# Making Sure your plated dinner is served HOT



## shiningmoon2165 (Feb 18, 2012)

My husband and I own a catering business, for the last 5 years. We just did a 5 course Valentine dinner for 100 people on Tues. in our ON-Site Kitchen. 2 Hot courses were a soup course and entree course, soup course came out of the kitchen hot, followed by entree course which came out Cold. We can't have this happen again. Looking for suggestions on what we need to do to send out hot food all the time for a plated meal.

What we did:

Prepared all compoents ahead of time, and placed in warming ovens.

Hot plates were placed in warming oven all day, cold plates in Fridge. Used plate covers and them on a flat top most of the day on very low heat.

Soup course was dished up while folks were eating their salad course, we have 2 warming ovens so only about 50 bowls were able to fit in warming oven, soup was dished out of a chaffer, put in bowls and placed in warmer. The remaining 50 bowls were dished up while servers were in line to tray up and take out.

Entree course followed, I think the warming ovens had lost heat form opening/closing door from previous course. Chef dished up entree from food that had been in warming oven and put on plates and into warming oven with plate covers. Again, only about 50 plates fit into the warming oven and the other 50 were dished up while servers were waiting for their plates to take out. THere isn't enough space in the kitchen to set up chaffers for the compoentants of the entree course so the dishes were plated with the food just coming out of the warmer.

The entree was cold and got to the consumer within 3 minutes, there was no hold up from servers. What do we need to ensure hot food? Is there additional equiptment we need? I know caterer's cater off site plated dinners all of the time... how do they ensure the food is hot? Any help is much apprecaited, we do not want a repeat of this the next time!!!


----------



## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

How big is the flat top? Use it as your chafer. Set up water pans and inserts on it and or on burners on stove top. If you pre-set plates, then use a enclosed mobile cabinet or speed rack with sternos on bottom rack, to keep them warm.


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

use a liquid cambro to hold your soup really hot, either pour from silver coffee pots as a first course or serve first......you can either go continental and serve your salad after entree or prior to entree....

Cambros.....work!  I bought one several years ago when a wedding reception called for prime rib for 100 at bride's home....got the one with wheels.  Shtuff stays hot for a very long time.

You didn't say what your entree course was.....


----------

