If you’re going to be serving food buffet-style, you’ll need to follow some safety guidelines to protect your customers and also your reputation. Instead of serving food on large platters, use several small platters as it will be easier to replace when the food is low or almost gone. Rather than adding fresh food to pans, replace the whole pan because many people have probably touched the pan and it’s also been sitting at room temperature for a while. The rest of the food must stay hot in the oven or cold in the refrigerator prior to serving. In addition, the dishes should be covered to prevent dryness. Food sitting out for more than two hours at room temperature should be discarded, so keep track of it. Staff should wash their hands constantly so that germs are not spread when replacing pans, cutting slabs of meat, and wiping off the counters. Always use clean utensils and dishes. If there are leftovers, only keep food that hasn’t been sitting out for more than two hours.

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