It's that time of year again

[Breakfast Diva]

Our breakfast always has a muffin or pastry/biscuit. In the beginning we used to also have toast, but we threw out so much of it we stopped serving it altogether. We don't even have a toaster in the kitchen anymore.

 

[Bommelhoeve]

We also take the jam from the jar and scoop it into small jars. We do only homemade jams like Rubarb/Anice/Cinnamon and Rubarb/banana.

 

[Highlands John]

I'm curious. What is it that you're serving that takes jam? The only time I serve jam/jelly is when I serve biscuits, and that's maybe once a month..

We make bread rolls every morning and guests often like to put jam or marmalade on them (as in photo).
Like breakfast diva, we used to give each table a rack of toast by default but so much of it just went out to the chickens that now the menu says (paraphrased) "You're getting a freshly baked bread roll, if you want toast as well just ask".

 

[Highlands John]

We also take the jam from the jar and scoop it into small jars. We do only homemade jams like Rubarb/Anice/Cinnamon and Rubarb/banana..

We do the same, little dishes on the side. Less waste and looks nicer than jars on the side.

 

[Madeleine]

I'm curious. What is it that you're serving that takes jam? The only time I serve jam/jelly is when I serve biscuits, and that's maybe once a month..

I have home made jam on the table in small jars. The guests like it on toast, english muffins, etc.
.

I've wondered about communal jars of jam and other condiments. Apparently it's not really an issue for you? So many people seem to think everything is contaminated if THEY didn't open it, but I dislike the diner atmosphere that comes with the individual servings.
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I scoop it out into very small ramekins. Anything left goes in the trash. Yesterday we had one guy who went thru 15 pats of butter and quite a lot of jam (he was spooning it out and eating it that way). He only had 2 slices of toast. Because he was essentially on his second breakfast at that point, I really loaded him up on the jam. Cleaned it out completely!

 

[Generic]

I'm curious. What is it that you're serving that takes jam? The only time I serve jam/jelly is when I serve biscuits, and that's maybe once a month..

I have home made jam on the table in small jars. The guests like it on toast, english muffins, etc.
.

I've wondered about communal jars of jam and other condiments. Apparently it's not really an issue for you? So many people seem to think everything is contaminated if THEY didn't open it, but I dislike the diner atmosphere that comes with the individual servings.
.

I use extremely small glass jars with built in covers. The opening is intentionally small. I keep small (demitasse) spoons and have it marked to use the spoons to take jam. They leave the spoon in the jam. The spoons are intentionally small as well, so they aren't mixed up with anything else and aren't useful.
In fact, I have a few intentionally useless spoons around. Like the one for sugar. Short handle, so you can use it to take sugar but you don't want to use it for anything else. Or a ceramic spoon with a long handle, so you know it's not your spoon, but for the sugar.
Inconvenient tools, teaching people to be civil in an uncivilized manner.

 

[Generic]

I'm curious. What is it that you're serving that takes jam? The only time I serve jam/jelly is when I serve biscuits, and that's maybe once a month..

I have home made jam on the table in small jars. The guests like it on toast, english muffins, etc.
.

I've wondered about communal jars of jam and other condiments. Apparently it's not really an issue for you? So many people seem to think everything is contaminated if THEY didn't open it, but I dislike the diner atmosphere that comes with the individual servings.
.

Our regulations here is that if it goes out on the table and is not totally consumed, it must be thrown out.
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If that was the rules around here, I would have bought a collection of miniature jam jars (several of the jam companies make them for hotels) and I would have used those instead of communal jars. They want it, they use it, they don't, it's still there for the future and sealed.