What are the worst crimes you have seen committed at a buffet? Or any communal food situation.

[Sparklingbrook]

Following on from people who stand too close when queuing.

Also any top tips for buffet etiquette on an AI holiday?

Crimes for me-

Picking up food and putting it back
Using incorrect spoons and cross contaminating different foodstuffs

We went for an Indian with a couple we were friendly with, and the wife repeatedly double dipped her poppadum in the mango chutney instead of putting it on her plate. I refused to see them again.

I never have cooked breakfasts at home (porridge , weetabix or toast), so hotel breakfasts are a huge treat.
I'm the person who has a bit of everything, sausages, scrambled eggs, danishes and fresh fruit.
But I never overload my plate, push in or double dip.

I assume there are lots of 'vulture' types on an AI holiday. I haven't been on one since 1996, and can't remember what it was like. except the night we got there it was 'Caribbean Night' and there was a dish labelled 'Goat Meat'.

Sparkling - curried goat is really good. When its cooked properly.

Goat is lovely Sparkling. I used to cook it loads. Was your objection it was just plain meat? Or that it was goat?

We had just spent ten hours on a plane, and it was the first meal, and it was 10pm. I think if it said 'Goat curry' or something it would have been fine. It was just the random 'Goat Meat' sign I think.

Every night had a theme IIRC. Then on the 2nd week we did it all again.

I like goat. They did curried goat for us after one of the RTN marches.

Your comment did remind me of my poor cousin (who's veggie anyway) who saw that SIL had chosen rabbit stew for one of her wedding dishes. SIL didn't realize Brits might find this slightly out there, and my cousin went a bit pale realizing we were all tucking into Thumper.

It was like seeing 'Cow Meat' or 'Pig Meat' IYSWIM.

I went on a 5 star cruise to Alaska and was horrified by the buffet antics.
Especially one lady who came away with beef stew and lemon cheesecake on the same plate.

I love all inclusive holidays but we don't get our moneys worth really as we tend to eat twice a day and don't drink much alcohol.

One year we went to turkey. There was a family with a daughter about 10 yrs old. The amount they piled on their plates was disgraceful. The daughter would have 5 or 6 puddings and then half an hour later eating bumper chocolate bars!

YY, that could be fairly off-putting, sparkling!

Not as bad as beef stew and cheesecake on the same plate though. Eugh.

I eat loads of hotel breakfast. I love it. My fave was on my honeymoon, they served bucks Fizz :o :o

And I risk arrest and detention for daring to have wet hair.

My BiL ate an entire Epoise cheese at our wedding; it was meant for everyone, it was very expensive, very smelly and made him ill

DH always categorises meat into "Meat and Named Meat", which is a Terry Pratchet thing, I think.

Aww sorry about my wet hair thing Panzee. I am of the curly persuasion. Going down to breakfast with wet hair would result in this.

But no dog. And i would wear trousers, and I am not a redhead. But you get my drift.

I do raise my hand to always being the person that can never work the coffee machine in a foreign language and end up pressing "2 litre mochachocachinofrappe" instead of espresso.

Then panicking as gallons of coffee pour into a tiny cup, the drip tray, the floor.

Then running off.....

Pirate - either that was a very small wedding do, your BIL has a truly astonishing capacity for cheese, or you dramatically undercatered on the Epoisses front. I'm going for the last one, as they're usually about the size of a Camembert but a bit thicker, and I'd expect it to slice into eight tiny portions at the most, and probably more like six.

I went to an army dinner once and the organisers had put bottles of champagne out for people to pour out themselves. A group of blokes took one whole bottle each and stood just drinking each one to themselves. Those of us not up there first didn't get a drink. Now they pour them out and hand out one at a time.

At an army buffet all the single blokes ran to the front and filled all their plates with the best bits whether they wanted them or not and left cheese and egg sandwiches for the rest of us. i sat next to one guy who had 20 chicken skewers on his plate. I asked him why? He said because everyone else takes it all so he didn't want to miss out, and if he only had 2 then fancied more the chances are there wouldn't be any left. He even said without any self awareness, I don't even want this many and I feel a bit sick They also had trifle and cake on the plates with their samosas and pakoras. DH said its quite normal to have a savoury dinner with gravy then go up and get a sponge with custard put on the same plate. Bleeuurch.

My mum took us to Disneyland Paris last summer. She insisted that we make up sandwiches during the breakfast buffet (although if you look around, everyone else is doing it to).

The huge issue was that it was super hot and lunch was sandwiches with butter, meat and cheese that had been festering in c. 30C heat for hours. My mum kept going on about what a lovely lunch it was, but it certainly was not. It was horrible. Even without the unrefrigerated meat and cheese issue, rolls with ham and cheese purloined from the breakfast buffet hardly deserved the praise she was giving it.

I was really sick on the last night and it was definitely because of the festering breakfast buffet lunch. My mum was most put out when we refused to have another one on the final day and instead buy some overpriced park food. We offered to buy her and my stepdad lunch too, but they insisted on eating the sweaty sandwiches they'd made that morning.

This is why you shouldn't make a packed lunch from the breakfast buffet at Disneyland. It will actually make you boak.

Jug of iced cordial and glasses left for people to serve themselves. Kid pours drink into glass. Spits it back out into glass then pours it all back into jug. Mmmmmm lovely

I always drink at least one thimble glass of oj while standing at the juice station, before refilling it and taking it to my table.

A sore point is places that try and charge full adult price for teeny tiny children of about 3. Took dd to the Indian buffet on Sunday,,luckily she'd had McDs before hand at a birthday party, so we didnt have to pay. Not expensive only £5 a head, but it was the principle of paying the same for a child eating half a samosa as an adult with four heaping plates that grates.

So Calamitously is it because it's really £££s to buy lunch? Worse than say Alton Towers etc? I can imagine what a sandwich made at breakfast would look/taste like by lunchtime in that heat.

I don't remember Disney stuff being that expensive, maybe 10 euros for a sandwich and salad type thing.

It's being captive all day, cokes at €3 a pop that get you more than anything.