Vikron, Inc. proudly introduces the latest innovation to the American culinary marketplace – the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart, a mobile electric warming cart that keeps hot food hot for 5 hours or more.
Friday afternoon, the smell of cooking permeates the house and the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart is plugged in and warming up. This European warming cart, with an OU Kashrus stamp for use over Shabbos and Yom Tov, can help simplify your life.
Imagine this …
A Friday Night Story
3.00 pm Dinner is in 4½ hours and I have so much left to do - the appetizers have to be prepared, the soup needs to be heated, should the chickens be in the oven by now? What about the potatoes? Will they fit? I haven’t even started to think about the apple pies for desert. How am I going to pull off dinner for 20 with only one oven, two hands and 4 hours before Shabbos!
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Does this sound familiar when you are cooking for Shabbos or planning a dinner party? The headache of the last minute rush to cook all the food in your one oven and actually serve the meal in the right order and without 30-minute gaps between courses as the food finishes cooking.
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The Hot@Hand Buffet Cart is UL approved and because the doors help contain the heat, it is more efficient than a hot plate, not to mention much larger. The unit is designed to look like a piece of furniture and comes in many different finishes, from beautiful mahogany, oak and pine to functional stainless steel. The Hot@Hand Buffet Cart has been safety tested for continuous use over a 72-hour period - perfect for a Shabbos and 2 day Yom Tov.
The unit has three heating elements that get to a temperature of approximately 170 degrees Fahrenheit and keeps the food warm through basic conduction. There are no cut-off switches, thermostats, time switches, or lighting devices as part of this unit. When the Shabbos meal is fully cooked, the food can be transferred into serving dishes and placed in the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart where it will remain hot for the next several hours, allowing all pots and pans to be washed and put-away before Shabbos comes in. After Kiddush, Hamozzi and zemiros (no matter how long they go on for!), the food will still be hot and ready to serve. The Hot@Hand Buffet Cart will not dry out meats or burn the kuggel, it can even keep your steamed vegetables crisp and perfect to serve. The unit only uses 400 watts of power and never reaches a temperature that might cause a fire danger. All excess heat escapes naturally into the surrounding room because the doors are not airtight nor designed to insulate the heat. This unit is simplicity itself.
Shabbos morning, place Challah in the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart and it will be warm by the time you come home from Shul. Last night’s leftovers will also be warm and ready for lunch. The Hot@Hand Buffet Cart is the perfect Shabbos solution and now with the OU guidelines it can be used by everyone.
Imagine this scenario…
The Old Friday Night Story WITH A NEW TWIST - The Hot@Hand Buffet Cart
3.00 pm Dinner is in 4½ hours and I pretty much have everything under control. The chicken is already cooking and I am just finishing preparing the apple pies. The appetizers are ready to go into the oven after the chicken is cooked. The soup is already boiling on the stove. The Hot@Hand Buffet Cart has been heating nicely for 20 minutes and is now ready to be loaded up.
3.15 pm The soup has been transferred into a serving tureen and is placed on the bottom shelf of the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart, where it will stay warm until dinner begins at 7 this evening. I have washed the soup pot and when the chicken comes out I will put the pies in the oven to cook until brown.
5.00 pm The chicken is cooked and is now in the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart, sitting on its serving platter, uncovered to keep it crisp. The Hot@Hand Buffet Cart’s patented warming shelves wont dry the meat out, and will keep it hot and juicy until it is ready to serve at about 7.30 this evening.
5.05 pm The potatoes and the pies go in the oven and I wash the chicken’s roasting pan and dishes. The appetizers should also go in, but I think they can wait about 20 minutes.
5.15 pm I throw the different washed vegetables into their respective pots of water and turn on the gas. Five minutes should do it - nicely crunchy, and then they can soften a little in the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart as they stay warm until they are ready to be served at 7.30.
5.22 pm Pour out the water and toss the vegetables into the Pyrex dishes on top of the Buffet Cart. First the peas, then the corn and then the French beans. I always try to alternate the colors!
5.35 pm The pies are nicely golden brown, I take them out of the oven and place them with the chicken, soup and vegetables into the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart. The appetizers go into the oven, and I turn those roast potatoes over one last time.
6.00 pm The appetizers are ready, and the potatoes are nicely crispy and brown after being in the oven for over an hour. I transfer the potatoes to the edges of the chicken’s serving platter and put the appetizers on the second shelf, beside the apple pies. And in go the plates - I definitely prefer having the individual plates warmed before serving the food, as it keeps everything so much warmer. The Hot@Hand Buffet Cart will not damage your fine china, so heating up the plates is not a problem.
6.15 pm I think that’s it. Everything is in the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart, the pots and pans are washed, and the oven is off. I think it is time for me to take a quick shower and change into something a little more presentable for Shabbos.
6.45 pm Candle lighting.
7.15 pm Finally everyone is here. Kiddush.
7.30 More zemiros. The appetizers come out of the Hot@Hand.
7.40 pm The dinner is really starting to swing. Aunt Rochelle is sharing her stories of Israel before the war and the kids are playing. I think the appetizers were too good, nobody seems interested in the next course. Thank the stars I have a Hot@Hand Buffet Cart because now it really doesn’t matter when I serve - the food will be waiting and ready as if it just came straight from the oven. I’m actually having a nice time too. It is great to see all the family together like this.
8.25 pm Finally, the stories slow down and I start to get a few inquiring questions about when I plan on serving the rest of dinner!
8.35 pm The food is served a full hour later than planned, and is still piping hot and ready to be enjoyed.
The Hot@Hand Buffet Cart allows the preparation of such a dinner to go off without a hitch, the timing of the party to be easy and carefree, and best of all, it allows me—the host, chef, keeper of family folklore, and all round “life of the Shabbos table”—to enjoy the time with my family, without being tethered to the kitchen! Thank the stars I have a Hot@Hand Buffet Cart.
As you can see, the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart is not just for Shabbos use - it can help keep food warm in any party situation, especially as the buffet cart’s wheels allow it to be easily moved throughout the house. Using your oven to cook and the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart to store and keep the food warm before serving, can more than double your serving capacity. This allows you to dictate when to serve the meal and not the meal to dictate when you must serve.
If the Hot@Hand Buffet Cart sounds right for your home and entertaining style, please click here to place your order or call 800-899 2877 to speak with one of our representatives. For photographs of the units along with prices, please click on the Catalog menu bar. Vikron accepts all major credit cards and can have a Hot@Hand Buffet Cart shipped directly to your home. The OU usage guidelines are available on this website.