Several cultures have traditions for serving large numbers of people from a common table laden with festive food. In the Netherlands it's called Rijstaffel, in Sweden it's Smorgasbord, Spain has Tapas and Denmark offers Smorrebrod. The French invented Buffet.

    好幾種文化中都有宴會時將食物放在一張公用的桌子上供眾多食客享用的傳統。在荷蘭，這被稱作"Rijstaffel"，在瑞典則是"Smorgasbord"，西班牙叫做"Tapas"，丹麥叫"Smorrebrod"，而法國人發明了"Buffet"。

    It is difficult to acertain the exact history of buffet because this word has several meanings relating to food. Food historians tell us the word "buffet" appears first in France, then England, soon spreading throughout Europe, in the 18th century.

    要弄清buffet一詞的確切來歷并不容易，因為這個詞有好幾個和食物有關的意思。食物歷史學家告訴人們，該詞18世紀時首先出現在法國，然后在英國，不久就傳遍歐洲。

    The term originally referred to the sideboard where the food was served, but eventually became applied to the form. The buffet became popular in the English-speaking world in the second half of the nineteenth century.

    buffet一詞原先指的是擺放這種食物的餐具柜，但最終用于指代這種就餐形式。這個詞于19世紀后半期在英語國家中流行起來。

    Buffet Forms

    自助餐的不同形式

    One form of buffet is to have a line of food serving stalls where customers take food they require as they walk along and pay at the end. This form is most commonly seen in cafeterias. Another form known as the "all you can eat" buffet has a set fee and customers can help themselves to as much food as they wish to eat. This form is found often in restaurants, especially in hotels; virtually every casino in North America includes one, with some being very elaborate.

    自助餐的一種形式是，顧客沿著一排擺放食物的攤位邊走邊取用他們所需要的食物，最后再付錢。這種形式在自助餐廳中最為常見。另一種形式是”任君取用“，這種自助餐有固定的價格，顧客可以想吃多少就吃多少，這種形式通常在飯店中，特別是在酒店中比較常見。事實上，北美的每家賭場中都有這樣的自助餐，有些還十分精致。

    In North America, buffets specializing in Chinese cuisine are common, as are ones for other ethnic foods.

    在北美，中餐自助十分常見，其他一些有異域風味的自助餐也很盛行。

    Buffets are effective for serving large numbers of people. They are also popular in that they give customers a great deal of choice and the ability to closely inspect food before selecting

    it. Since a buffet involves people serving themselves, it is generally viewed as a less elegant form of dining. However, it's the preferred serving arrangement on holidays and similar occasions to minimize the required number of staff.

    在食客人數眾多的情況下，自助餐會是很有效的招待方式。它們之所以如此盛行，另一個原因是，它們給顧客提供了多種選擇，他們在挑選前還能近距離地查看食物。由于自助餐是由顧客自行取食，因此通常被視為一種不怎么上檔次的用餐形式。然而，在假日里或是在類似的場合，它卻是首選的就餐安排，因為這樣可以盡量減少服務人員。