Chafing dish

The chafing dish (from the French verb chauffer, “to warm”) is a household object used to keep food warm before or during meal service. Most likely made of silver, it is primarily a utilitarian object. However, with its goat-shaped legs and its bull handle, this one also serves a decorative purpose. This type of stove is therefore more often found in bourgeois homes and is used for special events or dining in the presence of guests.

It is heated with hot water or coal in the bottom saucer. The food is placed on the upper container, called a tureen.