Oven Heating Guidelines
Food purchased from Bachetti's catering menu is ready to heat-n-eat, with the exception of a few items that are indicated next to the item on the menu.
| Food Weight | Oven Temp | Cold to Room Temp | Warm Temp |
| Delicate or "Light" | 275º - 300º | 30 - 40 min | 15 - 25 min |
| Medium | 300º - 325º | 45 - 60 min | 30 - 45 min |
| Heavy | 325º - 350º | 60 - 90 min | 45 - 60 min |
Chafer Heating Guide
When renting chafers from Bachetti’s Gourmet Market & Catering, you receive a complete chafer (chafer frame, lid, and water pan) and 3 sterno. The rental equipment contract, or our Equipment List, outlines the terms of rental.
After assembling the chafer, fill the water pan with about 1 inch of water. The water evaporates while the chafer is warming. If the chafer has been lit for more than a few hours, please check to make sure that there is enough water in the pan. Please be careful when checking the water level, the chafer and pans can burn you. The chafer’s water pan is not intended to hold food, so please put your food into separate food pans. We sell disposable food pans if you require them.
For proper heating, the water pan should be covered, for example one (1) full chafer should have one (1) full pan or two (2) half pans, not just one half pan.
Chafers are not for cooking food, they are meant to keep food hot or warm. For best results, heat your food in an oven and use the chafer to keep food warm. Below is a guide on heating instructions for using a chafer. Please refer to our menu and use as a guide for heating instructions when using an oven. The lid should remain on the chafer while the food is not being served.
Please refer to the table below as a guide to how many sterno you should light under the chafer prior to serving. If you do not have access to an oven and you are using the chafers to heat up your food, i.e. the cold to room temperature column, you should light the sterno two (2) hours prior to your eating time. **Do not put frozen food on the chafer, please let it thaw before warming.
| Food Weights | Cold to Room Temp. | Warm to Hot Temp. |
| Delicate or Light | 1 Sterno | 1 Sterno |
| Medium | 2 Sterno | 1 Sterno |
| Heavy | 3 Sterno | 2 Sterno |
For proper and even heating, stir and check the temperature of the food every 20 to 30 minutes. If the food seems too hot or cold 30 minutes prior to your eating time, you may add a sterno or snuff out the flame on a sterno. Sterno get EXTREMELY hot so please take proper precautions.
Each sterno lasts for approximately 2 hours. If your event is outside, please wrap 3 sides of your chafers with aluminum foil to prevent the wind from blowing out the flame on the sterno.
Do not hesitate to call our catering department or kitchen if you have any questions.
| Food Weight | Examples | |
| Delicate/Light | Roast Beef Porkette Baked Ham |
Quiche Shrimp Lejon Stuffed Mushrooms |
| Medium | Sausage, Peppers & Onions London Broil Lemon Chicken |
Lighter potato dishes Vegetable dishes Chicken appetizers |
| Heavy | Most pasta dishes Meatballs Veal Spezzato Chicken Scallopini |
Pulled Pork Pit Beef Dense Potato Dishes Rice Dishes |