Serving pasta in a buffet-style setting is challenging; you need a chafing dish to keep it warm. While the chafing dish does a great job of ensuring hot pasta on demand, the constant heat can also dry the pasta out and make the pasta stick together. Professional-catering dishes have a water reservoir that steams the food and keeps it moist. If you do not have a high-end chafing set, you can still keep your cooked pasta from sticking together.
Step 1
Cook the pasta until it is al dente -- soft but with a little resistance. It will continue cooking in the heat of the chafing dish so you do not want to overcook it.
Step 2
Set up your chafing dish. Light the Sterno underneath.
Step 3
Pour 1/2 inch of room-temperature water into the chafing dish. Cover the dish and let the water heat.
Step 4
Drain the cooked pasta in a colander. Thoroughly rinse the pasta in cold water for five minutes. Rinsing stops the cooking process and it removes excess starch -- which can make the pasta sticky -- from the surface.
Step 5
Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the pasta. Toss the pasta to coat it evenly with the oil. The oil adds moisture and also prevents the pasta from sticking.
Step 6
Add the pasta to the water in the chafing dish. Replace the cover. The water in the chafing dish will steam the pasta and keep it moist.
Step 7
Stir the pasta periodically so that the pasta on the bottom does not overcook. Add more water if it evaporates ad keep the chafing dish covered between uses.