LionsDeal Blog » Buffett

Catering Equipment

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:13:28 +0000

A catering business is a great way to start your own business right out of your home. Because every event is unique, you will never get bored and will have the opportunity to help create a great experience for your clients. This article is a guide to many of the supplies you will need to successfully run your own catering business.

The food is obviously the most important part of catering an event. You want to select items that will present the food well while at the same time keeping it warm. No one enjoys a meal that has gotten cold, so you will need a wide selection of chafers. You will find a wide variety available from elegant chafers to modern chafers with gold accents to vintage chafers. Clear chafer lids can help attendants see what food is available while keeping it hot. If you want to serve soup, then you should also purchase a soup server.

On the other hand, if you will be serving chilled items, then you will need an ice housing that will keep them cold throughout the event. Serving dishes are great for food that can be kept and served at room temperature. Many different types are available to suit your needs, such as serving platters and serving bowls. Muffins, cookies, and other baked items look great in a bakery cabinet.

Attendants will also need something to drink with their meal. Beverage dispensers are a great way to display and serve beverages like tea or juice. You might also use pitchers or carafes so that your waiters can fill drinks so that the attendants do not have to repeatedly return to the buffet. Don’t forget insulated beverage servers or pots for serving warm beverages like coffee or hot tea.

Serving utensils are essential for dipping food onto individual plates. You will need a lot of serving spoons and serving forks for dipping most food items. Ladles are necessary for dipping soups and sauces into bowls. Serving tongs are good for items that need to be grabbed, such as cookies or rolls. Specialty serving items you will want to have include salad tongs, pastry scissors, and a cake serving set.

Presentation can help your food look even better. Tiered displays are a beautiful way to serve food and come in a variety of styles including tiered bowls and tiered platters. You can also use risers with serving dishes you already have for a similar effect. This waterfall display riser would make a great statement on any table. Cakes are always a great centerpiece and are best when showcased on a beautiful cake stand.

With these pieces, you will be prepared to cater any event your client books with you. While purchasing these pieces is an investment at the start, you will more than pay for them after catering a few events. Now all you have to worry about is what food you want to cook to serve in your dishes.

What Makes a Good Chafer?

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:51:38 +0000

A chafer or “chafing dish” consists of a container (in today’s market usually metal and sometimes ceramic) held on a stand over a heat source (candle, electric, or solid fuel like Sterno). More often than not, a larger dish is filled with water like a bain-marie or double boiler, into which a smaller container or containers with food are fit to prevent the food from burning while keeping the food warm.

While modern chafing dishes can still be used to delicately cook food, almost all items labeled as a “chafer” are primarily used to keep food warm. There are many different sizes of chafers and it is best to match the size to the amount of food one is trying to keep warm. In the restaurant business the standard size chafer will fit a 200 pan or hotel pan (12” x 20” x 2”). This is helpful because these pan can be switched out for ½ steam pans or 1/3 steam pans giving you 2-3 items in one chafer. Another helpful item is a roll top lid or brackets the lid can sit in when the chafer is open for service. There is nothing worse than opening the lid to the chafer and having nowhere to put it down. Be aware of the heat source and have it match the situations in which the chafer is to be used. Most commonly solid fuel (like Sterno) is used, if this is to be used make sure the chafer comes with fuel holders that have adjustable tops that can be closed off to regulate the amount of flame and to put the flame out when the event is over. If a smaller chafer is used sometimes candles or tea lights are used while this works it leaves soot on your dish and one has to deal with the wax dripping under the chafer. Electric heat sources are nice especially in a home situation where children are present, but a draw back is electric heat sources seem to keep cooking the food items as much as keeping them warm, much like a coffee pot on an electric warming plate. Electric heat sources are just not practical in a restaurant, guest trip over cords, venues change and power sources are too far away, etc… Chafers that can be broken down (taken apart with ease) are key to keeping things clean, they may look pretty but if they are hard to clean they are less likely to be used.

Chafing dishes and chafers come in a huge range of prices and styles. One can spend as much as $650 to as little as $35 (stainless 8qt economy chafer) for a quality chafer. Look at its functionality, dose it facilitate what you need it to do, as well as look pretty? Does it have the heat source you want? Is it the right size for the amount of food I normally serve? Are there handles on the sides I can use to carry the container over to empty out the water? Is there a handle on the lid? Do I like the look of it? Answering these questions will help you choose a chafer that will not only fit the use you need it for but also match your personality. do you want a removable lid or roll-top chafer?

Chafing dishes are by no means a new idea, they have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and in the inventories of 16^th century England and 17^th century America. In 1520 Hernan Cortez reported to Charles V the way Montezuma was served meals in Tenochtitlan, “the table was loaded with every kind of flesh, fish, fruits, and vegetables that the country produced. As the climate is cold, they put a chafing-dish with live coals under every plate and dish, to keep them warm…” (Frank Schloesser, The Cult of the Chafing Dish 1905). Traditionally chafing dishes where used to cook delicate dishes such as fish and eggs and where the worlds first “crock pots”. In the 1800’s there were cookbooks dedicated to such cooking endeavors and contained such recipes as “Eggs à la Finnoise, Buttered Lobster and Cheese Fondue”.

Restaurant Catering for Beginners

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:06:00 +0000

If you’ve got spare time and the will to do it, then there are many ways to make easy money. Taking up an Internet job, whether it consists of article writing online or designing logos, or stay-at-home jobs like contributing to the newspaper, selling handmade crafts or even catering.

It may sound tough but catering really is a relatively easy business to break into all on your own. Actually, to run some of the most basic of catering businesses, all you really need is a kitchen to work in, a standard menu to offer and trips to the supermarket to fill your supply needs. The simplest forms of catering are seen done in small outdoor events or in house parties.

For the former, the toughest part about catering is just the transporting of the freshly made food in thermos pots and pans and use Styrofoam or plastic containers to serve the food while still warm. As for the latter, a different set of supplies are used which are most commonly known in the catering world as waitstaff equipment.
Waitstaff catering equipment consists of buffet platters, plates, utensils and so on. It is common knowledge that some waitstaff supplies aren’t the simplest pieces of catering equipment to come by and they’re not always the cheapest of pieces. The tougher catering waitstaff supplies to get are the uniforms but if you find a decent seamstress or tailor and establish a healthy working relationship, you may get a considerable discount.

For the remainder of the waitstaff supplies, a trip to any online shops can be the simple solution to your search. With Internet shopping becoming the more preferred mode of purchasing catering supplies, you can easily cut off a large sum of expenditures by buying your catering supplies in bulk. Some of the catering waitstaff supplies that can be bought in bulk include serving trays, tray stands and aprons.

A little thought into the menu, some elbow grease in finding the right uniforms and a trip to the online store is all it takes to start up a simple but profitable catering business. Happy earning!

Photo Credit: feastcaterers

Best Reasons to Buy Your Chafers Online

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:23:19 +0000

For smart entrepreneurs, a catering business can be the path to a lucrative future. One of the ways to cut down start up costs and start making money faster is to find cheaper sources for the supplies that you’re going to need. With a constant need to maintain and replace worn out supplies, you might find yourself shelling out more money than you’re earning if a cheap supplier isn’t found.

One of the most basic catering supplies are chafers. Not surprisingly, one of the best sources for chafers is found online. Here are some reasons to start shopping online:

1. Shops online supply every kind of shape that you will want for chafers. There are times that online shops even provide a more diverse collection of chafers than actual stores.
2. Since the internet doesn’t need to pay for rent, the costs of chafers that are being sold online tend to be cheaper than the one’s found in stores.
3. Just because you’re buying your chafers online doesn’t mean you’re making any sacrifices in the quality. The brands that you are familiar with and trust are also available online.
4. Mall or store hours do not apply. Shopping for your chafers online can be done around the clock whether or not it’s as late as 3 am or as early as 5 am.
5. The great about shopping for chafers online is that it can be done within the comfort of your own home. No one will care if you’re shopping in your night gown or have curlers in your hair. There’s comfort in anonymity.

Shopping for chafers online saves time and a generous portion of your start up costs or earnings. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting up your catering business or if you’ve been running your catering service for years. It’s never too late to start shopping online and start saving more of your well earned money.

Buffet Supplies: Making or Breaking the Buffet

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:43:41 +0000

While most people tend to put more thought into the food being served in a buffet, one of the buffet supplies that actually requires quite a bit of planning and decision making are the serving dishes and platters. Believe it or not, these items which are a basic need in buffet supplies can actually make or break the buffet.

Here are some tips on buying buffet supplies:

Be Budget Friendly
The serving platters being chosen for buffet supplies dictate the style that the food will take and contribute to the ambience that the diners are experiencing. First and foremost, these certain buffet supplies are made from glass, porcelain, wood, stainless steel or porcelain. However, before we delve into the aesthetic quality of the buffet supplies, the more important matter to consider is the budget that the business has. If this factor in your decision making is settled then it is likely that a haphazard purchasing of buffet supplies will ensue.

Quality for Money Spent

Once a budget is set, think about the quality of the buffet supplies. Some of the key things to remember to check are the durability of the platters and the amount of heat that it can take without breaking or getting bent out of shape. The handy thing about most buffet supplies is that the maximum heat that the item can take is normally printed or labelled on the bottom of the platter so it really isn’t hard to pick pieces that can stand the test of high heat and time. Alongside the temperatures the item can take, make sure to purchase buffet supplies that are microwave friendly.

Themed Buffet Preparations

If the buffet being prepared is one that has a certain theme, there really are a large amount of buffet supplies that are fit for themed foods. For example, serving sushi on a metal tray isn’t the most appealing of choices. Japanese themed buffets will often make use of equipment that is made from glass or wood to match and mimic the origins of the food.

Picking the right buffet supplies for different foods and occasions isn’t that hard to do. All it takes is some time and effort to scour the streets, stores and even the internet for some great finds. Not only does making the right choice leave the caterers with buffet supplies that are cost effective, but the diners can also experience a comfortable ambience and stunning visual display.

Photo Credit: Rovney

A Guide to Choosing and Buying Chafers

emorgan — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:50:52 +0000

Chafers are essential to proper food presentation and service. It’s a fixture in many buffets, whether these are catered affairs or home-based parties. In many operations involving food service, chafers are some of the most ubiquitous equipment due to their flexibility and usefulness. Whether you’re running a cafe, a restaurant, a catering business, a hotel, a school cafeteria or just want a practical way to serve and present your food, chafers can be an excellent addition to your kitchen equipment. Here is a guide to choosing and buying chafers:

What is a chafer?

A chafer or chafing dish is essentially a warming dish, consisting of a container, a basin and a source of heat. A chafer is used to hold food and maintain its ideal serving temperature. If the food is to be served hot or at least warm, the basin is filled with hot water and flame is applied underneath to keep the temperature high through steam. The food container is then placed on top of the basin where it will be heated. If the food is to be served cold, the basin is filled with ice or very cold water.

Some points to remember when choosing and buying chafers include:

Size

Chafers come in a variety of standard sizes, with the smallest having a capacity of around 4 quarts. These units are generally referred to as half-size. Larger “full size” units are at around 8 quart chafers. Consider the amount of food you intend to serve to determine which size is best.

Shape

Chafers essentially come in several shapes: round, oval, dome-shaped and rectangular. Round, oval or dome-shaped chafers have a maximum capacity of around 6 quarts while rectangulars and squares can hold an average of about 8 quarts. Round and dome-shaped chafers can be attractive with single entrees such as whole chickens, turkey or ham. The only drawback is that they tend to eat up space at the table, particularly when used with one or more similarly-shaped chafers.

Rectangulars, on the other hand, are space savers, in that they can be lined up to maximize available room at the table. Which one you choose will depend on the type of food you wish to serve, the space available and of course, your personal preference and style.

Material

Chafers are produced using a variety of materials, the most common of which is stainless steel. Many are also made with copper or silver plating and are accented using materials such as wood, brass, gold, sterling silver and even plastic. Glass material adds to the aesthetics of the chafer, allowing guests to view the food. If you’re worried about breakage and weight, however, the standard models with stainless steel lids will be a good alternative.

Type of Lid

Consider carefully what type of lid comes with the chafer you are buying. Many chafers come with solid lids that must be removed fully in order to serve the food, while others come with a “roll-top” lid that allows the lid to remain on the chafer, which can be pulled up and down to cover or open the chafer. Roll top chafers can either open partially (ie: 90 degrees) or fully (180 degrees). The difference is important to buffets where waiters will be serving from behind the chafer; a roll top chafer that opens to 180 degrees or a chafer with a fully removable cover is imperative. A 90 degree roll top chafer can be used in a self serve buffet where food is only being taken from one side of the chafer.

Type of heating

Most chafers now come with a heating material, usually canned heat. Some models may also use lamps with chafing fuels such as ethanol, diethylene glycol or methanol. Electric chafers use a heating plate. Electric models are very convenient to use because you only need to plug them to an outlet to run. Where no power is available or if location does not allow for an electric outlet, most chafers using flame-based heating devices are better choices. Often fuel cans cannot be ordered online due to safety restrictions.

Price

When it comes to chafers, your buying decision will be significantly influenced by its price. Fortunately, there is a wide range of choices for most budgets, ranging from the more affordable economy series to the more expensive high-end models. Cheap chafers are usually priced from about $40 to less than $200; mid-priced chafers usually cost about $500; high-end models can cost anywhere from $800 to over $1,000.