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Le buffet auquel l'invité s'intéresse est froid.

Le buffet auquel l'invité s'intéresse est froid.
The buffet the guest is interested in is cold.
From Lesson 169:Contracted relative pronouns (auquel / duquel)·French

Questions & Answers about Le buffet auquel l'invité s'intéresse est froid.

Why do we use auquel here instead of just que or lequel?
The verb used here is s'intéresser à (to be interested in). When a relative pronoun replaces a thing that normally follows the preposition à, we must use a form of lequel. Because buffet is masculine singular, the preposition à and the pronoun lequel merge into the contracted word auquel.
In English, the preposition 'in' goes at the end of the clause ('interested in'). Why is it placed in the middle of the sentence in French?
In French, you can never leave a preposition stranded at the end of a clause like we do in English. It must stay attached to the relative pronoun. Instead of saying 'The buffet which the guest is interested in', French phrasing is literally 'The buffet to which (auquel) the guest interests himself'.
What would happen to auquel if the sentence was about a feminine noun, like la soupe (the soup)?
You would use à laquelle. Unlike the masculine forms, the feminine singular doesn't contract into a single word. It would become: La soupe à laquelle l'invité s'intéresse est froide.
Why is there an s' before intéresse?
It is the reflexive pronoun for the verb s'intéresser à (to be interested in). If you used intéresse without the reflexive pronoun, it would mean 'to interest' someone else, rather than describing the guest's own feeling of being interested.

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