Tableware and cutlery

The first thing customers see when they walk through the restaurant door is often the table setting - so it needs to look inviting. Tatty tablecloths and mismatched cutlery and crockery will just put people off. It's the first impression that reflects both what can be expected of the food and the overall image of the restaurant.

Until recently it was common practice to use a matching range of porcelain or bone china for all dishes. Lately there has been a move towards a more eclectic use of materials such as porcelain, glass, wood and silver. It's a trend noticed by Paul Goodfellow, managing director of Continental Chef Supplies (CCS). "Evidence for this comes from the huge growth in modern concept dining," he says, "where cutting-edge designs in white porcelain are mixed effortlessly with glass to give an innovative and harmonised presentation in keeping with the overall style of the restaurant."

Best-selling products at CCS include white porcelain miniatures, from manufacturers Figgjo of Norway and Revol in France, which are used for appetisers and pre-desserts, as well as large and small white wok bowls, used for pasta and main courses. Other popular products are porcelain bowls that work well for risottos, and various sizes of Figgjo platters, used to serve anything from appetisers to buffets. A large variety of glass plates are primarily bought for starters and desserts.

At Elia the ethos is to challenge the design of traditional products and offer a wide range of high-quality, innovative tableware that is both stylish and versatile, with design, shape and pattern complementary to each other. Elia says its designs, whether cutlery or chinaware, aim to offer a timeless simplicity so as to complement modern interior themes, as well as allowing the operator to bring their own individual style and flair to the table.

The company offers three ranges of plain fine china and six decorated patterns in fine bone china alongside more than 50 contemporary cutlery designs covering a wide market from fine dining to something more casual. For the top end, Virtu features a blue and lilac geometric design edged in platinum and has a complementary cutlery range in finest-grade 18/10 stainless steel. The Orient is the influence for the appropriately named Orientix range of fine china featuring a striking, urban-style design in a creamy-white glaze. Again, the china is complemented by a cutlery range of the same name, in this case inspired by the shape of a traditional chopstick.

Equipment supplier AFE Online has seen a substantial increase in demand for the contemporary designs of cutlery and tableware. "Although sales of the commodity designs remain steady, there has been an upturn in demand for contemporary shapes, materials, colours and designs," says marketing manager Sonya Bateman. "They're taking the food service industry by storm."

Bateman attributes this to the increased interest in producing attractive displays of food at home - which means even higher presentation levels are expected when people eat out. "Until recently, the more unusual designs had been aimed at the top end of the market," she says. "But now plates in any shape, any colour and any size are making their way on to the tables of more modest pubs and restaurants."

AFE Online supplies table designs by Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Wedgwood, Steelite and Churchill. Steelite's Sheer range, which comes in two different designs (Sheer Zen and Sheer Monaco) and three different pastel shades (aqua, pistachio and lilac) aims to combine delicacy and durability.

Villeroy & Boch national sales manager Simon Kitto says tableware is usually chosen to match the food. "Chefs may choose a round or square plate for certain dishes because of the way they imagine the dish sitting on it - perhaps a trio of desserts on a long, thin plate," he says. "Chefs may also use plates of different depths to create impact. It's all part of the theatre."

The company's white china ranges are all perfectly colour-matched, so you can mix and match with different shapes to get visual impact. Kitto says white is still a best seller: any patterns tend to be discreet, such as a fine border.

A new addition to Villeroy & Boch's Hotwave range is a 32cm square Hotglass plate with curving lines and a coloured edging in red, green, blue, orange, brown or white. It's particularly effective, the company says, when placed underneath the 27cm white porcelain Hotwave plates. (Two cutlery patterns, Hotwave - a stylised wave design - and the rounded Oscar - inspired by the Baguette cutlery shape from 1822 - are also new.)

King UK has also seen a shift from formal, patterned tableware to plain, contemporary styles. "Sales of plain, white tableware have risen quite dramatically in recent years, with more establishments opting for plainer and more casual table settings," says marketing manager Malcolm Hoskin. "We have seen a huge rise in outlets adopting Italian-style tableware with large shallow bowls, traditionally used for pasta, for other non-Italian dishes. Often these are served with an additional plate underneath."

The right impression

At Winteringham Fields in Lincolnshire, Annie Schwab places great emphasis on the look of the tables. Creases are ironed out of the tablecloths and all the plates are Crown Derby fine china at £60 a pop. The cutlery is by Ercuis. "You need to have pride in your table setting," Schwab says. "And be prepared to spend a lot of money - because if you want the tables to look fantastic, it will cost you."

But before you start buying, Schwab recommends deciding exactly what you are trying to achieve - whether it be a crisp, clean look or a rustic one. And while it's fine to mix traditional and contemporary, she advises against mixing themes.

Cover it

The table covering is the starting point and it's no longer a case of white or nothing. There's now a huge selection of colours to choose from, with matching or co-ordinating napkins. While there is still a lot of business in white table linen, Malcolm Tymn, UK market manager for Milliken's napery division estimates that, with the advent of 100% polyester, coloured cloths now account for 40% of the market and are still growing. "You could never have colours in cotton because after a couple of washes you'd have all sorts of shades as the colour came out," he says. Black is becoming increasingly popular, as are plain weave cloths instead of patterned damask fabric.

Contacts

AFE Online 0116 281 6047, www.afeonline.net

Continental Chef Supplies 0808 1001777, www.chefs.net

Elia 020 8998 2100, www.elia.co.uk

Guy Degrenne 07966 464452

Huhtamaki 02392 584234, www.huhtamaki.com

King UK 01788 530077 (north) 020 83165511 (south), www.king-uk.com

Milliken 01942 612709, www.millikentablelinen.com

Royal Doulton 01782 404040, www.royal-doulton.co.uk

Villeroy & Boch 020 8871 0011, www.villeroy-boch.co.uk

Disposables

Paper and plastic disposables supplier Huhtamaki offers an alternative to china tableware with the Chinet premium range of disposable patterned plates and bowls and Super Tuff silver platters.

Chinet is manufactured from 100% recycled material, is biodegradable and comprises five plate sizes - lunch, dinner, dessert, compartment and oval - plus a soup bowl. The company says the products are strong enough to take a full meal without any sign of bending and that, being disposable, they provide a high level of convenience and flexibility.

"We are increasingly becoming a throw-away society, owing to the cost and time constraints placed on the food service sector," says Neil Whittall, commercial director for Huhtamaki. "Chinet is a perfect alternative to traditional tableware as it doesn't necessitate washing up, it can simply be thrown away after each use."

Choosing and caring for Cutlery

Choosing cutlery

Ensure you have sufficient quantities for the number of covers and menu (manufacturers and distributors can provide advice).

Request samples of the principal pieces and choose a pattern with all the items required for your establishment.

Compare the stainless steel and check if it's 18/0 or 18/10. 18/10 stainless steel has a longer lifespan - it's 72% steel plus 18% chrome (to protect against corrosion) plus 10% nickel (for added protection and a shiny appearance).

For silver cutlery, look for "Quality 1", which means 33 microns of silver guaranteed, based upon French standards requiring 84g of silver plate per 12 forks and 12 spoons.

Remember, heaviness is not a gauge of quality.

Hollow-handled knives are of monococque construction - that is, made in separate pieces of two separate metals - and therefore have a better-quality handle.

Using silver-plated cutlery

Do not wash stainless steel and silver-plated cutlery together or allow touching. Any contact between two iron-containing metals of different quality causes electrolysis, which makes iron stain and starts corrosion.

Avoid placing silver-plated cutlery in contact with food that contains sulphur - ie, eggs, mayonnaise, mustard and dairy products (sulphurisation of the metal occurs when the metal is in contact with sulphur in the air).

Discolouration occurs with heat and humidity. Do not dip silver-plated cutlery in sauces and vinaigrettes for too long. A temperature of higher than 100¡C immediately causes small holes on silver-plated cutlery.

Cleaning stainless steel cutlery

The dishwash powder used must not contain any chlorine, which causes black spots (oxidation); liquid gels and "compact" powders can also cause this.

Chlorine permanently tarnishes the finish of stainless steel. Chlorine stains are usually caused by contact with bleaching water.

Be aware of water quality and rinse well - the rinsing product must remove all the water drops in order to avoid corrosion.

Ensure all items are well dried, not sitting in the humid environment of the dishwasher after being washed.

Source: French tableware company Guy Degrenne