My question is, What are the laws regarding cooking and heating up food on the Sabbbath? How do caterers prepare their food for a Saturday night party, beggining soon after Shabbat comes to an end.
Alfred, N.Y.
There is quite a lot of information which needs to be learned in order to observe these laws (and all laws) of Shabbos properly. Any response I would give you in this short-answer forum would be inappropriate, as a partial response could lead to desecrating Shabbos in other similar situations. I recommend that you read books on the laws of Shabbos, such as The Shabbos Kitchen by Rabbi Simchah Bunim Cohen or The Laws of Shabbos by Rabbi Shimon Eider, in order to develop an understanding of these laws. The merit of keeping Shabbos properly is very great, as it states in Shabbos (118b) "Whomever guards the laws of Shabbos, even if he has sinned through idolatry like the generation of Enosh, he is forgiven."
All the best,
Yaakov Montrose