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.

好几种文化中都有宴会时将食物放在一张公用的桌子上供众多食客享用的传统。在荷兰，这被称作"Rijstaffel"，在瑞典则是"Smorgasbord"，西班牙叫做"Tapas"，丹麦叫"Smorrebrod"，而法国人发明了"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一词的确切来历并不容易，因为这个词有好几个和食物有关的意思。食物历史学家告诉人们，该词18世纪时首先出现在法国，然后在英国，不久就传遍欧洲。

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一词原先指的是摆放这种食物的餐具柜，但最终用于指代这种就餐形式。这个词于19世纪后半期在英语国家中流行起来。

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.

自助餐的一种形式是，顾客沿着一排摆放食物的摊位边走边取用他们所需要的食物，最后再付钱。这种形式在自助餐厅中最为常见。另一种形式是”任君取用“，这种自助餐有固定的价格，顾客可以想吃多少就吃多少，这种形式通常在饭店中，特别是在酒店中比较常见。事实上，北美的每家赌场中都有这样的自助餐，有些还十分精致。

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

在北美，中餐自助十分常见，其他一些有异域风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.

在食客人数众多的情况下，自助餐会是很有效的招待方式。它们之所以如此盛行，另一个原因是，它们给顾客提供了多种选择，他们在挑选前还能近距离地查看食物。由于自助餐是由顾客自行取食，因此通常被视为一种不怎么上档次的用餐形式。然而，在假日里或是在类似的场合，它却是首选的就餐安排，因为这样可以尽量减少服务人员。