Victor CTB2 Bain Marie Topper | Dry Heat Servery Unit

The Victor CTB2 is a British-made countertop bain marie topper designed to hold hot food at consistent serving temperatures throughout a front-of-house service period. Unlike a conventional wet bain marie, it uses dry heat rather than water to maintain temperature from below, removing the need for water management during service. A heated lamp gantry warms food from above as well as below, while a toughened glass sneeze guard provides the hygiene screening expected at a servery counter. The unit accommodates two full-size gastronorm pans and sits on an existing counter surface without requiring any fixed installation work.

In practice, the CTB2 performs reliably through a typical lunch or dinner service in environments such as staff restaurants, hotel carveries, pub serveries, and school dining halls. The adjustable thermostat gives operators the flexibility to match holding temperature to the menu, and the dimmer-controlled quartz lamps allow presentation lighting to be adjusted to suit the food and the setting. Lamps are operator-changeable, which keeps the unit in service without waiting on an engineer.

From a day-to-day operational standpoint, the key practical advantages are:

• Dry heat operation removes water top-ups and simplifies cleaning considerably
• Heated gantry lamps reduce heat loss on open food displays during service
• Adjustable thermostat allows holding temperature to be matched to different dishes
• Toughened glass sneeze guard supports food hygiene compliance at the counter
• Operator-changeable lamps reduce maintenance dependency and service downtime

The CTB2 runs from a standard 13-amp socket on a moulded plug and two-metre cord, so no dedicated electrical circuit or installation work is required — it simply needs a stable, level counter with a nearby socket. Gastronorm pans are sold separately, and carvery, glass plate, and tiled pan configurations are available to match the service style.

The CTB2 is well suited to small to mid-sized servery operations looking for a compact, self-contained hot holding solution without the complexity of a plumbed wet bain marie. For operations running extended service periods, larger menus, or a greater number of simultaneous dishes, a larger or heavier-duty servery unit may be the more appropriate choice. If you are weighing up which configuration fits your counter layout or service style, the team is happy to talk it through.