Hostess Alficionado Small hot Tray

We bought 2 trays as we were catering for 12 at Christmas.Easy to use. We heated in advance and used whilst still plugged in initially. Good we could move it to the table to keep food in serving dishes warm.A great item for our Christmas dinner! Will be used for other family gatherings etc.

this small hot tray is ideal for a small family keeping dishes hot at the table, easy to use (plug it in) and store as it is quite neat. Can`t give it 5 stars as it scratches very easily, so the surface is a mass of scratches now. I am only using plates and china bowls, (not metal or stoneware) so can`t understand why it is getting scratched. No matter, when you have dishes on it you can`t see the scratches!

The heat tray takes 2 medium dinner plates, heats up to temperature quickly and has a useful heat capacity.After a few days, there seemed to be a fault: both the "on" and "at temperature" lights were lit, but the plate was still cold. I switched off, and removed the plug from the mains. After a couple of minutes I plugged in, and switched on. To my relief this cleared the fault! I re-read the instructions and noticed these advise unplugging from the mains when switched off.The satin finish of the stainless steel top might scratch easily, so taking care not to test this.It has only been used on a kitchen work surface. However, a "power bulge" below the main unit would be fairly close to the mahogany veneer of the dining room table. As the bulge heats up, I have acquired an offcut of thermal insulation on which to stand the heat tray.

It is a good size for a 1 or 2 people takeaway. And great that it stays hot when unplugged so can be easily put in the centre of the table.However a bit disappointed that it is only very hot in the middle - the edges barely keep food warm. The reviews I saw before I bought did warn me of this and overall I am quite pleased; but in retrospect I may have been happier with a tray that has more even distribution of heat.

Originally looking at the candle warmers but thought £15 to £18 was a bit rich for what they are. I saw these at £32 but no stock so went to J Lewis site. £28 but no stock. Went back to Amazon and they were in stock and £28. I was not sure whether to order the big one or two small but the two small ones offer better flexibility. One on the table and another plugged in by the stove waiting for food to go on it. Two people eating or six etc etc.They are obviously made to a high specification and are both heavy and robust. I'm as pleased as punch with them and feel sure they will be good for many years. Two small warmers is ideal and we have proven already that one is usually good enough for dinner for two and 2 is more than adequate for 6.i have two small negative comments but not enough to affect my 5*.. 1. Polished stainless would be better and looks smarter. 2. They stay hot for long enough to finish a meal but they don't cool uniformly. They are still very warm in the middle but very cool at the ends after about 45/50 minutes. Most dishes would be empty by then but it's just a minor point.Very pleased with this Hostess product.

Really pleased with the looks and functionality of this heated tray. Works really well.

I have a small house and live on my own but occasionally entertain so I was after something small and this fits the bill.I found that it started to warm up very quickly and it definitely stays very warm for well over an hour. The centre does get hotter that the ends, but if you have bowls or pots on it, the heat does spread along more.As said it does stay very hot so make sure there are no careless hands anywhere near it as it can scald.

I had one of these for several years in daily use and it did the job well. When it finally stopped working I ordered another one but in the interim they've made the power cord way too short. Unless you've got a socket right by your sideboard or table, you're going to be stuffed. Luckily I kept the cord from my old one which is twice as long.