Food warming vessel for cafeterias and restaurants

A food warming apparatus suited for use in restaurants and cafeterias comprising,

• a food pan having side and bottom walls and an upwardly opening wide mouth, said pan being formed from metal so as to promote the conduction of heat to food contained within the pan,
• a sump vessel for receiving the food pan, said sump vessel comprising a unitary container body having side and bottom walls and an upper open mouth,
• the food pan being located within the sump vessel with a bottom portion of the food pan spaced from the sump vessel to form a chamber for containing water and steam between the sump vessel and the food pan,
• the sump vessel is molded from a thermosetting plastic resin containing inert mineral filler particles to provide a rigid monolithic body,
• the inert mineral filler particles are distributed through the rigid monolithic body of the sump vessel, and said sump vessel has heat insulating qualities for reducing heat loss from the warming apparatus and for enhancing the transmission of heat therewithin to the food pan,
• a metal heat dissipator member is connected to a wall of the sump vessel, said dissipator member has a surface exposed interiorally on the inside of the sump vessel in a position adapted to contact water when the water is placed in the sump vessel for transferring heat thereto,
• an electrical resistance heating element connected in heat conductive relationship with the heat dissipator member and positioned between the sump vessel and the exposed surface of the heat dissipator member,
• whereby heat produced by the heating element is transferred to the inside of the sump vessel through the heat dissipator member for heating food contained in the food pan within the sump vessel.