Porcelain Gastronorm Pans

A gastronorm pan is a food pan built to a standard size system, so it drops into equipment made to the same dimensions: bain marie wells, prep bench openings, salad bars, buffet frames and oven racks. The sizes are expressed as fractions of a full pan.

Gastronorm sizes are written as fractions of one full pan. A 1/1 is the full-size pan, a 1/2 is half of that footprint, a 1/3 is a third, and so on. Fractional pans combine to fill the same opening a full pan would occupy.

Porcelain gastronorm dishes are chosen where the pan is seen by the customer, such as a buffet, breakfast bar or carvery, because they present as tableware rather than kitchen equipment. Stainless steel is the usual choice back of house, where handling and durability matter more.

Depth sets the volume the dish holds and how food behaves in it. A shallow dish suits items served flat and turned over quickly, so the last portions still look presentable. A deeper dish holds more volume and suits saucy items that need to stay covered.

Porcelain gastronorm dishes are used on buffet lines, breakfast bars, carveries and catering displays, and for prep and food holding where the dish goes straight from the bench to a customer-facing counter without transferring the food.