{"id":9,"date":"2026-10-07T00:07:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/plated-family-style-or-buffet-choosing-a-service-style\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T00:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T00:07:53","slug":"plated-family-style-or-buffet-choosing-a-service-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/plated-family-style-or-buffet-choosing-a-service-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Plated, family-style or buffet? Choosing a service style"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you ask a caterer for a quote, one of the first questions will be how you want the food served. The same menu can feel completely different as a plated dinner, sharing platters or a buffet. Here is how to choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plated service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every guest gets the same course at the same time, served at the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Best for formal dinners and weddings with speeches at set times.<\/li>\n\n<li>Needs more servers, so staff costs are usually higher.<\/li>\n\n<li>Guests choose their main course in advance, or the menu offers one main and a vegetarian option.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Family-style sharing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Large platters and bowls go down the middle of each table and guests help themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Feels generous and relaxed, and gets people talking.<\/li>\n\n<li>Needs wide enough tables for the platters as well as glasses and plates.<\/li>\n\n<li>Works well for mixed diets, because guests can choose what they eat from each dish.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Buffet and food stations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Guests queue at one or more tables and serve themselves, or are served by staff at each station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Gives the most choice and suits informal parties and office events.<\/li>\n\n<li>Plan enough serving points for your numbers so queues stay short.<\/li>\n\n<li>Label every dish clearly, with its main allergens, so guests can choose safely.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to decide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Think about the feel you want, your timings and your venue. A small dining room with long tables suits sharing platters; a big hall with a tight schedule suits a plated dinner; a garden party or office lunch suits a buffet. Ask your caterer for a quote for two styles side by side so you can compare the price per person and the number of staff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How the three main catering styles differ in feel, timing, staff and cost, and which kind of event each one suits best.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":23,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9\/revisions\/42"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-platera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}