When planning an event, you can choose from all sorts of alternatives for food service. You need not choose between a seated dinner and a standard buffet meal. One alternative that’s trendy is to use food stations. You can offer multiple food stations to provide an entire meal. You could also combine a seated meal with either snack, hors-d’oeuvre, drink, or dessert food stations.
Potential Benefits
Caterers keep food stations open for much longer than your typical buffet. Because people often serve themselves, they need fewer staff people than a sit-down meal. These stations also help keep lines to a minimum, as people offer several stations spread out throughout the venue. You can separate foods based on the category of food, such as salads, sides, and entrees. Some people also use a theme for their food stations. An around the world theme might include stations for Japan, Mexico, and Italy, for example. Food stations can offer a lot of variety and allow guests to interact more with each other.
Potential Considerations
If you have multiple food stations, you may need more space. It also requires more chefs sometimes, depending on the station. Cook-to-order and interactive stations will each need chefs, while a grazing table won’t. Include plenty of staff to clear away used dishes people leave around the venue as they finish eating.
Food Station Ideas
- Acai Bowl Bar
- Antipasto Bar
- Asian Food Station
- Avocado Bar
- Bacon Bar
- Bagel Bar
- Baked Potato Bar
- BBQ Station
- Beer Flight
- Bibimbap Bar
- Biscuit Bar
- Bloody Mary Bar
- Breakfast Buffet Station
- Brunch Station
- Burger Bar
- Burrito Bar
- Cake Bar
- Candy Bar
- Caprese Salad Station
- Caramel Apple Station
- Carving Station
- Cereal Bar
- Cheese and Charcuterie Station
- Cheese and Cracker Station
- Cheesecake Station
- Chili Station
- Chilled Pasta Bar
- Churro Station
- Coffee Bar
- Cookie Dough Bar
- Cookies and Milk Station
- Cotton Candy Bar
- Crepe Station
- Croissant Station
- Crostini Station
- Cupcake Station
- Dessert Bar
- Donut Bar
- Fast Food Station
- Fondue Station
- French Fry Station
- Fresh Vegetable Station
- Fruit and Cheese Bar
- Grazing Tables
- Grilled Cheese Station
- Hot Cocoa Bar
- Hot Dog Bar
- Ice Cream Bar
- Lemonade Bar
- Mac & Cheese Station
- Macaron Bar
- Margarita Bar
- Martini Bar
- Mashed Potato Bar
- Mediterranean Bar
- Milkshake Buffet (Spiked or Not)
- Mimosa Bar
- Nacho Bar
- New England Clam Bake Station
- Oatmeal Bar
- Omelette Station
- Oyster Bar
- Pancake Bar
- Pasta Bar
- Pickle Bar
- Pie Table
- Pizza Bar
- Popcorn Bar
- Poutine Bar
- Pretzel Bar
- Raw Bar
- Root Beer Float Station
- Salad Bar
- Salsa and Guacamole Bar
- Sandwich Bar
- Skewers Station
- Slider Bar
- S’Mores Bar
- Snow Cone Station
- Soda Bar
- Soup Bar
- Southern Comfort Food Station
- Sushi Bar
- Taco Bar
- Tapas Bar
- Topping Bar
- Trail Mix Bar
- Waffle Bar
- Wings Station