A food warmer (10) is provided which includes a food containment vessel (12) or pan having side and bottom walls and a mouth at the top opening upwardly. A hollow well or sump vessel (14) formed from rigid, fiber-reinforced molded plastic is provided around the food containment vessel (12). The sump vessel (14) has bottom (14e) and sidewalls (14a-14d) that enclose the sides and bottom of the food containment vessel (12) and is adapted to hold liquid, such as water, as a heat transfer medium. An electric heating element (16) is provided in the sump vessel (14) between the walls of the sump vessel (14) and the containment vessel (12) for heating the food when energized. The sump vessel (14) is preferably spaced from the food containment vessel (12) to define a chamber (22a) between them. The electric heating element (16) is mounted on a wall (19) that is part of an indentation (15) in one wall of the sump vessel (14). The element (16) heats the food containment vessel (12) by radiant and convection heating and by conduction when the sump vessel (14) is filled with water.