Has COVID killed off buffet dining? AHA SA’s Ian Horne tells us why he thinks it will be revived
Dining with friends is finally back but the smorgasbord will remain on the outer for a long time yet. Pub and restaurant bosses are sure the buffet will be back though – eventually.
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Forget the schnitzel, there is a special kind of pub meal that has a band of fierce followers as does its breakfast version for hungry holiday-makers.
But will the all-you-can eat buffet survive the global pandemic?
Australian Hotels Association South Australia boss Ian Horne is confident smorgasbords of steaming trays with a range of cuisines and decadent desserts for the taking will be back.
He doesn’t know when but is firm COVID hasn’t killed off the buffet.
“I’d love to have a date when it will be back but at his stage I can’t imagine it will be any time soon,” Mr Horne said.
“For now, any communal food is a no go – at this point in time we can’t have salad bars, buffets, smorgasbords, any shared food items.
“I am guessing the return of buffets will be a long while off but the market and appetite for this particular type of dining will demand it does eventually return.
“It might not be next month, or three or even six months from now … we just need to be patient.”
Mr Horne said buffets had an appeal other dining options couldn’t match.
“For many people, the buffet-style of eating is a fabulous way of dining out,” he said.
“You get to choose your favourite foods, you get to indulge yourself in a way you wouldn’t if it was a (regular) menu.
“For many of us, one of the main indulgences when staying at a three, or four, or five star hotel is the buffet breakfast.”
At the Watermark Glenelg, the buffet is a drawcard but the beachside hotel’s kitchen has been closed since COVID-19 restrictions were brought in more than two months ago.
Unlike some suburban pubs it didn’t go down the path of offering takeaway meals and is looking forward to opening for meals tomorrow for the first time at lunch.
Assistant manager Rhyf Morizzi said staff were “itching at the bit” to welcome back customers.
For now the hotel has introduced an a la carte menu but Mr Morizzi predicts buffet dining will return to the venue.
“About 80 per cent of the calls we are getting at the moment are about our buffet, wanting to know when it will be back,” he said.
“You can go to any pub and get a schnitzel, steak or fish and chips but having a buffet is something different, it is a unique style of dining.
“It is family friendly and people love the variety of food they can get, parents know even if their kids are fussy eaters there will be something they like.”
Some industry insiders the Sunday Mail spoke to weren’t as confident the “traditional” buffet would be revived.
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One told how the challenge would be to come up with a new way to deliver it, driven by what customers were comfortable with.
At the up-market Mayfair Hotel in the city, a buffet breakfast has been replaced by an a la carte menu.
“It is reasonable to expect that traditional buffets may not return in the foreseeable future or even at all,” a spokesperson said.
“We are of course adaptable to whatever the ‘new normal’ may be and will continue to prioritise the health of our guests and staff above all.”
The Sunday Mail sought comment from the Buckingham Arms Hotel in Gilberton which has been serving up buffets to loyal regulars for more than six decades but didn’t get a response.
Constraints relating to buffets are expected be considered as part of stage three easing of restrictions.