Food warmers/thermalizers or steam table??

[Jeremy]

We have quite a few sauces that we need to keep hot. Red sauce, marinara, au jus, cheddar cheese sauce. Currently we are using 2 big food warmers that are heat n serve and 6” deep 1/3 size pans. Each warmer can fit 4-1/3 size pans and we max these out every day. Problem I am having is these warmers don’t last very long and find myself having to replace them once a year it seems. Plus they take out much needed outlet space. Was thinking about converting to a gas steam table which would help speed up the flow as well because the warmers are raised and no extra prep space. With steam table they would have a little counter top space. Just trying to find out my best option, either electric or gas steam table. And then open or enclosed well. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[pizzapirate]

Sounds like its just a matter of comparing costs – electric vs gas. Install new outlets or run a new gas line. I don’t think a warming table is any where near as expensive to run as an electric oven so your build-out cost (plus equipment) may be the deciding factor.

Countertop food warmers should last you longer than a year. I believe we got about 5 or 6 out of our last one and they are cheap to replace anyway. And you can always have more outlets installed.