Free Sample
The Complete Handbook of Buffets & Sideboards
A Practical Reference for Choosing, Installing, Maintaining, and Profiting from Buffets and Sideboards
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: Understanding Buffets & Sideboards
A buffet or sideboard is a storage and service cabinet, typically placed against a dining room wall or in a hospitality service area, designed to hold dishes, linens, serving implements, and food. It sits on legs or a base, stands between roughly 30 and 42 inches in height, and usually spans 48 inches or more in width. It has a flat working surface on top, enclosed storage below (via doors, drawers, or both), and sometimes a shelf or hutch element above.
That formal description, however, misses what actually matters. A buffet or sideboard functions as a functional workstation in contexts where people need to serve, store, and access items without leaving the room—or without stopping workflow. In a restaurant or catering kitchen, it's where hot plates wait before service, or where clean linens stack. In a formal dining room, it's where desserts sit during a dinner party. In an antique dealer's shop, it's a display and storage piece meant to catch a buyer's eye. In a residential dining room, it's where holiday serving dishes live most of the year and come out for gatherings. The shape, materials, and specifications of these pieces have evolved over centuries to handle these specific jobs reliably.
Understanding buffets and sideboards means understanding three distinct but related things: their functional purpose in a real context, the physical specifications that determine whether they'll perform that purpose, and the materials and construction methods that determine how long they'll last.