....to not heat our dinnerplates?

[LaContessaDiPlumpOnSea]

MIL does. I don't.

Please discuss.

Erm, I didn't know that heating plates before eating was even a thing... The food is hot enough...

but there is no need to faff at all, with or without a warming drawer (which I've never heard of). When I cook for visitor people at home there is usually a voice that exclaims "warm plates!" which is nice.

yes am too quizical about serving food "piping hot" - why would you do that to yourself? Or your food?

I don't see it as a faff anymore than setting the table or doing the dishes is. It's just part of cooking dinner.

The plastic container the food comes in is very hot when it comes out of microwave, need a cool plate to put it on so its safer to carry to sofa.

My mum does. The conversation before meals at her house is always:
"It's ready now, just waiting for the plates to warm".
"Now be careful, these plates are really hot, don't touch them". It drives me mad!
I never remember at home. I get very irritated by restaurants that serve children's meals on red hot plates.

but there is no need to faff at all, with or without a warming drawer (which I've never heard of). When I cook for visitor people at home there is usually a voice that exclaims "warm plates!" which is nice.

You may or may not faff and waste time but some people certainly do e.g. my father and OP's MIL and it can be quite irritating. Regardless, people who don't warm their plates just don't like their food to be piping hot. It's not because they are inefficient and need tips on how to do it.

I hate cold food. Fan ovens warm plates in a minute or two.
Putting the plates in the oven is just part of my cooking routine, especially if cooking for large numbers (as I presume you are when inlaws round) as I plate up rather than wash endless serving dishes.

Plate up!? Such a TV chef expression. Lol

Loving how extremes and over-stating cases on both sides are so easily generated - over something as prosaic as warmed plates.
MN, lordy.

DS2 (ASD) won't eat from a hot plate so we generally don't. If I'm cooking for just me and DP I'll generally stick the plates in the top oven for a minute or two.

Suburban - that is exactly what my mum is aimimg for

Then I hope you've explained to her how likely it is that she's going to be able to heat her plates to over 5,000 degrees Celsius.

I don't have a warming drawer, I just put plates in the oven, but I don't find it a faff either.

Oh noooo! People DO need to know how best to warm their plates. In the past I have provided a Public Information Broadcast thng, you know a bit like what to do in time of nuclear war? I've seen perfectly edible dinners ruined by incorrectly heated plates.
I've now amended the braodcast to a 3 Day training course in the Cotswold counrtyside, a tranquil palce so people can develop their plate-warming skills in peace. As I know how tricky it all is and how it's soo easy to get wrong and cause a faff.

Why is it "bizarre" to enjoy food piping hot?

It isn't bizarre to enjoy piping hot food. It is bizarre to think that is how food should be and that otherwise food is ruined/inedible or that who don't warm plates are inefficient/lazy or need tips on how to do it properly.

We warm our plates in one of our ovens before eating. I've just got a little steel rack that holds them upright so I can fit loads in at once which is great for Christmas dinners etc as it means your not faffing about.

My favourite is when you bring fish and chips back from the chip van when it visits the village pub on a Friday night. You walk back in the cold air into a nice warm house and serve it on a hot plate with a nice pint of stout. Nothing better!

Pan, will there be a Which Cooker symposium at the end of the course for course attenders who are considering investing in a cooker with an incorporated warming drawer?

I don't think anyone is saying that Mary. As a pp said... it's personal preference. I'm sure food isn't ruined but I like mine hot, my prerogative. I don't think anyone said that non plate warmers were lazy or inefficient either.

This reminds me of the "rinse or not rinse plates after washing up thread". That was a mindfuck too

I just like warm plates. I don't make any judgements about anyone else's preferences.

Has anyone said it's lazy or inefficient to not warm the plates Mary?

If they don't think that why describe how they do it?!