The American all-you-can-eat is an American culinary symbol, a representation of the American go-big—just in food form. Associated with gluttony, excess, and celebration, the all-you-can-eat buffet is a popular dining experience that can be found worldwide, from hotel breakfast spreads to high-end restaurant breakfast arrays. Surprisingly, the buffet—no matter how many associate it with the American dining experience today—is not actually American in origin. In fact, many ancient civilizations like the Egyptians were known for hosting large celebratory feasts. However, its story can be traced most clearly to Sweden.
In the 16th century, Sweden was known for its “brännvinsbord,” a welcoming spread for guests including finger goods to be eaten before dinner. Among the various dishes, the main was Brännvin, a spiced vodka. Later in the 18th century, brännvinsbord shifted to become “smörgåsbord.” However, unlike the former, smörgåsbord was the main course, and its main purpose was feeding hungry guests that had arrived from faraway areas. It included a variety of hot and cold Swedish foods like salted fish, eggs, fruits and vegetables. One main difference it had to the modern buffet was that the meal was very structured, encouraging moderation.
The term “buffet,” however, came not from Sweden but from France. Meaning “sideboard” in French, it refers to the tables where meals were served in the homes of the French aristocracy. This organization allowed guests to engage in social conversation while moving freely and serving themselves.
Eventually this all-you-can-eat dining experience came over to America through New York’s 1939 World's Fair, where visitors were able to experience a smörgåsbord at the Three Crowns restaurant within the Swedish pavilion. However, the concept itself was made popular by Herb McDonald, who worked at Las Vegas’s El Rancho Vegas casino. During the mid-1940s, McDonald set up a spread of diverse dishes—from cold cuts to cheese and bread—that guests could indulge in for the price of a single dollar. While this in itself did not help earn profit, it achieved the McDonald’s purpose, which was to keep people inside the casino. Enticed by the cheap food, guests would spend more and more money on gambling, thus earning the casino a great deal of profit.
This practice was quickly adopted by other casinos that realized the ingenuity of what McDonald was doing. Buffet chains soon sprouted all over the U.S., from fast food restaurants like Wendy’s and Pizza Hut to several hotels. It also spread to cruise ships and resorts, providing the illusion of luxury through the sheer variety and quantity of food available, and they reached their peak in the 1980s. Part of the reason for buffets’ success was that they did not require as many laborers, and most importantly, they easily attracted many customers. Television commercials played a role in this, encouraging families to join the experience.
Unfortunately, as time went on and new ideas of fad diets and healthy eating arose, buffets fell in popularity. When cases of food poisoning began to pop up in the newspaper, even resulting in fatalities, customers declined even more. From the E. Coli case in 2000, associated with the Milwaukee restaurant, to the 2010 case where the Old Country Buffet was forced to pay $11.4 million to a man who had gotten salmonella poisoning from their food, buffets slowly became associated with unsafe food. When COVID hit in late-2019, buffets suffered even further. Thankfully, they recovered after the COVID pandemic died down, though many restaurants had to temporarily—or permanently—close.
Today, buffets remain a crowd-favorite. Though they have declined, they continue to persevere, and many enjoy indulging in an unlimited range of foods for a set price. In a way, it is the epitome of American excess, and though the sheer excess points to wastefulness that could be reduced, it remains a beloved culinary tradition to be celebrated.
Sources:
Bartels, Brian. “The History of the Buffet, an American Institution.” VinePair, VinePair Inc., 23 May 2017, vinepair.com/articles/the-buffet-a-cultural-history-of-an-american-institution/. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Blitz, Matt. “From Enlightenment Age Swedes to Vegas Gamblers: The History of the All-You-Can-Eat Buffet.” Food & Wine, Dotdash Meredith, 22 June 2017, www.foodandwine.com/news/enlightenment-age-swedes-vegas-gamblers-history-all-you-can-eat-buffet. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Narishkin, Abby, et al. “How America’s Largest Buffet Survived the Death of All-You-Can-Eats.” Business Insider, Insider Inc., 11 June 2024, www.businessinsider.com/how-americas-largest-buffet-survived-death-all-you-can-eats-2024-6. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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