Buffets are one of my most favourite things. Eat all, you can for a fixed time at a fixed price? Challenge accepted. But there’s a fine art to getting the most out of buffets. There are certain things you should know before you take on a buffet and I’m here to help you out.
Prep yourself.
You’ll need a healthy dose of shamelessness, loose-fitting clothes, comfortable shoes and a near empty tummy in order for you to enjoy the buffet. Don’t joke around with getting ready for this, you are on a mission. And you’ll conquer it.
Go early to maximise your time there.
There is no point going to a buffet that has only an hour left on the time. Except is free or you are eating on someone else’s buck. Go bright and early when all the dishes are still full, and some of them haven’t even been brought out yet.
Eat a snack.
Not eating at all is a scam. Eat just enough to prep your stomach but not enough to fill you up. If you go on an empty stomach, you won’t make it past one main course meal. Take it from an expert.
Scope out your targets.
Don’t just get up and grab the first thing you see. Scout through first. Take your time scanning through what they have to offer open every dish, every bowl, enter every corner ask all the questions you want to ask.
Walk around again then prioritise.
Anything that looks dodgy free it. Take samples of things you are not sure of before you take a full plate of it and waste stomach real estate. You don’t have to go back and forth with the samples. Put as many small portions as you can, of everything you want on one plate. Then go and try them.
Start small.
Don’t heap up the first plate you take with rice and pounded yam. Maybe have some fruit first. Or some bread rolls with some soup, or even a salad. This also helps with not giving anyone an inclination to what is about to go down.
Don’t force yourself to finish anything you don’t like.
Move to the next. And if they run out of something you do like don’t hesitate to ask about whether it’s going to be refilled. Use the money you spent on the buffet in such a way that you’ll know, there’s no change left.
Pace yourself.
If you have three or four hours to eat, you don’t have to eat everything in the first hour. After your first main meal. Relax, gist, give your stomach space to get ready for the next thing.
Bon apetit! Now you can go home and sleep well because you know you spent every kobo of your money. And if you couldn’t, well at least you live to conquer another buffet.
