicker. For instance,
that plate of broccoli and beef may appear harmless, but the sticky sauce accompanying
it could be loaded with sugar and cornstarch. What about that roasted sesame and ranch salad
dressing? They could be highly processed and contain elevated levels of sodium.
No dish is the same without its sauces and dressings, so try opting for olive oil or
vinegar-based dressings for your salads. Not only will you be more health-conscious,
but avoiding these hidden ingredients will give you more room to take on the buffet.
If you're only paying attention to the solid food you are consuming and disregarding your
beverage choices, it could explain why you're always quick to quit and miss out
on the other delectable dishes at the buffet. The truth is, all those liquid calories add up,
and all-you-can-eat buffets use three tricks to make you feel fuller quicker:
bigger glasses, sugary drinks, and lots of water.
The one thing that is essentially free at a buffet is water, so it makes sense that the
glasses are huge enough to fill you up with liquid at a minimal cost. Moreover, sugary,
empty-calorie drinks, which some people can't do without, also load up the calories and make
restaurants more profit, as they’re often sold separately and marked up significantly. Both
these drinks are the least expensive items for restaurants to purchase, so how else
do they leverage this free get-you-full-quick technique? By offering free refills of course!