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Frequently Asked Questions
For addtional information, please fill out a Info Request form. For more immediate assistance, please call us at 800-860-MATE(6283).
Chafing Dish FAQs
Q. My Plate-MateŽ is broken. What do I do now?
A. All the parts on the Plate-MateŽ are replaceable. Simply find your model on the web site and choose parts. You can then determine which part you need and order your replacement.
Q. We are going to renovate our restaurant to make the front of the house bigger, unfortunately, this will make our kitchen area much smaller. Can Plate-MateŽ help?
A. Ask yourself a few questions. Are you hiring a consultant to help lay out your new kitchen area? If so, tell them to look at our products. We work with architects, foodservice and design consultants, etc. alot. Our plate trees are very friendly to small kitchens. After all, we have models that fold up for storage and most have a very small footprint. In the space that an 8' table would take, four of our PM84 mobile plate racks can hold 336 plates of food. If you are going to lay out the new cooking area yourself, take measurements and you will see that our mobile plate racks give you alot service for the amount of floorspace they use. Ships and boats have very small galleys and Plate-MateŽ mobile kitchen racks are used in ships all over the world.
Q. Is there a warranty on the Plate-MateŽ?
A. Yes, the Plate-MateŽ comes with a one year warranty. All parts will be replaced free of charge during the warranty time.
Q. I have never seen these racks before, what kind of facility uses Plate-MateŽ mobile plate racks?
A. Nearly any facility can use Plate-MateŽ, and do use Plate-MateŽ. We have regular, repeat customers in nearly every foodservice industry. We have customers that use Plate-MateŽ kitchen racks everyday in casinos, hotels, banquet halls, rental companies, off-premise caterers, cruise ships, country clubs, military facilities and officer's clubs, hospitals and long term care facilities, convention centers, and both large and small restaurants. We even have a customer in craft services in Hollywood that use Plate-MateŽ mobile plate racks in their mobile kitchen.
Q. You said military facilities, how do military facilities use Plate-MateŽ?
A. We have many forts and training camps that use both our mobile plate racks and our Hot-MateŽ heated cabinets in their cafeterias and in the private officer's clubs. These Plate-MateŽ racks and cabinets are especially useful in the officer's clubs since that is where the majority of banquets and parties are held. Serving lots of people quickly and efficiently is what the Plate-MateŽ product line was designed to accomplish. Military chefs understand efficiency!
Q. How do I clean the Plate-MateŽ?
A. The Plate-MateŽ can be cleaned easily with a high pressure hose or simply a brush and soap suds.
Q. What size plate will the Plate-MateŽ hold?
A. The Plate-MateŽ will hold any size plate, round, square, rectangular or oval and up to a 13.25 inch platter. The Platemate will hold any type of bowl up to a height of 2 inches.
Q. Can the columns hold different types of bowls or plates at the same time?
A. Yes, the column can quickly be adjusted to hold 4 different plate or bowl
sizes.
Q. Food safety has been in the news alot in recent years. Does Plate-MateŽ have any helpful ideas regarding safety and your products?
A. Most of our products are made from stainless steel. So they are easily kept clean and sanitary. Also, we offer covers for all our mobile plate racks. These are especially helpful if you must move plated food through crowded hallways or even through crowds of guests. The Plate-MateŽ covers are made of vinyl and can easily cleaned.
Q. Why does the column rotate?
A. The function of the rotation column is to allow stacking and serving by two people simultaneously. Load from the bottom up and serve from the top down.
Q. Do users of the Plate-MateŽ actually take the product onto the serving floor?
A. Yes! The Plate-MateŽ is not a piece of equipment you will feel compelled to hide. It makes quite a serving presentation and many of our customers have had very favorable compliments on their Plate-Mates.
Q. Will the Plate-MateŽ fit into my cooler?
A. While the Plate-MateŽ is standardized to fit into most cooling systems, we
recommend you take some measurements to be sure you are buying the correct size of Platemate for your existing equipment.
Q. Is the Plate-MateŽ maintenance free?
A. Yes, all materials are specifically designed for and are in conformity with international regulations for food service applications. The special plastics, Santoprene rubber, anodized aluminum and stainless steel used to manufacture Plate-Mates are all corrosion free.
Q. Does the Plate-MateŽ really work?
A. The Plate-MateŽ has world wide patent coverage and is being used on six continents and in more countries than we can count. Our products can be found is some of the best known resort and hotel chains in the world. Our customers wouldn't keep buying more for new resorts and new hotels if they did not work. You can count on our products.
Q. How do I know which model would best fit the needs of my facility?
A. The Plate-MateŽ product line has many different models to meet the needs of many different applications. Ask yourself some questions. 1) will this unit be used for hot or cold food exclusively? 2) will the unit be moved fully loaded across rough thresholds and into elevators or onto trucks? 3) how many plates will it ideally hold for service? 4) how will the models be stored? Once you have established how, where, and when the Plate-MateŽ will be used determining your models is much easier.
Q. We cater at off-premise locations, so everything has to be portable. Can Plate-MateŽ help?
A. Yes, all models are mobile. The larger models have wheels and some fold for easy storage and transportation. The smaller models are compact enough that they can be easily moved by hand.
Collapsible Plate-Mate Models
Q. Can I fit a collapsible in my van?
Yes, if you collapse the plate-mate, the PM 84-135 (our largest collapsible) can be folded into a unit approx 4" x 75". Our smallest collapsible, PM 48-155 will fold to approx 4" x 51". Our clients who are off-premise caterers like the collapsible because it takes up little of the space in the truck or van.
Q. Are they easy to collapse and open?
They are a smooth motion to open and close - fully functional.
Q. Do they come with a locking mechanism?
Yes, they are locked at the bottom of the frame.
Q. Do all collapsible plate-mates have wheels?
Yes, they all have solid caster wheels - making them all mobile.
Q. Can you push the collapsible plate rack on grass?
The plate mates are very mobile. The solid caster wheels are 5" or 4" in diameter.
They do not move smoothly on grass.
Q. Should I purchase a collapsible or a standard plate stacker?
The advantage of a collapsible is that it can be folded and transported. It can also be stored in a small place. A standard is often purchased by chefs who need to push the unit a long distance, freight elevators, or rough thresholds. Standard Plate-Mates also has the capability of holding 20 serving trays with the DBS-910 Tray Support Accessory..
Plate-MateŽ is available on 
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