Tips to Follow When Buying Food Warmers for Outdoor Parties

Over the past few years, outdoor parties and events have gained great popularity among event planners and private party-goers alike. This is because outdoor venues offer a number of advantages that are not available indoors.

Outdoor venues are open and spacious, so they can accommodate larger crowds as compared to an indoor auditorium or banquet hall. Moreover, if you’re hosting a party outdoors, you don’t have to worry about your guests feeling suffocated and claustrophobic because of the crowd.

You can also save a significant sum of money on decoration costs by taking advantage of the natural beauty of a lawn or garden. A lush garden or a lawn full of flowerbeds requires very little to make it look attractive and vibrant.

The Problem with Heating Food at Outdoor Events

Despite the many benefits that they offer, there are also certain issues that are unique to outdoor venues. You will have to think about how to solve these problems before you can start planning an outdoor wedding or birthday party.

The chief issue when it comes to organizing an outdoor event or party is that there are limited options for heating food items outdoors. Unlike an indoor venue, most outdoor spaces don’t have a kitchen, where stoves and cylinders can be installed. Under such circumstances, it is very difficult for the caterers to keep the food warm and toasty.

No one likes to eat food that has gone cold, so caterers have to come up with a solution to satisfy the guests attending outdoor events. This is why high-quality food warmers for parties are so important while organizing events. This equipment allows caterers to keep the dishes warm for hours on end, while the outdoor party goes on.

Choosing the Right Food Warmer for Outdoor Parties

There are a variety of options to choose from when it comes to purchasing food warmers for parties. Some of the factors you should consider when making the choice has been discussed below in detail.

• Capacity:

The type of warmer you need will depend on the quantity of food you will need to serve, and the duration of the event. So first, you need to think about the size of the events you are going to cater to before selecting the food warmer for the party. If your catering service is regularly hired to serve food at events attended by hundreds of people, then you will need larger units of food warmers so that they can heat a huge quantity of food.

If the duration of the event is long, for instance, a day-long outdoor conference, then you will need to purchase food warmers for parties that can provide consistent heat for a long period. You should be sure to get the capacity right because the worst thing for the reputation of a catering business is to have to deal with a shortage of food in the middle of a party or event.

• Temperature Control:

Another factor to consider when purchasing food warmers for parties is the type of food that you will be serving. A steak or a grilled hamburger will need some frequent adjusting in the heat levels without much trouble. But if you plan to serve a delicate, cream-based soup or a risotto, then you will need to ensure that the temperatures remain consistent.

A rheostat food warmer cannot self-adjust the temperature by the amount of food on the tray, and hence such a warmer will have to be constantly monitored by the catering staff. On the other hand, if the consistency of temperature is the goal, then you can go for a thermostatically-controlled warmer, which will definitely enable you to maintain a consistent temperature over many hours.

• Environmental Impact:

As a modern, socially conscious business, a catering company should also consider the environmental impact of its choices when it comes to selecting food warmers for parties. Food warmers that make use of chafing fuel can harm the environment in numerous ways.

Burning chafing fuel releases toxic fumes, which can cause health problems – both for the catering staff as well as for guests attending the event. Moreover, the open flames used by Sterno warmers could easily start a fire, endangering the lives of all present at the venue. Sterno fuel can also harm the environment by seeping into the soil and the groundwater after it has been disposed of, causing the surroundings to become toxic.

Thus, catering companies should ideally opt for fire-free food warmers for parties, which make use of biodegradable materials to produce heat. Such fire-free warmers will be both safer and more eco-friendly than the traditional warmers, which use chafing fuel, helping reduce the carbon footprint on the planet.

In Conclusion

Mentioned above are some of the factors that you should take into account when purchasing the best food warmers for parties to help your catering business expand and succeed. The energy consumption, cleanability, certifications, and warranty of the food warmer will also play a major role in determining your choice.