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Create A Beautiful Breakfast Buffet

Create A Beautiful Breakfast Buffet

We’ve all heard the adage, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” and this reigns true if you want to leave a lasting impression. Setting up a breakfast buffet is an artform both front and back-of-house. We’ll write about the finesse of developing a profitable banquet in another article. In this issue, we focus on building a beautiful breakfast buffet that will stay with your guests long after their visit. 

The first step in setting up your display is planning the layout so food and beverages are adequately positioned together. Plan to have beverages a distance from the food service point so repeat beverage visits don’t impede the flow of guests obtaining meals.

Another consideration is the order of the food on display.  A good rule of thumb is the order of meal groups we present in our information below. However, in the grand scheme of things, this is just a starting point to inspire you. Every scenario is different, and your layout will depend on the size and room you have available in your dining area. 

Start by planning the layout of your breakfast buffet

Draw a plan of your dining setting taking into account the tables your guests will sit at as well as the journey your staff will take from the kitchen to top up your breakfast banquet. It doesn’t need to be a professionally produced plan, a simple drawing outlining the available banquet presentation you have available is a good starting point. 

Allocate the regions of your banquet area you will dedicate to the various categories we discuss below. This will give you an idea of the equipment you’ll need to succeed at producing a bountiful breakfast buffet. 

Take powerpoints into consideration for hot meals and utilise vacant areas for those items that don’t need power to be heated or cooled, like cereals and condiments. Planning is key to pulling off the perfect breaky buffet we’ll discuss in this article. 

Set up with the breakfast necessities

First and foremost you’ll need the tableware required for your breakfast buffet bounty. Dedicate an area to stack plates, bowls, cups and extra cutlery for your guests. These items don’t need to be positioned near your banquet. They do need to be clearly identifiable and easily accessible to your staff to top up when crockery, cups and cutlery start to get low. 

Utilise medium-sized dining plates for your guests. These will minimise the over-serving tendencies we all succumb to when we’re hungry and food is available in abundance. The Basics range is commercial-grade crockery perfect for a breakfast banquet. This range by Essentials Collection features crockery in round, oval or square shapes of various sizes. Made from pure white porcelain, these plates stand up to the demands in high-use environments. 

Other plates and accessories you don’t want to forget include stackable bowls and side plates for your guests. Some dipping bowls for side dishes and condiments also won’t go astray. If you want to save on the washing loads, these disposable and industry-compostable sauce cups are an ideal alternative and all you need is a dedicated bin for your staff to place them in for industrial composting. 

Don’t forget the drinkware. You’ll also need quality and stackable hot beverage cups as well as general-use stackable drink glasses. Stackable tableware is key for any buffet to save space when laying them out for your guests.  

Eggs on toast

Breakfast starts with coffee

Is it really breakfast unless there’s coffee involved? A banquet served in the morning cannot be considered a breakfast banquet unless a steaming hot cup of coffee and a vast offering of tea is on offer. 

A quality coffee machine is necessary to give your guests a kick to their day. Invest in a quality coffee machine that is self-serve and able to quench the masses.  

Be sure to position your coffee and hot beverage bar away from the food concourse. If you invest wisely in your coffee delivery your coffee-loving guests will return many times over and you don’t want that to get in the way of your breakfast banquet delivery. 

Rancillio coffee machine pouring coffee

A juicy beverage for breakfast

Juice is as essential for a breakfast buffet as a fine cup of coffee. There are many ways you can provide these juicy beverages. You can purchase pre-packaged juices or, if you’re serious about quality, you can squeeze them yourself. A commercial juicer is a sound investment if delivering amazing breakfasts is your jam. Investing in a high-quality juicer (like the Santos cold press model) can produce up to 40L of nature’s nectar an hour. There are many models of various prices with various outputs available so be sure to check out our range of commercial juicers before you decide to purchase commercially packaged fruit juice high in sugars and preservatives. 

You’ll also need an epic means to display your juice. Quality food grade jugs are the choice for those who quench a few but if you’re serious about juice and want to give your guests a self-serve experience, a beverage dispenser is not only ideal but a hygienic option for juice dispensing.  Be sure to include a water dispenser (aside from those that hold orange, pineapple, apple, and tomato juice) as well. 

Robot Coupe juicer making watermelon juice

Cereal-ly great options to start a breakfast buffet

Breakfast starts or is limited to cereal for some guests. Ensure you have an array of choices available with the aid of a suitable cereal dispenser. Milk to accompany can be provided in neighbouring jugs or if your providing breakfast to a large crowd, a 6L stainless steel milk dispenser may be more appropriate for your venue. 

The best company for cereal is fruit. Position tiered platters of seasonal fruits next to your cereal for guests to have with their oats or independently. Risen display stands are an optimal solution to present seasonal harvests vertically while platters are an option for a more horizontal display. 

Include a scattering of dried plums, apples, figs, prunes, and bananas, as well as assorted nuts and you’re onto a cereal-ly amazing addition to your bountiful breakfast buffet. If you’d like to add a little more pizzazz to your breaky offering, consider adding a selection of cold cuts like ham, salmon, local and imported cheese to really wow your guests at breakfast. 

Buffet with assorted fruit and bread rolls

Assorted breakfast bread and baked goods

Is it really a breakfast without toast or baked goods? Deliver an abundance of toast to your guests with baskets of assorted bread and a conveyor toaster that delivers the rest. 

Present you croissants and brioche in display baskets and an assortment of muffins on tiered stands. A platter of waffles and pancakes beside jars of maple syrup and honey will be too good to refuse. 

There’s an endless array of opportunities for you to present your bread options and baked goods to your customers. If you feel like you’re running out of space, consider a stand or risen display to showcase your goods without taking up valuable real estate. Conveyor toaster with bread passing through it

Preserve the quality of your breakfast display

At the end of your buffet conveyer belt sits the might and power of the jams, honey, and syrups accompanying everything that is breakfast. Dedicate a section for your sauces and drizzles with jugs, bowls, or jars to dispense them in. 

Keep small serving bowls, or disposable containers stacked close at hand for guests who prefer their condiments on the side. 


Bacon and eggs-elence for breakfast

Is there anything more dec-egg-ant than eggs cooked to order by a chef amid a buffet? If you’d like to deliver this service, a cooking centre or griddle is what you need to deliver servings of eggs per breakfast order. Go above and beyond by including a chef in uniform with the skills and expertise to deliver eggs on order for your guests at breakfast. 

If you don’t have the budget or labour to facilitate this, consider a hot meal buffet option served by your staff. Breakfast just isn’t breakfast without egg-selent eggs. A bain-marie with an assortment of scrambled eggs and omelettes is an acceptable alternative. A lineup of eggy alternatives that include options like bacon and fetta, bacon and onion, ham and three kinds of cheese will please many in any environment. 

Add on to your bain-marie with stainless steel gastronorm pans in various sizes to serve hot breaky favourites like grilled tomato, mushroom, sauteed spinach, baked beans, and hashbrowns.
Two bain maries set up outsideReward Hospitality stocks everything you need for a bountiful breakfast buffet 

There’s a lot to consider when planning an epic breakfast buffet your guests will love. Planning is key and there are many other considerations we’ll cover in other articles about this topic. Consider this article to be our 101 to provide you with some inspiration before we delve deeper with advice about budget considerations and the nitty-gritty of each element that makes a buffet a banquet of delight. 

If we’ve managed to inspire you so far we encourage you to take a look through our catalogue for more inspiration. 

If you’d like help organising or designing your menu, we have a team of venue design experts and equipment specialists available to help you take the stress out of your project. 

If you’re a business that wants advice or help, we have a team on standby to answer your call, respond to your emails, or have a no-obligation online chat on our website. We can help you find the best products or equipment you need to deliver an amazing breakfast buffet that will leave your guests wanting more; And we have a team of experts who can visit you in person for a one-on-one consultation if that’s what you need. We have retail outlets, showrooms, and distribution centres throughout Australia and our team are here to help you stand out from your competitors. 

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