I live of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and in the last 20+ years we have had casinos, lots of them, to attract tourists and generate tax revenue and each of these establishments has advertised their buffets….basically because there are about a bazillion seniors in the area and for some unknown reason they are drawn to buffets.

Each casino tries top the next on buffets….one bills its wide array of crab, another its prime rib and yet another with ‘international cuisine’….but sadly the days of the $1.99 buffet are no more….now a days it starts at $20 and goes up from there.

But yet the crowds still flock to the deal of the century.

We Americans love our buffets….especially the elderly and the obese….

Being the history buff that I am I had to research buffets and their origins.

Excess and America have always played in the same sandbox. From our portion sizes to our wines to our politics, we Americans like things big. There’s no better example of our love of excess than the buffet, that cultural touchstone of culinary decadence that is so archetypally American. When all is said and done, what is more American than the almighty buffet?

Despite its ability to represent our ethos so perfectly, the word buffet originated in France. It comes from the 12^th century bufet, meaning bench or stool. Since the 19^th century, the word buffet in English has referred to a meal served from a sideboard.

And it’s not just its name that comes from elsewhere, either. History provides us with images of gods and nobles, royalty and the rich, even esteemed biblical figures, bathed in bread and meats, grapes and wine, gold and silver, sharing momentous occasions, sharing communal dining, and sharing rewards reaped from the wealth of abundance. These are images of the wealthy sharing, in essence, what we have come to know as the buffet.

The American iteration of this culinary institution owes some props to the Swedes, for the concept of the smörgåsbord or “smorgasbord” – a side table where one could opt for a pre-dinner drink or snack – that came to the States in 1939 during New York’s World Fair. The smorgasbord, which literally means “butter-goose table,” was an excuse to ease into the main meal by standing among family, friends, or peers, celebrating the initiation of dinner.

https://vinepair.com/articles/the-buffet-a-cultural-history-of-an-american-institution/

Basically we Americans can thank the World Fair for the introduction…..but of course we had to add our little take on things and the American ‘all you can eat’ buffet was born.

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