The idea of the buffet has its roots in the Swedish smorgasbord, which was originally a spread of appetizers offered before the main course.

吃到飽餐廳其實源自於「北歐式自助餐」，提供各種冷熱開胃菜。

Today, buffets are all over, and it's hard to imagine how they could possibly be profitable.

現在，吃到飽餐廳比比皆是，相信許多人都很納悶他們真的賺得了錢嗎？

Curious as to how it all works, or want to get the most out of your trip to the buffet?

你好奇吃到飽餐廳的運作模式嗎？或是想知道要怎麼吃才划算嗎？

Here's what you should know for your next trip to a modern-day smorgasbord.

以下是你去吃到飽餐廳前需要知道的事。

Breaking even.

不賺不賠。

For a lot of people, the allure of the all-you-can-eat buffet is the idea that you're getting more than what you pay for.

很多人都以為，去吃到飽餐廳一定能吃到回本，甚至更多。

This is why the business side of buffets is the key.

這也是吃到飽餐廳成功的主因之一。

Buffets usually don't have the same number of staff other restaurants would need, as customers are typically serving themselves.

吃到飽餐廳所需要的員工少於一般餐廳，因為在吃到飽餐廳通常都是客人自行取用食物。

No one's sending their food back to the kitchen with complaints, either.

也不會有客人抱怨餐點難吃，把它退回廚房。

You just push it to the side and get something else.

大家通常只是把難吃的東西放到一旁，再去夾其他東西。

While that might mean food waste, it also cuts back on kitchen workload.

雖然這樣的行為很浪費食物，但也減少了廚房內部的工作量。

And menus are built around what's most efficient to make and cheapest to buy, including things like cheap sacks of vegetables and cheaper cuts of meat.

吃到飽業者會選擇製作快速且成本低廉的餐點，好比廉價的一大袋蔬菜或肉品。

And not everyone is eating a lot.

而且，不是每個人都很會吃。

Since most people hit the buffet in groups, for every person eating more food than they actually pay for, there are several who don't overeat.

通常大家都會相約親朋好友一同去吃到飽餐廳，有人食量很大，但其中一定也有食量小的人。

Fill 'er up!

吃到撐！

Because buffets can lose money if you keep eating, they want to fill you up as soon as possible.

如果你持續不斷地狂吃，那麼吃到飽餐廳則會面臨虧損的危機。

And there's a little bit of a trick here.

因此，業者在這部分耍了點把戲。

Specifically, low-cost, high-carb foods.

他們提供的餐點除了低成本外，通常也是高碳水化合物。

A massive scoop of one of these on your plate goes a long way to filling you up without costing the restaurant a whole lot.

你就算吃了一大堆這些高碳水化合物的餐點，也不會增加業者太多成本。

Some places even give you bigger spoons for foods like this.

有些餐廳甚至會故意提供大湯匙來讓你夾取這些食物。

There's also a reason you see these carb-heavy foods like mashed potatoes, french fries, and white rice first on the buffet line.

此外，業者會特意把馬鈴薯泥、薯條、白飯等高碳水化合物的餐點擺放在最前面的餐檯上。

According to a study by researchers from the Cornell Food & Brand Lab, around two-thirds of what ends up on your plate comes from the first few items you get to.

康奈爾大學食品與品牌實驗室的研究指出，在你所夾取的食物中，約有三分之二都是擺在前方餐檯的食物。

For the experiment, two groups of diners were presented with buffets set up in reverse order.

他們做了項研究，分別提供兩組人完全相反擺放順序的餐點。

When they kept track of who took what, they found that more than 75 percent of the diners in their experiment took the very first item, no matter what it was, with only around a quarter to half of diners taking what was last in line.

研究人員發現，超過 75% 的用餐者都會夾取他們首先看到的餐點，無論第一道餐點是什麼，而只有 25% 的人會夾取最後看到的食物。

Combating food waste.

食物零浪費。

You may think of buffets as wasting a ton of food, but in some areas, buffets are being put to incredibly good use combating food waste.

你可能會覺得吃到飽餐聽一定浪費了很多食物，但其實正好相反。

In major cities like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and San Diego, a new app called BuffetGO that allows users to purchase end-of-the-day food from major restaurants is starting to catch on.

在洛杉磯、紐約、芝加哥、舊金山等大城市裡，正流行一款新的 app 叫作 BuffetGO，可以透過它來訂購大餐廳裡過剩的食物。

On your end, you browse the app, select the restaurant, pick up your to-go box, fill it up, and head out the door.

消費者可以瀏覽 app 中的各大合作餐廳，挑選其中一間後，再選取喜歡的食物，然後到門口等待就好。

You pay a fraction of the price for the same food people have been eating all day.

而且甚至比在餐廳裡吃還要便宜。

The buffet makes some of its money back, and the food isn't wasted.

如此一來，吃到飽餐聽不但能賺回些錢，食物也不會被浪費。

Worth the risk?

去吃到飽餐廳的風險？

Eating out anywhere is putting a lot of trust in a stranger, and buffets ask you to trust employees and other customers.

要吃外食就要相信餐廳業者，而吃到飽餐聽除了要你相信他們之外，你也得信任其他顧客。

Fortunately, there are some things you can keep an eye out for to help protect yourself and other diners.

別擔心，去吃到飽餐廳時你可以注意以下特點，為自己的食品衛生安全把管。

When it comes to dangerous foods, you might want to consider skipping the seafood.

有些人為了降低吃壞肚子的風險，會刻意不吃海鮮。

There's a huge potential for illness there, especially when those foods aren't kept at the proper temperature.

因為如果沒有用適當溫度來保存食物，則有很大的機率會吃壞肚子。

The other big danger is cross-contamination.

吃到飽餐廳的另外一項衛生隱憂就是「交叉感染」。

With all customers serving themselves, there's a huge chance for the transfer of germs on serving utensils.

每一位顧客要自行夾取食物，因此餐具上有很高的機率會聚集各種病菌。

Long sleeves making contact with the food or serving line is bad, and that's not even mentioning people who might pick up a dinner roll, change their mind, then put it back.

顧客的袖口也可能會碰到食物，更不用說的是有人可能會夾了又放回去。

So, to keep yourself safe, look for telltale danger signs like spoon handles touching food, other customers returning with dirty plates, and dishes that don't have their own individual serving spoon or set of tongs.

如果要確保自己的衛生安全，夾取食物前要先注意這份餐點有沒有沾到湯匙把手，有沒有人夾進盤裡又放回去或是有無專屬的盛裝餐具。

The price you pay.

吃到飽餐聽的價格秘密。

When it comes to buffets, consumers seem to enjoy the food less if they pay less for it.

說到吃到飽餐聽，如果價格便宜，顧客的滿足程度似乎也會比較低。

The Cornell Food & Brand Lab suggests that buffets that want to keep customers happy and coming back need to find something of a sweet spot between price and quality.

康奈爾大學食品與品牌實驗室指出，餐廳業者若要滿足顧客並吸引他們再次光臨，則需在價格和品質間取得平衡。

Researchers offered customers the same lunch buffet, consisting of pizza, pasta, breadsticks, salad, and soup.

研究人員提供每位顧客一樣的吃到飽午餐餐點，包括披薩、義大利麵、麵包棒、沙拉和湯品。

Some were charged four dollar, while others were charged eight dollar.

並向某部分的人收取四美元的費用，向另外一部份的人收取八美元。

When they were done, they were asked to rate the entire experience.

在每位顧客用餐完畢後，研究者要他們為此次用餐體驗評分。

Across the board, diners who were charged four dollars reported that they enjoyed it less than the group that had paid eight dollars.

整體來看，被收取四美元的顧客其享受程度低於八美元的顧客。

The study's authors suggested that it was something of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

這份研究的提出者指出，這是一種「自證預言」的展現。

If we don't pay much for something, we don't expect much from the experience.

如果我們對於某事物的付出不夠多，我們就不會對它抱有太大的期待。

If we're charged a bit more, we feel like we're going to enjoy it more because it must be better food.

如果費用高一些，我們就會預期它一定更美味所以會更享受。

The cost of the meal might also affect how you physically feel.

餐點的費用同時也會影響生理上的感受。

Cornell's Food & Brand Lab also asked the customers how they felt after eating.

康奈爾大學食品與品牌實驗室要求顧客在餐後聊一聊他們的感覺。

Even if they ate the same amount, the four dollar crowd reported feeling like they had overindulged and were less happy with the quality of the food than the eight dollar crowd.

吃的份量雖然一樣，但和費用為八美元的人相比，四美元的人會覺得吃得太飽，快樂程度比較低。

They also said they felt guilty regarding what they had eaten and the price they had paid for it.

他們也會覺得很罪惡，也相當後悔花了這筆錢吃了這麼多東西。

Healthy options.

吃到飽餐到底底健不健康？

If you're trying to eat healthy, visiting the expensive temptation of a buffet might seem like a daunting challenge.

如果想要吃得健康，光臨一間充滿各種食物誘惑的吃到飽餐聽似乎不是個好選擇。

But there are some ways to avoid some of the biggest buffet pitfalls.

不過，有幾個方法可以避免你掉入吃到飽餐廳的陷阱。

Take advantage of the smaller plates.

善加利用小盤子。

They'll minimize food waste and encourage you to take less food, which might be exactly what you want.

業者為了減少食物的浪費，他們會鼓勵顧客「吃多少拿多少」，如果你在乎健康，你就該照做。

When you go to your table, make sure you're as far away from the buffet as you can get.

在挑選用餐的座位時，盡可能選離餐檯越遠的地方。

Don't take a tray, either.

還有，不要拿餐盤！

The added convenience has been shown to increase what we pile on.

餐盤雖然增加便利性，但同時也會讓你一不小心拿取更多食物。

The experts also suggest that you take a look around first.

專家建議夾取食物前，最好先逛一輪所有餐點。

If you know ahead of time that your favorite roast chicken is halfway down the buffet, you're less likely to pile the carbs on your plate before you even get there.

這麼做可以避免在你走到最想吃的烤雞前，夾取一堆螃蟹。

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