# Fettuccini alfredo served buffet style



## jeffcaters (Mar 25, 2017)

I've never had luck with an alfredo sauce served buffet style for a crowd, so I dont have it on my catering menu. And to be honest, I only tried in a couple of times. I have an upcoming event where they REALLY want fettuccini alfredo, so I am in a pickle. I have good recipes for making it on site for immediate consumption, but this will need to be made day ahead/ day of, cooked and then transported off site! Any suggestions? Anyone have a menu to share? BTW, it is about 125 people. Thanks in advance.


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## sgmchef (Sep 30, 2006)

Hi Jeff,

I think you already know the answer. A garlic-Parmesan white sauce stabilized with a starch thickener... (Add thinning agent every 30 minutes or so for inevitable sauce consistency issues)

Either that or they will have to spring for a manned fettuccine station to get real Alfredo sauce.

Sorry I can't be of any real help on this one... Sad that most people will be happy with the starch thickened version...

Good Luck! Let us know what happened!


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

What kind of problem are you having?

Not sure how you plan on serving it, but a buffet place I frequent just have a pan of noodles and a pot of sauce sitting next to each other. If you're doing it like this, everything should be easy.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

Sorry to say that most people have no clue about Alfredo. They only know that it tastes good and they want it.
As a professional caterer, we know the logistics of placing any pasta on a buffet. We direct the course of menu planning.
We explain to the client that the quality of the product will suffer due to the logistics of time and travel.
I am amazed at some of the things that people ask for without any idea of what it takes to create it for them.

If you really must do this, my suggestion would be to keep the sauce and pasta separate and combine at site as close to serving time as possible Is it possible that there's still time to draw the client away from Alfredo?


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Yours is a question that has been asked many times over the years resulting in a few threads with some solid advice.
A short search will give you answers to any problem you are having...and then some.
Luck.

mimi


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## meezenplaz (Jan 31, 2012)

Mimis correct, this is an age old one, with hundreds of pertinent posts. 

IMO, though most point to the sauce, I see the pasta as the true problem.
Making it a day or two ahead, fully cooked, its gonna degrade into 
something, well, left over. If not done at the event, it needs to be
cooked or mostly cooked then transported at hold temp in water
in a chafer. You can mix with the sauce,.....at the site... as close to
serving time as possible.
Many times Ive made sauce ahead of time and refrigerated. 
It gets thick.....really thick. Reconstitute at site with some cream 
thinned as need, heated over water, ala chafer. Then add the well 
drained hot pasta. Or keep em separate, but I've found on a self
serve buffet, people go crazy with separate sauce and youre always 
running out. I swear some people just eat the stuff like soup!


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## jeffcaters (Mar 25, 2017)

Thanks for all your input. Its pretty much what I thought, but I was *hoping* for a magic solution. LOL Of course she was pleased with it at her tasting, because we prepared it right there! I have pointed out the short comings at a buffet, but she is willing to accept that. The rest of her menu is not very complicated, and its only for 120ish guests, so I will prepare it as close to the event as possible and go with keeping the pasta and sauce seperate and combing as we go through the line. I think it will be fine, but not perfect. Thanks so much for your help everyone.


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