A buffet (IPA: [ˈbʊfeɪ] in UK, IPA: [bʉˈfeɪ] in US) is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners generally serve themselves. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events. Sideboards are also known as buffets as they may be used to offer the dishes of a buffet meal to guests.

A buffet can also be referred to as a cafeteria, snack bar, counter and smorgasbord.

The word buffet comes from Fr bufet “bench, stool, sideboard”, from the 12th century. The definition of buffet was extended to mean a “meal served from a buffet” in 1888.

One form of buffet is to have a table filled with plates containing fixed portions of food; customers select plates containing whichever food items they want as they walk along. This form is most commonly seen in cafeterias. A variation occurs in a Dim sum house, where the patrons make their selections from a wheeled trolley containing the different plates of food that circulate through the restaurant. Another derivative of this type of buffet occurs where patrons choose food from a buffet style layout and then pay based on what was chosen (sometimes based on the weight of the food).

Warren Edward Buffett (/ˈbʌfɨt/; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century. He is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people. He was ranked as the world's wealthiest person in 2008 and is the third wealthiest person in the world as of 2011. In 2012, American magazine Time named Buffett one of the most influential people in the world.

Buffett is called the "Wizard of Omaha", "Oracle of Omaha", or the "Sage of Omaha" and is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth. Buffett is also a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Gates Foundation. On April 11, 2012, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Buffett was born in 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska, the second of three children and only son of U.S. Representative Howard Buffett, a fierce critic of the interventionist New Deal domestic and foreign policy, and his wife Leila (née Stahl). Buffett began his education at Rose Hill Elementary School in Omaha. In 1942, his father was elected to the first of four terms in the United States Congress, and after moving with his family to Washington, D.C., Warren finished elementary school, attended Alice Deal Junior High School, and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947, where his senior yearbook picture reads: "likes math; a future stock broker."

Harry Shum, Jr. (Chinese: 岑勇康; born April 28, 1982) is an American dancer, actor, and choreographer. He is best known for his role as Mike Chang on the Fox television show Glee. He has appeared in dance films such as Stomp the Yard, You Got Served, Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D. He also plays the character of Elliot Hoo in The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers.

Shum was born in Puerto Limón, Costa Rica on April 28, 1982. His mother is a native of Hong Kong, and his father is from Guangzhou, China. They relocated to Costa Rica, where Shum and his two older sisters were born. When Shum was six years old, the family moved to San Francisco, California. He states, "I feel I have the best of so many worlds. I speak Chinese and Spanish. Spanish is actually my first language before I learned Chinese and English". In an interview, he said that his earliest motivations to dance were from Ginuwine, Dru Hill, and Usher, before becoming influenced by iconic dancers like Gene Kelly and Michael Jackson.

Jonas Martin Frost III (born January 1, 1942) is an American politician, who was the Democratic representative to the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas's 24th congressional district from 1979 to 2005.

Born in Glendale, California, Frost grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. He graduated in 1964 with a bachelor's degrees in journalism and history from the University of Missouri. As a student, Frost was editor of The Maneater, was a member of Zeta Beta Tau, and was tapped by Omicron Delta Kappa and QEBH. He later received his Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1970.

Before going to law school Frost worked as a newspaper reporter. Following his graduation he worked as a law clerk for Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes of the Northern District of Texas and began a private practice.

Frost ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House in 1974. He tried again successfully in 1978, becoming the second Jewish U.S. congressman from Texas, the first being David Spangler Kaufman. Frost was reelected 12 times without serious opposition.