Anew slice of life

John Artis, which supplies stainless steel cutlery from Tramontina in Brazil, has six different designs following the launch of its new Continental Line. The range includes 14 different items in a simple, classic pattern. Competitively priced, a coffee spoon sells at 69p, while a table fork is £1.19.

Elia is producing 26 patterns at present, with two new additions planned every six months. All are in 18/10 stainless steel, and the company employs the services of leading British designer Nick Holland, who specialises in tableware and household products and has created many award-winning designs.

Lambert & Blaber's Sheffield factoryis bringing out four new ranges in stainless steel and silver plate,named after sea spirits, artists, continents and cities.

BREAKING into the traditional hotel and restaurant market with a contemporary design is never easy to achieve. It's even harder when the product is tableware and tradition means fine bone china, porcelain, crystal and silverware. But as the manufacturers of the many new designs ofstainless steel cutlery coming on to the market have discovered, such conventions can also mean a lackof variety in style and prices - and this is what givesthe inventive supplier a foothold in a very toughmarketplace.

"We were told it wouldn't work when we brought in Korean-made stainless steel cutlery," said Elia managing director MY Kim. "People said we were very brave to try. But two years on we are showing that it does work and our products are finding a niche in every market sector.

"Until we introduced our new styles there was very little choice in the UK and it basically came down to six patterns. People had not seen very high quality stainless steel products and silver plate was, and still is, seen as the symbol of luxury."

In practical terms, however, silver is more difficult to care for than stainless steel. It has also retained its high price, while stainless steel, although not cheap, has come down. According to Kim, stainless steel is now better value.

"The price is dictated by the amount of work that goes into the product - and it is very labour intensive with a lot of hand finishing involved," he says. "But to make good cutlery at a lower price means reducing the gauge (weight), which makes it more liable to bending."

Manufacturers are keen to point out that stylish cutlery not only plays an important role in the look of a table, but also the restaurant itself, and yet it is often the last item purchased in a new project.

"We often feel we are the Cinderella of the catering supply industry," says Nicholas Blaber, director of Sheffield cutlery maker Lambert & Blaber. "By the time they get to us the budget often seems to have been used up. It's a shame to cut back in quality at this stage because cutlery is one of thefew items directly handled by the customer in arestaurant and if it is of poor quality it leaves a bad impression."

Nick Green, senior account manager at Villeroy & Boch agrees. "Cutlery usually falls back to third or fourth place in the purchasing process, even though it accounts for about 25% of the total budget for a new restaurant," he says. "After china, the style of cutlery is the next most important choice, as the wrong design will affect presentation of the whole tabletop."

Higher standards

Both Kim and Blaber compare the UK attitudes to cutlery unfavourably with other countries. "The British don't consider cutlery as importantly as they do in the USA, Germany, France or Japan," Kim says. "Those countries see cutlery as something worth investing in."

"Standards for cutlery are much higher on the Continent, where small village cafés often have better quality cutlery than some of our four-star hotels," Blaber says. "Some years ago a representative from a Spanish cutlery company visited us and said we should educate the British public to appreciate higher standards. Now it seems there is a chance we can do this because a multitude of new patterns, all of a high quality, are reaching the market, both from Sheffield and from overseas."

Paul Turner, managing director of ICA International, distributor of Italian cutlery from Abert and Facix, expects the attitude to purchasing cutlery to change as the stylish designs now available prompt purchasers to spend more time on matching the items to the rest of the table.

"Caterers are split into two factions: those who want the cheapest cutlery they can find to minimalise losses by theft; and those who want better-quality products to enhance the overall service they are giving theircustomers," he says. "Abert and Facix offers manydifferent designs and weight options at very competitive prices."

The new patterns

David Smith, managing director of The Direct Tableware Company, a distributor of the Elia range, believes that while the market will not change overnight, the new patterns now becoming available will take an increasing share.

"We have been importing ‘Parish' (traditional) patterns of cutlery and supplying them to the catering industry for some 25 years and it was with considerable excitement, and some relief, that we heard of the new ranges of Elia cutlery," he says. "We have found considerable interest in these ranges from caterers who are tired of traditional English patterns and are looking for something contemporary to match the decor, crockery and food, all of which have changed over the last few years."

Neville Rose, a director of the new Bentleys Hotel, South Hykeham, Lincolnshire, is one such customer, having chosen Elia's Jester pattern for the new venture. "It's a modern design for a modern hotel," he says. "In a more traditional setting we would probably have opted for a traditional pattern."

The 130-cover restaurant Bel & The Dragon in Cookham, has also gone for Jester to replace the silverware cutlery. "It blends in well with the new look of the restaurant," says manager Fiona Ball. "The old cutlery was more traditional, but the restaurant is not like that any more."

And while many customers just buy the basic seven-piece place setting, Kim is keen to point out that it doesn't stop there. "In our Jester range for instance, there are 23 items, including fish knife and fork, coffee spoon, butter knife, cheese knife and so on." n