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

Who expects their Christmas dinner or any roast dinner “piping hot”? Actually the phrase “piping hot” gives me the rage a bit - it not necessary for food to be that hot.

The point of gravy, I thought, was to make your food warmer again?

Hostess trolleys are your friend. My mum actually has nightmares about hers blowing up as it's now of a certain vintage! She also warms plates in it, which helps. If not the trolley try some table top warmers.

Tbh I don't like straight out the oven or off the hob anything- much too hot for me so your food sounds the perfect temp. Nice and warm but unlikely to give me 3rd degree burns.

I did lunch for 13. I have those plug in hot plates and everyone serves themselves carvery style.

It's hard cooking for that many. The dishwasher has been on about five times today. Your sister in Law was very rude though if anyone had complained I'd have been tempted to shove the hot plate up there arse.

But the op herself says it wasn’t warm .

Honestly, I mean this politely. But I think your mother is quite unusual,I’ve never heard of someone who needs to reheat their soup half way through the bowl that’s really unusual.

assuming the ops guests didn’t have this unusual quirk then any food served straight from cooker to table should still be hot enough for most people.. the op herself says it wasn’t.which says some messing around happened.

ours is literally out the oven,tip into bowl, straight into table.

Gravy is the only essential part of a roast dinner that has to be piping hot. My MIL, rather ingeniously this year, put all the gravy in the slow cooker to keep hot and everyone helped themselves. Everything else was various degrees of warm but she was cooking for 18 of us and I was bloody impressed with the overall result.

Your SIL’s sound like mean school kids. I’m always grateful someone has actually gone to the effort of cooking a meal for me (especially on Christmas) and I’d never be so rude.

Oh and we sit down to eat, toast/crackers before I serve the starter (which is cold - smoked salmon today).

That means when we "launch" the main course there is no buggering about.

I think it really depends on people too
My mum would drink a cup of tea straight out the kettle, halfway down it was "too cold"
Same with soup, it could be bubbling and she would eat it and then reheat it halfway through as it was "freezing cold"
If I tried it, I would burn my mouth!

I cooked for 12. I told people they were welcome to use the microwave if it was no longer hot enough for them. No one used it, parts weren't as hot by the time it got to everyone. I would not have been offended by anyone warming it up, but moaning about it is shit.

It's not impossible but it does require planning and some equipment.

I served for that many today and everything was hot for everyone.

I'm lucky that I have a massive cooker that has a big hot plate that I can warm serving dishes on. In addition I have my grandma's old school warm tray you plug in.

Upshot is if you put hot food into cold serving dishes/plates it will get cold.

Routine after starter is DH carves the meat onto hot plates whilst I'd get all the veg into hot dishes and on the table for people to help themselves.

Timing everything is down to experience if I'm honest and after 20 years hosting I've got it sussed.

All that said I think if someone is doing all the work on Christmas Day then you should suck it up and be grateful.

After two decades of hosting I'd bite your hand off for a lukewarm meal with hot gravy that I didn't have to shop/prep/cook and imho the people most apt to criticise are the buggers who've never actually hosted on that scale before

Definitely don't plate up!

I have two ovens and a warming drawer, which makes a huge difference - it's impossible if you only have one oven.

i dont mind my food cool but its rude to sit there bitching-she should be greatful you came round and cooked

I don’t understand how you struggle with this. Or why anyone thinks it’s impossible.

you keep everthing on heat till it’s all ready and then you put it on the table piping hot, food takes quite a while to cool enough to need reheating,

you ensure the glasses are filled before they sit. You call them through, then you put the hot dishes on the table. Unless a toast takes 30 mins,and then it would still be piping hot when the toast and crackers were done.

all I can think is you’re taking the stuff out too early

@Brightun

Logistical nightmare in my opinion. There's no way in hell I'd be preparing big roast hot meals for 11 people. Also, my little kitchen would not be able to cope with it LOL. I think probably five or six people would be my absolute maximum. Then THAT would be stressful!

I did a big buffet for 10 people last week, but I spent about 3.5 hours doing it, and had about four lots of stuff in the oven over 2 to 3 hours. Plus stuff out of packets, like pringles and peanuts and tortilla chips etc. I started doing it approximately 4 hours before they were due. And then much of the stuff had cooled off or was still warm ish. And it was all absolutely delicious and perfect and everybody loved it.

There's absolutely no way in hell, though, that I would have been able to do hot food/roast meals for 11 people. Next time do a buffet!

Can't see anything wrong with someone asking for a warm up in the microwave though. I would,. Wouldn't want to be eating lukewarm/cool food (that was meant to be hot!) You said you heard them bitching? Did you really though? Or were they just commenting about how 'the food was a bit cool but at least we could get it in the microwave for a minute!' Why would they 'bitch' about you?

Hostess trolleys are your friend

We use electric warmers and everyone serves themselves like at a carvery then starts to eat as soon as they get their plate back to the dining table. Crackers and toasts sound like a faff. I put crackers on the table and we pull them when everyone has eaten.

I hope she wasn't the complainer. I really wouldn't like cooking in someone else's kitchen, cooking Christmas lunch for a group is already difficult enough.

I have a line of electric hot plate/warmerthingies that every dish gets put on to as soon as it is ready. It keeps everything hot or warm..depending on what setting you use. people who are fussy about the temp of their food should serve themselves last and use plates so hot they have to hold them with a tea towel

but she was rude… you get what you get and you dont get upset, they teach that in nursery. If she wants it differently she can host

Carve meat onto plates so hot they are passed out with a health warning attached.

Everything else serve yourselves in similarly nuclear hot serving dishes.

Gravy very last of all into jugs warmed with boiling water.

Cooking Christmas dinner for any number in a single oven is nigh on impossible, tbh. Guests need to be fawningly grateful because the difference to your day between being the cook and being anyone else is huge.

I cooked for 4 and still had to microwave the adults dinner before serving. It's just too difficult to keep it all piping hot. I wouldn't have asked for it to be microwaved though.

No more invites for rude guests, but there's really no need to feel embarrassed if the foods warming up in the microwave.

Those hostess trolleys to keep the food hot ?

God. I cooked for two today and a good 2/3 of it was vaguely sort of warm-ish. I’m in awe of anyone who can cook for 11!

I’m pissed off with your SIL on your behalf!