Serving 400 without a heat source?

Question

I have an interesting challenge ahead of me, in December i am tasked with feeding 400 people, the problem is where we are serving has no heat source. This is a lunch, we have tried sandwiches, pizza, and cold meals in the past and they have not gone over well. It is cold and rainy this time of year and we are going to need a hot meal. Any ideas on what kind of meal would be good or how to keep the food hot enough with no exsisting heat source at the site?

Sorry about forgetting some details, this is inside, i do have electricity available. refrigeration is not available but lots of large coolers are. Budget should be less then $5 a head or under two thousand, though i could probably get closer to 3k if need be. we will serve the meals by making individual plates and bringing them out to people. there is no theme. These are Developmentally Disabled Adults who have some simple tastes but some have a disability called Prader Willi syndrome so they always feel like they are starving, this leads to over easting and thus all those in our program are calorie restricted and all of them must be served the exact same amount of food so they don't argue over who has more food. (pizza did not work because they fought over who had a bigger slice)

Answer 1

Being in the medical field I'm familiar with Prader Willi and also have worked with DD adults. Very rewarding.

As I initially stated..you have a delima lol. Let me do some thinking and brain storm this with some others I think might have some thoughts and see what we can come up with.




You really have a delima! You didn't mention if there is an electric supply..refrigeration... the type of function....age range of the guests...budget restraints...buffet style, sit down be served type meal....inside or outside.....is there a theme.....etc.

With more information I'm certain many of us could assist with grand ideas to make your function a success.

I'll be anxious to hear more details.

Answer 2

OK there is this a thing called Sterno it is used for keeping food hot in Chafer dishes .. you just lite the fuel in the can and it will keep what every is in the dish hot .. you can rent Chafers at places that rents out party stuff .. tables things like that ..i would say if it is cold and rainy there at this time of year ..try have Soup .. you could offer 4 or 5 different kinds and then have some .. crackers and other stuff like hot sauce and cheeses .. sour cream .. this way they could have there soup the way they like to make it at home .. and it would be very easy to keep them hot in a Chafer dish with Sterno

Answer 3

You could possibly try your local party store. I had a similar dilemma & found serving trays with somewhat of a "can of heat" that you just had to place underneath and it kept the food in the serving dish warm. They were pretty inexpensive and a great fix. Or if there is a plug in, you can do crock pots.

or if there is a local sandwich shop you can have them cater sandwiches and serve hot beverages.

good luck!

Answer 4

I think Beef Stew would be a good option for you..

You can make it in batches on site in crock pots or make huge pots of it elsewhere and bring it in. It can be kept warm in pans over Sterno but serve as soon as possible.

Slice up some Italian bread to serve with it and they will have warm/full stomachs =)

Answer 5

Try serving Meatball sandwiches. Put meatballs in spaghetti sauce and heat in a crock pot. Or you can heat it in a pot before the event and keep it warm on a hot plate. I do a pot luck once a month and most things will keep warm if already heated beforehand. Good luck with your lunch!

Answer 6

If a few people could loan their propane grills, you could use them just to keep large metal trays food hot (not to cook from scratch). That would open up a bunch of possibilities. Big trays of lasagne might work.

The "keep warm on the grill" plan would work best for big trays of food that are already somewhat warm (not cold from the fridge)