All-you-can-eat is a lost pleasure
Health authorities frown on eating from common dishes at buffets
The days of going back for seconds and even thirds at the buffet table seem to be over — at least for the foreseeable future.
Social distancing rules are more than enough reason not to jockey for position at the salad bar, but eating from the same trough, as it were, is also not recommended by health authorities.
The World Health Organisation said it was unlikely that people could contract Covid-19 from food or food packaging, but the US Food and Drug Administration does recommended “discontinuing self-service buffets and salad bars”.
Restaurants in SA were once again allowed to open under eased level 3 regulations, which at least has provided some relief to owners and staff, but for the moment the much-loved buffet seems to be off the menu.
There are some equally wellloved buffet establishments in the Eastern Cape, and management acknowledges that, for the moment, the queue-andfeast option is not a viable one.
Though not yet open for business, Colin Whitehead, the owner of Mpekweni Beach Resort, said it would be quite a challenge once things were up and running.
“We’ll now have to prioritise certain meal preparations and I believe we can transition to plated meals.
“It will be a bit more difficult to work out,” Whitehead said.
Mpekweni is known for its signature buffet-style meal courses but Whitehead is optimistic, saying: “I believe that quality trumps quantity and what we have is a blend of fine dining.”
On the Wild Coast’s Jikeleza Route, the family-run C Club is open for business, though now serving meals from its à la carte menu.
The C Club’s Lyn Crawford said they were doing their best, considering the restrictions.
“We’re coping quite well despite everything.
“All our food is done at the back of the house and with employees masked.
“We’re taking it one step at a time,” Crawford said.
Crawford said while there was no lunch buffet, they were doing takeaways and pizzas.
“Patrons can sit in. We’ve got Perspex shields, sanitisers and social distancing is observed.
“Optionally, one can sit outside,” she said.
Southern Sun Hotel in East London is now closed and its restaurant, Key Largo, which also serves buffet-style meals, is also closed.
SA’s buffet buffs are not alone, however.
According to the UK’s Daily Telegraph, in the Caribbean, where many all-inclusive hotels offer self-service meals throughout the day, hospitality experts have advised that to survive, buffets and drinks stations will need to be removed in favour of more creative ways to feed guests while safely practising social distancing.
Among the suggested changes made by Emile Gourieux and Rico Louw of STR, a US-based firm that tracks supply and demand data for the global hotel industry, were increased inroom dining options and using open spaces such as beaches for secluded meals.
“We may never return to travel as normal, as we understood it before,” said Gourieux.
“Things like buffet breakfast may never be seen again, so there’s a lot of things that we need to rethink.
“At the very beginning of recovery when people are coming back, people are going to be very leery about close contact.
“So, the hotels that succeed and thrive are going to be the ones that find a way to address that anxiety.”