Deliver it hot. Keep it hot. Cater Right!

Pre-pandemic, restaurant drop-off catering was arguably one of the fastest-growing segments in food service. As we emerge from the last two years, this segment is likely to return to the kind of growth experienced in 2018 and 2019, as consumers host parties and business lunches happen again.

Drop-off caterers have turned to Sterno’s line of chafing fuel and wire rack chafer products for years. However, concerns about open-flame and knowledge of a proper setup have limited some restaurants in expanding their catering business. To fill this gap, Sterno brought to market SpeedHeat, a first-of-its-kind flameless food warming system designed primarily to meet those drop-off catering needs.

Wondering why you should use SpeedHeat instead of traditional Sterno chafing fuel and catering equipment? Sterno SpeedHeat provides a safer, simpler, and faster warming solution that is perfect for a drop-off catering situation where hot food is on the menu. SpeedHeat is flameless and has only a few pieces, which means added safety and can be set up in minutes by even non- foodservice professionals. Finally, unlike traditional chafing equipment that can take up to 20 minutes to ramp up to the necessary temperature, SpeedHeat provides instant flameless heat which is ideal for those business lunches.

The SpeedHeat system has been carefully designed so that its parts work together to produce the maximum amount of heat in a safe, efficient, and attractive unit. For an instant, flameless heat, place one SpeedHeat packet in each reservoir and fill each reservoir to the top with room temperature water. It’s that easy.?

For a relatively low cost, restaurants can add a high dollar and high margin offering with drop-off catering. For a typical $200+ business lunch order, the food, pans, and SpeadHeat are only roughly 30% of the sale, leaving the labor and delivery cost. We’ve heard some restaurants have really made it a nice profit center by extending their business into drop-off catering. Adding SpeedHeat as the method of keeping the food hot makes it easier for an operation that is new to drop-off catering, by having a safer and simpler setup for their customers.?

The nice thing about SpeedHeat is that it doesn’t require restaurants to go back and clean up. Since there is no hot water or open flames to deal with, the customer can easily clean up. This means that restaurants can save money and time by not having to go back.?

Clean-up is environmentally-friendly and hassle-free! The SpeedHeat tray and base are made of polypropylene #5, a recyclable plastic. After use, the SpeedHeat tray and base can be recycled. The spent (and cooled) SpeedHeat packets can be disposed of in everyday trash.

For those who are interested, SpeedHeat heat packets can be used independently from the SpeedHeat system, with a traditional chafer, for example. We have a number of customers who use the refill system. It’s important to note that the packets and trays must be used together to achieve optimal results.