This is a series that I shot over the course of a few years at Mandarin, the Ontario-famous buffet chain. I go once a year around Sinterklaas (the Dutch side of my family loves it there), and each time I take photos of a different section of the buffet.For those not from Ontario, Mandarin is a Chinese-Canadian buffet chain mostly found in strip malls across the province. Every location has pretty standard deco—there's always a koi pond.
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I first began this project in 2012, initially intending to shoot the people that were eating at the restaurant. But I quickly realized how invasive it was to ask people if I could take their photo while they're just trying to chill and get the most out of their $30 before the restaurant closes or their family moves on to dessert without them.It turns out that amongst the mounds of chicken balls, deviled eggs, crab legs, and waffle toppings there lays a disgusting yet fairly divine mountain of textures and colours. I'm most absorbed by the strange and tedious arrangements of hors d'oeuvres and the surplus of Jell-O-based fare (mango pudding in the shape of a fish, grapes covered in gelatin and stuck onto skewers in a tin-foil sphere, etc.). There's an unusual harmony between the ugly, preservative-filled gluttony and the precise and sculptural arrangements of food.In many ways, the idea of buffet is a very western take on food since it's all about everything in excess—from the bountiful choices of appetizers to the sheer volume of food that you hope to pack in during your visit. There's a lot to consider while eating, but maybe it's best to enjoy the buffet for what it is: buttery gluttony at its finest.Follow Katrina Cervoni on Instagram.
