Getting the Table Right

Dining out is one of life’s great treats; food tastes so much better when it’s been made for you and no one enjoys doing the washing up. While the focus of a great restaurant should be on producing imaginative and flavoursome food, restaurant managers should never underestimate the part that ambience and presentation play in delivering a first class dining experience.

A diner may spend hours sitting at their table depending on the menu they’ve chosen. They don’t want to spend those hours looking at cutlery which would be more at home in a tool shed, at crockery that’s chipped or features “glaze craze” (the cracking of the glaze which can cause staining), or at glassware that has gone cloudy from machine washing or is generally unfit for purpose.

Having worked in a luxury hotel which also boasts a Michelin-starred restaurant, Barkers Catering Equipment’s Marketing Manager, Vida Cade, understands the importance of training service staff on table presentation.

“Some of the simplest and smallest details can make a huge difference to the dining experience,” she said. “For example, making sure that the place settings mirror each other and that there is symmetry not only makes the table look good but it prevents your customers from feeling the need to move things about once seated.”

“Where I worked, we often made the service staff sit at the table and pretend to be a customer so that they see the experience from the other side,” said Vida. “Putting yourself in the shoes of the customer is a great learning tool and it also lets management see just how aware staff is to the needs of the clientele.”

The tableware should never be the ‘star’ of the dining experience; at the end of the day the customer has come to eat (or drink) and have an experience they can’t get at home, not to view your crockery like a piece of art. However, that doesn’t mean that the tableware has to be so understated you don’t notice it.

Chefs understand that, to a point, you eat with your eyes and what you see can have a perceived effect on the flavours. That is why they put so much emphasis on the presentation.  Barkers Catering Equipment recommends that chefs are involved in selecting crockery for this reason. The right plate can inspire original presentation ideas but equally the wrong plate may hinder a chef’s desire and ability to get creative.

And never, ever underestimate the importance of cutlery. With the exception of glassware perhaps, cutlery is usually the only thing on the table when customers are seated so it forms a large part of the first impression. Apart from the food, the fork (or spoon) is the only other thing which fully enters the mouth during a meal and if it is of poor quality, it can taint the flavour of the food.  In addition, if the cutlery has a poorly polished finish it can actually become uncomfortable and unpleasant to eat with.

It is a bit of a hospitality myth that in order to have the best looking tableware it must all be silver, fine bone china and crystal and that durability is therefore sacrificed. That may have been the case in Victorian times however ceramic-, steel- and glass- manufacturers in the modern day are constantly developing new processes, which allow them to strengthen the materials without compromising on the style or quality. For example Churchill’s ‘Alchemy’ range is made from fine china, yet selected pieces come with a 5 year edge chip warranty. Toughened glassware can be purchased for less than £1 per piece so is economical but still offers long-lasting performance.

Deciding whether to focus on the appearance of your tableware or the durability, really depends on what type of food and drink service you are offering. Fast and casual dining spots may be more successful opting for products which are robust and can withstand the demands of a rigorous and fast-moving service as opposed to fine dining restaurants which often run service at a more leisurely pace and therefore can spend a bit more time and care setting and clearing tables.

Choosing tableware can be confusing and overwhelming. There are numerous manufacturers, selling hundreds of different ranges made out of various materials in a plethora of styles and designs – it can be a challenge to know where to start. That’s why the one tip we would offer to people in that position is: “Speak to the experts.”

Barkers Catering Equipment began as a hire business in the early 1990’s and as such, has been a consumer of tableware for over 30 years. We believe this has given us a fairly unique position amongst our competitors as we already know what works and what doesn’t. Once we ventured into the Sales arena, we began working with lots of different suppliers so have access to and knowledge of the vast range of products that are available. While we will not choose your table ware for you, we do offer a bespoke sourcing service and can make recommendations based on your budget, personal taste, the style of the menus and the overall ‘feel’ you are trying to achieve.

 

Tel: 01706 210011

Web: www.barkersonline.co.uk

 

Bring The Taste!

The New Year is a time for making resolutions and looking forward to new beginnings. So what are the big changes for 2014 and are you ready for them?

Have you ever sat in a restaurant, bemused by the menu and found yourself fretting about what to choose because it all sounds too good and you want it all? Or do you wait and see what everyone else is having in the hope that they pick something you like and will allow you a sneaky forkful?

If you’re a chef at the top of your game, you will already have a tasting menu in place. It’s a great way to help your customers get around the problem of too much choice by letting them make multiple selections in smaller portion sizes. Boosted by the advent of programmes such as The Taste, which has found popularity in the US and begins on Channel 4 this week, tasting menus are among the foodie trends forecast to be very popular this year.

While tasting menus are usually found in fine dining establishments, there’s nothing to say that other venues can’t implement their own versions. In fact, mouthful measures are finding their way into casual sharing platters and fast food buffets all over the place, so ignoring this trend is not an option.

Of course, sharing platters and tasting menus require a very different kind of presentation – placing a 2” round crostini topped with creamy goat’s cheese and beetroot chutney onto a 12” dinner plate is not going to impress your guests.  Delivering the same mouth-size morsel on an elegant fine china tasting spoon, resting on a quality slate or wooden platter is a much better choice for making a culinary statement.

Check out Barkers Catering Equipment website for more inspirational tabletop items