Hot Plates
Looking for a professional hot plate for your business? We offer a large selection of commercial electric and gas hot plates, ideal for restaurants, catering businesses, or any food-service establishment. Choose from durable, high-performance units designed to meet your cooking needs.
What Is a Commercial Hot Plate?
A commercial hot plate is an industrial variant of a regular hot plate, which is a small, portable, self-contained appliance suitable for use on a tabletop. A hot plate can feature one, two, three, or four gas burners. Commercial hot plates are often used as stand-alone appliances, but they are also commonly used in lieu of an oven range or cook-top burner. A professional hot plate is also a staple in restaurants that need to heat soups, broths, and sauces on the side because a hot plate can effectively free up full-size ranges for use in the actual cooking of dishes.
A portable hot plate can easily be lugged around and is convenient for picnics, outdoor parties, and trips to the beach.
Types of Commercial Hot Plates
A commercial or restaurant hot plate can either run on gas or electricity. A portable electric hot plate can be brought anywhere and can be used right away as long as there is an outlet that it can be plugged into. Depending on the electric hot plate, units can either run on a standard residential voltage of 120 or the commercial voltage of 240. Most small electric hot plate units run on 120 voltage while those that run on a voltage of 240 are the large electric hot plate units.
A gas hot plate, on the other hand, is not as portable as the electric variants because it usually requires special couplings and piping to attach to the main gas line. In other words, it is important to verify that the gas inlet of your portable gas hot plate is compatible with the kitchen's main gas line.
For those looking for a safer alternative to an electric hot plate or a gas hot plate, a portable induction cooker is a great choice. Induction cooking uses induction heating to directly heat a cooking vessel, as opposed to using heat transfer from electrical coils or burning gas as with a traditional cooking stove. Needless to say, induction cookers are much safer to use than ordinary cookers because there are no open flames present, and it is only the pan that generate heats. In addition, the control system automatically shuts down the element if a pot is not present or not large enough.
How Many Burners Should Your Professional Hot Plate Have?
Single electric hot plates or two burner electric hot plates are usually the light-duty variants that are better utilized for warming sauces and soups or for light sautéing of vegetables. Large electric hot plates are heavier-duty models and typically have more than three burners. These larger hot plates also feature a heavy-duty casing, commonly made of thick cast iron or steel grates, along with enough power for you to easily cook a wide variety of products or even replace a full-size range.
Choosing how many burners your professional hot plate should have largely depends on the workload of your establishment. Businesses with a lighter daily workload will benefit from a single electric hot plate or a two burner electric hot plate while those that have a relatively heavier workload will benefit more from commercial hot plates with four or more burners.
