Frequently Asked Questions

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Plate-Mate FAQs

All the parts on the Plate-Mate® 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.
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, food service and design consultants, etc. quite often. 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 can hold an incredible amount of plates for the amount of floor space they use. Ships and boats have very small galleys and Plate-Mate® mobile kitchen racks are used in ships all over the world.
We have multiple types of Plate-Mates depending on your needs. Read more.
Yes, the Plate-Mate® comes with a one year warranty. All parts will be replaced free of charge during the warranty time.
Nearly any facility can use Plate-Mate®, and do use Plate-Mate®. We have regular, repeat customers in nearly every food service industry. We have customers that use Plate-Mate® 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-Mate® mobile plate racks in their mobile kitchen.
We have many forts and training camps that use both our mobile plate racks and our Hot-Mate® heated cabinets in their cafeterias and in the private officer's clubs. These Plate-Mate® 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-Mate® product line was designed to accomplish. Military chefs understand efficiency!
The Plate-Mate® can be cleaned easily with a high pressure hose or simply a brush and soap suds.
The Plate-Mate® will hold any size plate, round, square, rectangular or oval and up to a 13.25 inch platter. The Plate-Mate will hold any type of bowl up to a height of 2 inches.
Yes, the column can quickly be adjusted to hold 4 different plate or bowl sizes.
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-Mate® covers are made of vinyl and can easily cleaned.
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.
Yes! The Plate-Mate® 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.
While the Plate-Mate® is standardized to fit into most cooling systems, we recommend you take some measurements to be sure you are buying the correct size of Plate-Mate for your existing equipment.
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.
The Plate-Mate® 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.
The Plate-Mate® 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-Mate® will be used determining your models is much easier.
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

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.
They are a smooth motion to open and close - fully functional.
Yes, they are locked at the bottom of the frame.
Yes, they all have solid caster wheels - making them all mobile.
The plate mates are very mobile. The solid caster wheels are 5" or 4" in diameter. They do not move smoothly on grass.
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..

Chafing Dish FAQs

Our chafing dish comes in one size. It holds a 2 inch or 4 inch hotel pan – approximately 8 quarts
The main part of the catering warming pan is made out of mirror polished stainless steel. This provides for a professional and beautiful presentation to your guests. It also has butane-powered temperature control, with a gas shut-off thermocouple.
Our warming pans come with everything you need to fit a standard butane can.
Our Chafing dish has a built in UL safety system. It has been tested by Underwriters Lab’s. It is safer than using canned-heat or candle powered chafers.
We like using butane because it is more economical than candles or canned combustible gel like Sterno.
This is a professional commercial quality banquet serving pan – as are all Plate-Mate products.
Our chafer gives your banquet operations manager or catering manager more portability. Your butane chafing dish can go just about anywhere. It is a safer way to serve your dinner guests, and it is a more windproof serving system than candles or canned combustible gel like Sterno.
You will receive 1 box containing 4 pieces. The cradle holds both dishes. The bottom pan holds the water. The top pan sits inside of the bottom pan and holds the food. You will also receive the lid. There is no assembly required.