Installing chafing dishes is a daunting task for many people. In this blog, we will show how serving food can get a lot simpler with buffet induction warmers compared to chafing dishes that are cumbersome, inefficient and unsustainable. Opting for an induction warmer for buffet is gonna put a smile on your face while making even the last guest you serve very happy.
What is a chafing dish?
A chafing dish, also known as a chafer, is classified as buffet ware, not cookware. It has different layers for keeping pre-cooked food heated and ready for consumption. Chafing dishes hold cooked food at about 140 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature of the food should not drop below 140 degrees in order to ward off bacteria. Chafing dishes can use various heat sources, including chafing fuel, induction or electricity. Regular chafers typically keep food heated for up to 6 hours.
How Do Caterers Keep Food Warm, Effortlessly?
Have you ever wondered how some hot buffet services look seamless while others struggle? Do you worry about how to keep food warm throughout the duration of a big party? Are you settling for popular chafers on the market?
Read on to find out why our cutting-edge induction chafer dishes are a great addition to an indoor buffet and perfect for keeping food warm at your next gathering. Our happy customers agree.
Why Choose Induction for Buffet?
Whether you’re a professional chef at a restaurant, banquet, convention center, or you’re a wedding caterer or cook on a cruise ship, you’ll need to keep food warm for hours and hours. That means setting up cumbersome, traditional chafing dishes from scratch. This is often a painful, costly, labor-intensive, inefficient process.
Most chafing dishes you get in the market use chafing fuel to heat a large pan of water which later heats a pan of food that sits above it. Induction chafers are mounted on electric induction plates. They have an in-built water return system to move condensation away from the food to collect in a water tray below. No open flames, or hot water to worry about either.
Induction Buffet Warmers vs Traditional Chafing Dishes As you may know, there are many different traditional chafing dishes on the market today that function in the same way. But here we’ll look at using induction chafing dishes and how they benefit your buffet service compared to ordinary chafing dishes which use chafing fuel.
Induction chafing dishes: No need for fuel
Traditional chafers have a rack or frame. This is the base and has two round fuel holders (holes) at the bottom. The rack is where all the elements of the chafing dish come together. On the other hand, buffet induction warmers sit directly on electric induction plates so there’s no fuel holder.
The chafing fuel in a traditional chafer is vital as it keeps the hot water at a high temperature throughout the burn cycle. It comes in a small metal canister or a gel burner. Ideally, you’d need a fuel with a long burning time and one where the can stays cool throughout the burn cycle. You also need to have a stick lighter handy to light the fuel at the base of the rack once the hot water is ready in the food pans. However, induction chafers use electricity to heat up copper coils that create a magnetic current which subsequently heats up the pan and food. They’re fast with accurate power control, safer and easier to setup, dismantle and clean.
Induction chafing dishes: No water pans
The water pan is filled up about three-quarters with hot water. The food pan sits in the hot water pan, so the food remains hot. The first thing you need to get ready before the food arrives, is to add hot water to the water pans above the fuel. You also need to make sure the temperature of the hot food is initially above 140 degrees Fahrenheit before it gets into the food pan. But induction chafers do not need water pans as they sit directly on electric induction plates. They are much easier to monitor and temperature control.
Induction chafing dishes: Food safety
For food safety and high food quality, you need to make sure you’re using the proper chafing fuel that keeps food well above 140 degrees. When you use induction warmers and chafers, you do not need to worry because they sit on electric induction plates and temperature is a lot easier to control.
Induction chafing dishes: No need for pitchers
Most traditional chafers use a stainless steel pitcher because you have to pour hot water into a water pan and refill it with a pitcher. Stainless steel pitchers are the best as they can withstand the high heat of the water. However, if you use induction chafers, you do not need pitchers as they do not use hot water but are heated directly by electric induction platforms directly below the chafer.
Induction chafing dishes: Effortless prepping
Ordinary buffet warmers require you get all your elements ready to go before you start service, such as knowing the exact location of your chafing dish rack or frame before serving begins becasuse it’s ot possible to go back and forth from the kitchen. Starting the setup by filling the water pans with hot water and refilling it with a pitcher is a time-consuming pain point. It’s also gets tricky sometimes to keep warming food in the safe zone which is above 140 degrees.
Induction chafing dishes: Elegant, smart roll top lids
Once your guests arrive and service starts, you can easily roll over the lids which sit securely in place. When the food service has finished, you can put the lids back on the food pans and switch off the induction plate from the mains. The in-built condensation system moves the water droplets away from the food to collect in a tray. No fuss and no dismantling after the party.
At Smart Buffet Ware, we have a wide range of roll top chafing dishes in different shapes for you to choose from.
Induction chafing dishes: Cost-effective & energy-saving
Induction-heated buffet warmers and chafers not only look elegant but also save money. Regular chafers incur high labor and energy costs, making your return on investment longer.
Our Induction is Smarter and Greener!
With every new product we design, we’re driven by our motto, “Creating long term solutions to age old problems.” When you choose our chafing dishes, you’re not just investing in buffet induction warmers; you’re investing in a smart future.
The quality of our Smart Buffet Ware induction chafers is typically 20 to 30 times more advanced than our competitors. You can simply turn it on and walk away! With one-touch it starts an
adjustable 6-hour timer, auto-temperature control, and has amazing magnets that keep the chafers from slipping or sliding.
To top it all, our chafers use so little electricity, that most customers don’t need to re-wire their buildings or have high energy bills. The system can run 10 chafers on a standard 20 Amp circuit! Our SMART Induction System will make going green easy. It’s perhaps the greenest system on Earth to heat your buffet! It will cut the cost of your operation so significantly by paying for itself.
Are you ready to make the smart and sustainable choice in buffet ware? Want to make your life easier, stop worrying about electricity bills, and serving cold food to your guests? Now you can, by simply installing one of our cutting-edge SMART range of induction chafers.
Check out our product offerings
At the Smart Buffet Ware online store, we have a wide variety of state-of-the-art induction chafing dishes to suit every food service professional’s service occasion. Whether you’re looking for traditional or induction chafers, our focus is always on producing high-quality, 18/10 stainless steel chafing dishes. They are versatile so they can stand on a rack, flush mount or induction stands, and come in different shapes with smart lid designs.
We have something for everyone. Check out our website filled with detailed features, photos, videos and specifications on products like our roll top chafing dishes, round chafing dishes, as well our exceptionally classy, round chafing dishes with glass lids.
All our products are energy-efficient, have superior quality, amazing design and are sustainable. These qualities make us a top brand for choosy customers who seek efficiency and elegance that stand the test of time.
