A buffet meal for just 500 bucks! That’s a steal you say. You are going to pig out and eat more than the money’s worth and that is also going to be a factor that will make you happy at the end of a filling meal. But is a buffet really that worth your money? Are those combo meals you see in the fast food chains worth it either? For a large part of the food industry, no, they are not. Why? Let’s take a walk through the economics of a meal you think you are getting for cheap. Buffet meals are extremely profitable and cheap to make for restaurants You serve yourself – there is not need for waiters at all. Everything is prepared in huge quantities and laid out for you – it is basically a fancy mess, just like your hostel days. Vegetables are really cheap in huge quantities, and so is meat. Plus, there is no plating and everything is laid out for everyone to eat. Also, the starters waiters bring in as soon as you sit on the table – terming them as “samples” are just to fill you in quickly, and are relatively cheaper.

Desserts are made in huge quantities well in advance

Desserts are also made well in advance in large quantities and are plated in a way that we think that the chef made that one tiny piece of pastry just for us.

No, he didn’t. They are made in huge quantities and are kept in freezers and are loaded with ingredients that will not let it spoil very easily.

Restaurants make huge profits from desserts this way.

Non-alcoholic beverages cost a measly percentage of the price they sell it by

Most of the drinks contain only artificial flavors. That brings down the cost of making those drinks. Also, anything with aerated water like Coke and Pepsi is anyways going to be ultra-cheap, because soda is by itself very cheap, actually cheaper than the paper cups they are served in fast food restaurants.