Purveying cooked food

Claim 1

A method of purveying cooked food, comprising, selecting a plurality of disposable ovenable containers of assorted sizes and made of light weight ovenable material each having a receptacle part including a floor and a surrounding upstanding wall defining a mouth surrounded by an outstanding lip, filling a number of containers with individual portions of partially cooked food of a number of different kinds, affixing removable covers to the containers, and subjecting the filled containers to freezing, selecting several of said containers containing respective serving portions of different frozen foods to provide a serving and of a complementary size and shape so that when several containers are inverted on a surface and the lips of adjoining containers overlapped, an array of the inserted containers is formed having a margin defined by the edges of the container lips, selecting an array-matching ovenable plate having an undivided flat base surface merging into an upstanding retaining rim defining a receiving area of a size to be substantially completely occupied by the array of containers with the container lips forming the peripheral margin of the array substantially abutting the rim, forming a number of serving assemblies in which each is formed by removing the covers from several containers containing serving portions of different frozen foods and placing them upside down in an array on the plate surface, with lips of adjoining containers overlapping and the outside lips of containers substantially abutting the rim of the plate, whereby the containers are aligned and held in position in the array solely by overlapping contact of their lips with the walls of adjoining containers and with the rim of the plate and seating contact is effected between the rims of the containers and the plate surface and wall or the rims of other containers to limit the seepage and burning of food after heating, heating the serving assembly to bring the food, at least, to eating temperature, removing the containers to leave the respective foods exposed in several separate portions ready for eating.

Claim 2

A method of purveying cooked food, comprising, selecting a plurality of disposable ovenable containers of assorted sizes and made of light weight ovenable material each having a receptacle part including a floor and a surrounding upstanding wall defining a mouth surrounded by an outstanding lip, filling a number of containers with individual portions of partially cooked food of a number of different kinds, affixing removable covers to the containers, and subjecting the filled containers to freezing, selecting several of said containers containing respective serving portions of different frozen foods to provide a serving and of a complementary size and shape so that when several containers are inverted on a surface and the lips of adjoining containers overlapped, an array of the inserted containers is formed having a margin defined by the edges of the container lips, selecting an array-matching ovenable plate having an undivided flat base surface merging into an upstanding retaining rim defining a receiving area of a size to be substantially completely occupied by the array of containers with the container lips forming the peripheral margin of the array substantially abutting the rim, forming a number of serving assemblies in which each is formed by removing the covers from several containers containing serving portions of different frozen foods and placing them upside down in an array on the plate surface, with lips of adjoining containers overlapping and the outside lips of containers substantially abutting the rim of the plate, whereby the containers are aligned and held in position in the array solely by overlapping contact of their lips with the walls of adjoining containers and with the rim of the plate and seating contact is effected between the rims of the containers and the plate surface and wall or the rims of other containers to limit the seepage and burning of food after heating, heating the serving assembly to bring the food, at least, to eating temperature, removing the containers to leave the respective foods exposed in several separate portions ready for eating.