There’s no way to serve food hot for 11 diners

I cooked for 16 yesterday and have 12 for dinner today and everything was hot, I mean I think it was as no one complained or microwaved anything. BUT as other pp have said you don’t need new stuff you need new guests.

I store everything in the cooling oven whilst I make the finishing bits and gravy, it all stays hot.

And yes, as per a PP, gravy in the instant pot keep warm function or slow cooker. And no tiddly delicate gravy boats, you need massive jugs.

and politer guests

Gosh, that's genius! Slow cooker gravy next time I have to cook.

Sounds like you did a sterling job, OP.

My top tip is nothing to do with the food, it’s to do with the guests. Having a former FiL who always used to wait until everyone was sitting down to announce he needed one of his epic toilet visits, my top tip is to give a 5 minute warning in pointed terms, ie if anyone needs the loo before lunch this is your chance, and then get someone to usher everyone to the table before you even start to dish up.

Hostess trollies are the bees knees! I also have electric plate warmers. Heat the dishes and plates up in the oven before putting them in the trolley to keep warm. Hot sauces at last minute and crackers between pudding an main course.

No!

Am I alone in not actually liking my food piping hot?

I just use the hot gravy to warm it all up. 😂

Exactly

And next year, when you go to hers on Christmas Day, ask for your meal to be reheated

Revenge is a dish best served cold 😃

Put serving dishes in dishwasher 30 min setting, and keep door closed until ready to serve, so you have hot plates / dishes

Do crackers , toasts, fill up glasses etc before serving food

Don't put dishes on table for people to serve themselves. they chat and dont pass food around quickly enough

We lay it out carvery style, for people to help themselves.thats quicker

And bring really hot gravy to the table last, in a few jugs so everybody gets it quickly

So, it's not impossible to do hot food fo 11 people, but they were v rude to criticise and I'm sorry they didnt appreciate your hard work. I'd feel hurt by that

Did you put everything in serving dishes and serve everyone? If you use serving dishes, everyone helps themselves and there's no one served "last". Otherwise you plate it up direct from the oven in the kitchen.

You can keep gravy hot in a flask - easier than a gravy boat if not quite as pleasing to the eye!

We have two ovens with keep warm settings and a warming drawer, and it’s still a bit of a challenge. You have to dish up speedily - I send a child round with an order form so that I know what goes on each plate. People sit down whilst DH and I dish up, and drinks sorted in advance.

Cover it in tinfoil till everyone sits down. That's what I do and it's all hot still

It's not impossible, but it does take practice and organisation. I do regular Sunday lunches for extended family - usually between 10 and 15 people and its always hot. I do have the advantage of an Aga to keep everything piping hot until it goes on the table. I let people serve themselves/others all the veg etc, while I am still getting stuff out. It also helps that the big table is in the kitchen so oven to table dishes don't have to be carried far.

I also have a couple of trivets for the table that you can put a small candle in to keep things warm, however I only use those occassionally when I want to keep something warm for longer.

Anyone who cooks for 11 in someone else’s kitchen deserves a massive gold star not perfectionist moaning!

You don’t need new equipment. You need better guests.

We did dinner for 11 too and some people popped their plate in the microwave for a minute but I actually couldn’t care less, but we’re very informal in general.

I’m really surprised by how many people decide/dictate when exactly you do crackers, we just do them whenever we like, why does that need planning??

Not in my experience it doesn't. Food will cool down significantly in 10 minutes.

The only kitchen big enough for piping hot cooking in my extended family for that amount of people has 2full size ovens plus a combo oven&microwave and 6gas burners to do all the veg together. No way that’s possible with a standard set up.

I bet your dinner was delicious and you were a thoughtful hostess. No need for a perormance microwave dig. They sound petty and jealous, determined to find a fault so they could pretend they could have done better.
No need to ever cook for them again.

I don’t do serving dishes for a roast dinner, myself and DH plate everything up and the plates are always put in order of age. Apart form one regular guest everyone else has everything.

Someone else is given the drinks to sort out, DS did it yesterday.

We do crackers and a toast before our cold starters.

Then get out the dinner so it's piping hot. I plate up turkey then pass each plate down to helpers who plate up all the rest. Like a conveyer belt!! Works well.

No crackers with dinner - they're for tea

Drinks poured before you sit down. No need for a wordy toast.

Everyone at the table before you start bringing food to the table and tell them to start serving themselves as soon as the first dishes arrive.

My 76yo mum did it for 12 yesterday. Everything was hot, but dad did get told off because he was still faffing with drinks instead of eating his while it was hot.

Very rude to comment or care if it wasn't quite hot though, although I'm not sure how some were "last". It sounds like there was a bit too much ceremony and not enough digging in?

Add in a subscription to Womens Weekly and you won’t care what your SIL says in the future…..

If anyone bitches about Christmas dinner they automatically volunteer to cook it the next year.
When discussion turns to who hosts next year I'd point out you heard the bitching so am not hosting the next time.

More help in the kitchen when serving up so that more can be done simultaneously?