Bain marie / hot holding
for a food trailer.
Hot holding is what lets a trailer serve quickly at peak without cooking every order from raw. It is also a food-safety control with a legal temperature attached, which makes the bain marie one of the pieces of equipment an environmental health officer will actually put a probe into.
The numbers
- Electrical load
- 1200–2500 W running 10.9A at 230V · fits a 13A socket, but leaves 0.49 kW for everything else
- Footprint
- 3-pot ~600mm · 4-pot ~800mm counter-top or drop-in
- New (indicative)
- €200 – €1,200
- Used (indicative)
- €60 – €400
- Checked
- 2026-08-01
Power figures are ranges across models commonly sold into the Irish trailer trade — read the rating plate on the actual unit before you build a load budget on them. Prices are indicative guidance bands, not quotes, and no supplier is named or implied.
63°C is the number
Hot food being held for service must be kept at 63°C or above. That is not a guideline, it is the control, and you should be probing and logging it rather than trusting the dial. Keep a probe thermometer and a temperature log in the trailer — the log is as much a part of passing an inspection as the temperature itself, and "we check it" without records does not satisfy an inspector.
Wet well versus dry heat
A wet-well bain marie holds gastronorm pans in heated water and is gentler on texture, which suits sauces, stews and anything that dries out. A dry unit heats the pans directly, comes up to temperature faster and is easier to clean but is harsher on delicate food. For most Irish trailer menus — curries, chilli, pulled meats, gravy — wet well is the better fit.
The load is modest but constant
A bain marie draws 1.2–2.5 kW, and unlike a fryer it is on for the whole service rather than cycling hard. That steady baseline draw is easy to forget when adding up a power budget, and it is often the appliance that pushes a marginal setup over the edge. Count it at full rating for planning purposes.
Questions
What temperature must hot food be held at in Ireland?
63°C or above. This is a legal food-safety control, not a guideline. Probe and log it rather than trusting the unit's dial — the temperature log is as much a part of passing an inspection as the temperature itself.
Wet well or dry bain marie for a trailer?
Wet well for most Irish trailer menus. It holds pans in heated water, which is gentler on sauces, stews and pulled meats. Dry units heat faster and clean easier but are harsher on food that can dry out.
How much power does a bain marie use?
1.2–2.5 kW, and unlike a fryer it draws steadily across the whole service rather than cycling. Count it at full rating in a power budget — it is often the appliance that tips a marginal generator over.