Food Holding & Warming Equipment

Food Holding & Proofing Cabinets

Preserve your food's freshness with our food holding and proofing cabinets. Keep your dishes warm and ready to serve with adjustable temperature controls and humidity settings. Insulated cabinets guarantee that internal heat, moisture, and temperatures are all kept constant.

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Holding & Proofing Cabinets

Food Wells & Serving Lines

When your food must be visible or accessible directly to customers, keeping food-safe temperatures can be challenging. These food wells and steam tables will help you keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold for several hours. Whether you need a mobile buffet station, commercial steam table, or hot/cold food wells, we offer a wide variety of styles, configurations, and connection types.

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Food Wells & Serving Lines

Countertop Food Warming

Commercial food warmers come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and capabilities. With compact designs, kettle warmers, warming drawers, and fry dump stations will comfortably sit atop any countertop.

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Ice Bins

Heated Merchandisers & Display Cases

Heated merchandisers allow you to display foods for sale, while keeping them at their proper serving temperatures. Available in both full size and countertop models, warming display cases are excellent for bakeries, concession stands, c-stores, and many other establishments.

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Heated Merchandisers & Cases

Food Carts & Carriers

When transporting hot meals, it's vital to keep them above "danger zone" temperatures to ensure safety. Using these food carriers and carts can keep your food at a temperature that is safe for consumption.

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Food Carriers & Carts

Heat Lamps & Strip Heaters

Keep plated meals, buffet lines, and other foods warm during service with heat lamps and strip heaters. Available in various styles and configurations, heated lighting equipment is simple and effective for keeping hot foods hot.

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Heat Lamps & Strip Heaters

Dish & Tray Dispensers

Plate and tray dispensers make it simple to provide a high volume of dishes for guests with little staff oversight. These dispensers can be designed to drop into counters or buffets, be mounted on wheels, or be completely enclosed to keep plates warm.

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Dish and Tray Dispensers

Popular Products

Food holding and warming equipment is vital for any kitchen looking to provide hot food items safely.

Food holding and warming equipment is extremely important in any professional kitchen. From steam tables to strip heaters, proofing cabinets to food carriers, we have the appropriate food holding or food warming equipment for your commercial kitchen. Whether you need a heated display case to keep your pizzas and pretzels warm while on display or a cold buffet station for catering events, at Burkett we have the right food holding & warming for your needs.

Strip warmers keep prepped items and completed meals ready and heated to the proper temperatures. Heat lamps perform similarly but provide a different style and look for heated lighting.

Create customized buffet layouts with drop-in food wells. We offer commercial food wells in many different styles, including hot, cold, and iced. For soups or sauces, check out our round food wells. Transport hot plated meals for quick and easy delivery with a meal delivery cart. Countertop warmers securely hold hot foods at their ideal serving temperatures, while simultaneously making foods, soups, and sauces easily accessible for guests.

With dish dispensers, you can provide your customers with clean dishes where ever you want. Available in heated or unheated, mobile or drop-in models.


Why do you need food holding and warming equipment?

Food and customer safety are the main reasons holding and warming equipment is pretty much required in any foodservice business. Local, state, and federal laws have been put in place to ensure foods are free from bacteria. Maintaining hot cooked food at a temperature of at least 140 °F is required. Adversely, food that needs to be refrigerated should be kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Anything that reaches a temperature between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit has a chance of growing dangerous bacteria that can result in food poisoning symptoms.

Time management is crucial in commercial kitchens. Health inspectors demand that food be served at a proper temperature to prevent illness, and customers expect warm, ready-to-eat food that hasn't been dried out or burned. Whether you’re running a served catering meal or cafeteria buffet line, the challenge of safely holding food temperatures remains the same.

Not every dish is served directly to the customer once finished. To maintain food safety and required serving temperatures, foodservice establishments need commercial food warming and holding equipment. Kitchen personnel can design their cooking routine for efficiency rather than necessity by storing a variety of items for varied durations of time.


Frequently Asked Questions about Food Holding & Warming Equipment

What type of equipment can keep food warm?

After spending hours to cook the perfect meal, no chef wants to see their work wasted by losing its ideal temperature.

How can you keep food warm when transporting?

In many commercial kitchens it is important to have the right equipment to properly and safely transport hot food. Using properly insulated mobile heated boxes will allow any foodservice business to successfully serve hot foods off site. Insulated food warmers will help keep your foods at optimal temperatures while also keeping your foods level and steady, preventing loss of product during transport. Mobile food warming cabinets and carriers come in either stainless steel or sturdy polyethylene plastic.

  • Food Carriers & Bins – Fully insulated and either front loading or top loading. Carriers can be easily stacked with dolly options for wheeling mobility.
  • Food Holding Cabinets – Designed with heaters built into stainless steel or polyethylene plastic cabinets, this equipment is perfect for holding foods at desired temperatures while being easily movable throughout the kitchen.
  • Food Transportation Systems – Specialized equipment for transporting and storing hot plated meals, trays, or food pans. Banquet carts are excellent for catering companies that pre-plate meals for a served dinner. Meal delivery carts are ideal for healthcare facilities, as they allow for plates and trays to be built in the kitchen then be moved in and out of rooms easily.

What is the food temperature danger zone?

Without the right warming equipment, leaving food out too long can stimulate the growth of harmful amounts of bacteria; lowering food quality and endangering the health of customers. Bacteria grows most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40°F and 140°F. This range of temperatures is often called the "Danger Zone." Since the spread of bacteria cannot be easily detected, it’s important to keep your food at a safe temperature range both when it’s refrigerated and when it’s cooked.

Whether you’re storing, cooking, or holding food, it’s crucial to maintain safe temperature levels. Maintaining food at these safe temperatures keeps both you in compliance with state and federal health code laws while also keeping your guests healthy.


Can I use a food warmer to reheat food?

Food warmers should never be used to reheat food unless the unit is specifically designed and constructed to do so. Most hot food holding equipment does not have the ability to pass foods rapidly enough through the temperature "hazard zone". When reheating cooled foods, an internal temperature of 165°F should be reached. Reheat foods properly, then move them to holding or dispensing units for safe keeping. Rethermalizers are specific units designed for reheating foods.


What are the safest ways to reheat my food?

  • On the stovetop: Place the meal in a pan. Cook until food reaches an internal temperature of 140°F.
  • In the oven: Preheat oven to 325°F. Cook until food reaches an internal temperature of 140°F.
  • In the microwave: Stir, cover, and rotate cooked food. Cook until food reaches an internal temperature of 140°F.

Additional Burkett Resources

Food holding and warming equipment is necessary in many different types of businesses. Check out some of these great specialized business type pages for everything you may need on one page.