The Professional Chef's Book of Buffets

The buffet exemplifies and glorifies the visual art of the food "decorateur" but it is vital that the beautiful, exciting display should not result in disappointment when the food is tasted, for flavor is the final goal of all culinary effort. That is the reason that at the Culinary Institute students must fulfill exacting cooking requirements before being eligible for the Buffet Catering course. The objective must not only be visual beauty, but art in edible foods, not the profusion of papier mache, styrofoam and other such objective calls for a high order of artistic skill, not only in food decoration but in sugar work and ice carving.