Customer Reviews

Winware 8 Qt Stainless Steel Chafer, Full Size Chafer

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this chafing dish for the holidays anticipating lots of family to entertain. It made keeping food warm for a crowd an easy task! This is an excellent chafing dish and heavy duty quality. Food doesn't dry out and the two compartments for fuel work very well and control the amount of heat to the pan of water below the food. The pan that holds the food holds a generous 24 cups of food and could probably hold more than this. This chafer is an excellent purchase if you want to serve a crowd of people.

I've go to admit, I have quite the collection of chafing dishes. Several models and sizes, do the amount of entertaining we do. I have some that cost a few hundred dollars, and I also purchased 2 of these at what I consider to be a very reasonable price. These chafer's function just as well as my very expensive chafer's. However, at a fraction of the cost. These chafer's will also accommodate all the optional chafing insert pans that my expensive chafer's use as well. So, these are very versatile depending on your food serving needs.

I noticed a comment regarding the proper water level to use, and maintain. Usually 3" of water is enough to maintain a consistent hot/safe food serving temperature, for about 4 to 4.5 hours of in use time. Its best to very HOT tap water when filling your chafer, as it takes less time and fuel/sterno to heat up the unit. Once the water and food items are HOT. I usually run the unit with only one sterno/fuel cell (centered). And this not only reduces excess steam, but also allows the unit to warm food longer, about 6 hours. Without the need to add additional water. It can be a bit of a task, if you need to add water, especially if the food trays still have food in them. I use my chafer's for entertaining indoors as well as outdoors. Once you start using chafer's, you're going to find, you have a lot more time to spend with your guests. Great price, great product. Enjoy!

I purchased 2 of these chafers for a party I was hosting at home. They worked very well at keeping my food warm and were the perfect size. The box said it came with 2 handles, a plastic black one that already came attached and a stainless steel one; however, the stainless steel handle was not included. Not a big deal since I wasn't anticipating it when I ordered them. At the end of the night, I found that one of the handles has broken off as well. The plastic handle doesn't seem to be sufficient for a lot of use, but hopefully an easy fix by going to a hardware store buying a replacement. Overall, I was very happy with the product that I received for the price that I paid.

I debated ordering this on Amazon or going to a restaurant supply store...it's very hard to tell quality of something like this online...but, as you can see by my Amazon purchase stamp, I decided to risk it.

For those who haven't used a chafer before, this is like like the serving chafing dishes you'd see at a buffet...it keeps your food warm for as long as you wish and frees up your having to time a meal just perfectly at a dinner party...it'll stay hot regardless of whether you are waiting for the side dishes to be done, or if you have the side dishes in here and are waiting for the main dish. Better yet, it keeps your foot hot while you eat and chat so anyone wishing to go back for seconds still gets a hot plate. During the holidays when you might need your oven at two temps, you can also cook one dish, put it in here, and keep it hot while you bake a second dish or bake a dish at a different temperature.

There is a water bath beneath the server tray. like the pro chafing dishes, to ensure even heating and food that isn't dried out. This is below the top tray that the food sits in and it has two burners underneath for your fuel cans. Your food doesn't get watery...the steam just counteracts the heat so it stays as moist as when you put it in.

For this price, I felt I got far more than I expected. I thought something light and kinda cheap would be fine as I'll just use it during entertaining but it was heavy stainless and, in all honesty, of better quality than the one 3 times the price that I got when I was married. Also, the fact that it has two burners kept the food hot all over.

Quite nice that it comes with two handles for the top, the black plastic one shown and a polished stainless one if you prefer it. The two handles on the side are built-in

Negatives: I slid this back into the box for storage and cut myself twice. They don't polish down the metal as much as they should. There are no instructions and I think there should be as not everyone would know about putting the water in for a water bath or how much to put in.

Conclusion: It's large, keeps food hot for hours, keeps the moisture in, cleaned up very easily... It exceeded my expectations. Even if you take the the dish out of the oven during holidays or entertaining and serve it immediately, this has worked wonderfully for me for hot appetizers for guests to nibble on while I cook the main dish, Better yet, last weekend we had a brunch on the deck and I was able to do pancakes and put them on one side of the server, and some veggie sausage on the other for guests, and they both stayed hot OUTSIDE...which is a use I hadn't considered. Plus the cover kept any interested bugs at bay.

I purchased 3 of these and used them last nite for the first time, at a party we threw. They worked wonderfully! My only critique is that there are no instructions included, I know how they work, but I would have liked to have some guidence on how much water to add to the steam pan. I added too much to the first one, and steam was pouring out the sides and then it was a pain to remove the food pan and remove some of the water. I guess that will be a matter of trial and error.

Everywhere I take these dishes, people ask where I got them and how much I paid for them. Cannot believe when I tell them the price. Very beautiful dishes!

So in the one month that I have owned two of these pans, I have hosted two important events and these did more than just their job! SERIOUSLY worth every penny.

If you want to "jazz them up" swap out the black plastic handles for the slim silver ones which are included and they will look much nicer. A handy catering tip is to tie a cloth napkin through the handle. It adds color and provides protection from heat for when the tops are closed.

These dishes work beautifully! How wonderful to be able to prep, refrigerate, bake, and serve all in one dish!

The only problem is storing them! (Not their fault.)

I HIGHLY recommend these - they're a little utilitarian - but they are only $40!!

This is a very nice product. It comes with the black plastic handle attached and it comes with a stainless steel handle too. This will hold 2 four quart trays as well. The stand has a lip on each end to hold the lid. We used the candle wick sterno and they worked perfectly in the sterno holder. One does need to be careful handling the chafer because they will dent. I bought 2 of these for a party we hosted and they kept the food warmed nicely.

The piece is what I considered it to be. Well built & eloquent. I have used it with the others purchased & it did well & handy..

I ordered three of these chafing dishes for the first holiday I hosted for my new husband's family. They worked perfectly!! I considered buying the more expensive ones offered, but decided that this type would be sufficient. I'm very happy to have gone in this direction. I got three of these for the price of one of the "restaurant quality" ones, and, in hindsight, feel the more expensive one would have been way to opulent for a family function in my home. I also ordered two of the Stainless Steel Divided Full-Size Steam Table Pans - 2-1/2" Deep, which gave me the option to have two different kind of food items in two of my chafing dishes. You could also buy the disposable ones from the grocery store, but having the permanent ones made it nice!. The dishes allow for either warm or cold food . . . just put ice in the lower pan!! I will be using these every chance I get!!