CATERING TIPS

When setting your “Delivery Time” please consider the following:

1) Always set your “Delivery Time” to be at least 15 minutes prior to your “Event Time” This gives your caterer time to setup the meal.

2) Ask yourself, “Is it difficult to deliver to my location?” Parking a problem? Security necessary? Hard to find? Is this a very important meeting? When will guests arrive for the meeting?  What about access to the building or floor?  What about accessing elevators prior to 8am or after 5pm?  Etc.

If any of these are true, please set the “Delivery Time” to be at least 30 minutes prior to the “Event Time”.  Note any specific delivery instructions in the “Delivery Instructions” section of your order. Such as “Please call 555-1212 upon arrival” OR “go to 5th floor reception”.  This extra time is especially helpful to our new caterers who might not be familiar with your location. 

3) Vmeals providers (restaurants/caterers) are asked to deliver between 30 minutes prior to the set “Delivery Time" but no more than 5 minutes after that time.  There are a few exceptions, so please review the online menu carefully.  

4) Providers are required to call Vmeals Customer Service if they anticipate being late! 

“The Chafing Dish”

What exactly is a chafing dish?  Well, it is a metal or aluminum pan over a heater used to cook or keep food warm.  There are two basic types of chafing dishes: stainless steel and disposable.  The stainless steel chafer is used to “dress up” your meal presentation.  The disposable chafer is a wire frame that holds the food in aluminum pans. The stainless steel chafer is typically rented, while the disposable chafer is purchased.  Even though it’s called a disposable chafer, the wire frame chafer can be reused over and over.  If you are trying to impress, rent the stainless steel.  If you are not and just want to keep your food hot, then purchase a disposal chafer, along with extra Sternos each time you order a hot meal. 

There are lots of different styles of chafing dishes, but the most popular are rectangular in shape and hold about 7-8 quarts of food.  This is the type of chafing dish you will see from our providers.  Each chafing dish holds either one large pan or two smaller pans, called half pans.  Pan serving sizes will vary depending on the provider, so please pay close attention to the serving amount. Every chafing dish comes with a water pan that is filled with about ½” of water. The Sternos heat the water in the water pan which in turn maintains the temperature of your food.  Never use a chafer without adding water to the water pan!  This will burn your food!  Most Sternos are good for about 1-1½ hours and you will need at least two per chafing dish.

Most of our providers provide both stainless steel chafers and disposable chafers.  As always, if you have any questions, please call Vmeals customer service to help you (866-863-2571).