Restaurant cutlery what you need to know

Asia

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The Far East shook up the cutlery market in the &#;90s, bringing much more choice and dramatically lowering prices. &#;The single biggest change since we started 30 or so years ago is Asia entering the market,&#; says Parsley in Time owner Ted Walpole. &#;This has flooded the UK with high-quality, affordable tableware. We source ours mainly from Korea but the stuff coming from China is pretty good too.&#;

Buffing

Cutlery is buffed after it has been worked into shape. Entry-level cutlery will receive a tumble finish, the cheapest available, while economy level cutlery will go through four levels of buffing. The finest 18/10 cutlery can receive up to 27 levels of buffing, including buffing between the prongs of forks, for a silky smooth finish.

Coated cutlery

Powder-coated cutlery &#; with finishes including copper, titanium and black &#; have risen considerably in popularity over the past few years. Nisbets reports a huge rise in the sales of such ranges. Other coating methods include galvanisation, in which the cutlery is coated in a fine layer of gold or silver.

Dishwashers

Traditionally the enemy of cutlery, modern dishwashers are designed to be kinder to flatware. The one exception to this is wooden handles, which will be ruined by dishwashers unless the wood has been impregnated with a polymer.

Effects

Nostalgia and the practice of sourcing second-hand items for restaurant tables has seen the popularity of faux bone-effect handle cutlery rise. Renewed interest in this old-fashioned cutlery style has led to companies starting to manufacture it again using robust polymer handles, including Sheffield&#;s Chimo Holdings.

Forged cutlery

Forged cutlery begins life as solid bars and is pounded into shape, allowing for the production of round, oval and square designs. Due to the labour needed to create this cutlery, it is usually more expensive than stamped cutlery (see S).

Gentle handling

It&#;s important to be gentle with quality cutlery. 18/10 will scratch if handled roughly. Allowing kitchen porters to scoop up big handfuls of cutlery and ram them into warewasher baskets is a particularly poor idea.

Hollow handles

Counter intuitively, hollow-handled cutlery is more expensive to make than solid-handled cutlery. &#;The manufacturing process is far more complicated,&#; says Ross Jones, brand manager for Chinacraft at Nisbets. 

&#;To make hollow-handled cutlery, you need to mould both sides of the handle and seal them together over the blade to create a seamless effect. Solid handled cutlery is simply fashioned from one lump of metal.&#;

Inox

Another term for stainless steel that&#;s sometimes used in cutlery marketing (see T).

Joints

In most cases, cutlery with obvious joints won&#;t last as long as fully sealed cutlery. The one exception to this is riveted-style steak knives, which will wear well.

Korea

When eating in Korea or a traditionally run Korean restaurant, don&#;t fall foul of the country&#;s strict cutlery etiquette. Never put chopsticks in food standing up, particularly rice, as this is believed to bring bad luck since it resembles the food left at graves to sustain deceased ancestors.

Lustre

Good-quality 18/10 and 18/8 will fade over time but it is likely to outlive most restaurants with a lifespan of decades rather than years. &#;It will be lost in the bin long before it becomes unusable,&#; says Artis marketing manager Gill Head. Lesser quality 18/0 steel loses its lustre much faster than 18/10 and 18/8.

Magnetic

A big advantage for casual, high-volume establishments is that 18/0 steel is magnetic, which allows them to fit powerful magnets to bins to reduce the number of pieces accidentally thrown out by kitchen porters.

Nickel

A component of high-quality stainless steel, nickel makes the metal more malleable during the construction process. Its high cost is the reason why 18/10 is so expensive.

Odd cutlery

You&#;ve probably heard of sporks, but what about trongs (plastic finger protectors designed to keep your fingers clean when eating ribs and the like), the sporf (a spork that incorporates a knife edge) and the chork (chopsticks that double as forks)? Novelty cutlery might not be suitable for every restaurant, but it can create a talking point at the table &#; and on Instagram.

Parish styles

Most cutlery used in restaurants is either plain with no pattern on the handle or based on one of several traditional &#;parish styles&#;, including rat tail (a line down the middle of the handle), bead (a beaded effect around the edge of the handle) and Grecian (an embossed effect).

Quality

The quality of cutlery varies dramatically. The highest quality 18/10 pieces sell for upwards of a fiver while single pieces of 18/0 cutlery can be bought from as little as 50p, although they are not likely to last long and will tarnish more easily. This cheaper cutlery is typically the default choice of more casual restaurants and tends to be replaced more regularly than 18/10 and 18/8. Quality varies considerably, with products from reputable manufacturers likely to last considerably longer than those that are not.

Residual

Lower grade cutlery can damage plates &#; a lot of the &#;scratches&#; you see on plates are actually marks left by the cutlery, known in the business as cutlery residual. Generally, if you&#;re using 18/10, this won&#;t happen.

Stamped cutlery

More affordable than the forged variety, stamped cutlery starts life as one massive sheet of stainless steel from which it is stamped. This method allows for the creation of a wide variety of patterns on the cutlery, although the stamping process means that it has to have a relatively flat design.

Ten

The number 10 in cutlery descriptions refers to the 10% nickel content of a piece of stainless steel cutlery and is always preceded by the number 18, which refers to its 18% chromium content. The highest quality of steels available are 18/10 and 18/8. Both are generally considered to have the optimal amounts of chromium and nickel for tableware. If numbers are not offered, the chances are it&#;s 18/0 steel, which is more prone to bending than 18/10 and 18/8.

Unique

Unlike with crockery, where chefs often commission an artist to create one-off plates for specific dishes, cutlery styles are typically made in bulk. That doesn&#;t mean truly unique cutlery doesn&#;t exist. Designer Luki Huber created a number of utensils exclusively for Ferran Adria&#;s El Bulli in Spain when it was open, including the spoon with clip, which allows diners to smell the aroma of one thing such as an herb or flower clipped to the spoon while tasting another thing. And Harry White Design has created evo-cut cutlery, a one-off set designed according to the principles of population genetics and natural variation. Rather than just having two sizes, this set of cutlery shows continuous variation in size and shape. It is now the property of Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design in King&#;s Cross and is occasionally on display.

Vintage effect

Cutlery can be stone-washed to create a matte, vintage effect on the stainless steel, a method that often results in the creation of non-uniform items. &#;Stone-washed cutlery has been a game-changer,&#; says Nisbets&#; Jones. &#;We&#;re selling a huge amount of it to a wide range of clients.&#; To some extent, the trend for stone-washed cutlery is linked to the movement for restaurants and bars using more rustic tableware and for using vintage items, such as soda syphons and glassware. &#;It looks really good alongside tableware and food that has a naturalistic look and feel,&#; adds Jones. Stone-washed cutlery is usually a comparable price to good quality 18/10.

Weight

In contrast to most other western markets, the UK equates weight with quality (see H). Professor Charles Spence, an experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford, recently conducted an experiment that showed the cutlery given to diners in a restaurant can have a big impact on their perception of a given dish and a meal more generally. Participants in the trial were served the same dish but with different weights of cutlery; the heavier the knives and forks they used, the more expensive they thought the dish should be.

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Generation X

Restaurants that appeal mainly to the Generation X demographic of diners (born roughly between and ) should consider using silverware (although see Z). Silver is the most expensive material used in tableware, but it has a strong association with quality for people in this age group. Silver cutlery is almost always plated but some of the world&#;s priciest restaurants and hotels &#; typically frequented by Generation X diners rather than Millennials &#; opt for pieces hewn from solid pieces of silver.

Younger diners

Having cutlery suitable for little diners is a must, and your choice should reflect your restaurant. Brands such as Robert Welch offer a large range of kids cutlery in traditional and sophisticated styles but, for early eaters, you might want to choose more colourful items. Artis&#; brightly coloured Monster children&#;s cutlery features easy-to-grip polyester handles in purple, orange and green, and feature different monster images, that have been ergonomically shaped for smaller hands.

Zoe Laughlin

The University College London researcher believes restaurants should think twice about using silver cutlery because it can taint certain foods. &#;It is not very pleasant at all,&#; she says. &#;It tastes metallic and it also reacts badly with the acid in fruit and the sulphur in eggs.&#;

When foraying into the world of restaurants, cafes or bars, there are multiple aspects you need to consider. From getting a place to handling the budget to getting all the licenses, everything is critical and requires your attention. However, in managing so many things, one of the things that get easily overlooked is restaurant cutlery.

Anyone who has been in the restaurant business long enough knows the importance of buying appropriate cutlery. It may sound like it is not a big deal initially, but it is a vital matter that can make an enormous difference in the impression you put on the world. Restaurant cutlery tips are not complex but easy to overlook. Here are some restaurant cutlery tips to get you started to take the pressure off you as you take care of other things.

7 Tips You Should Know Before Buying Restaurant Cultery

Depending on the theme of your restaurant & your menu, your cutleries might change. But the following tips are the ones which are applicable to all restaurants or food outlets!

If you are looking to splurge, you can always customise your cutleries or go for high-end ones to impress your customers & add more elegance to your place!

1. Understand Your Menu

One of the most crucial restaurant cutlery tips is understanding your restaurant menu and buying accordingly. Every restaurant will need forks, spoons and knives for their dining but certain types of cutlery are required based on the dishes you serve. For instance, there are special seafood knives, dessert spoons, and cutlery for oysters. Therefore, the first step to getting the proper cutlery for your restaurant is to take time to understand your menu and, based on that, your purchasing spree.

2. Table Size and Extras

Determine the sum you need for your restaurant and buy extra. The number of tables at your restaurant and the table size ascertain how many plates, dishes, spoons, knives and forks you will need for a table and how many you will need. It would be best if you always bought extra cutlery for contingencies, emergencies and peak hours.

3. Ensure Quality

Setting up a restaurant can be an expensive affair. There are high costs to be incurred. In all of the significant expenses, cutlery may look like a small item that you can buy cheaply. However, saving a few bucks here can cost more in the long run.

It is crucial to purchase high-quality and durable cutlery; otherwise, you will replace cheap and low-quality cutlery more often than not. Porcelain and stoneware are pretty stable and are generally preferred by restaurants. 

4. Consult Your Chefs

When you buy cutlery for your kitchen, it is highly recommended that you consult your chefs. You can find the best restaurant cutlery tips from an experienced chef. Ask your chef about the right equipment for preparing the food offered in the restaurant. For instance, when buying a kitchen knife, It is valuable to consider the size of the knife, the type of the blade, and the handle.

5. Coordinate With Your Theme

Your theme plays a significant role in choosing the required cutlery for your restaurant. Your cutlery speaks volumes about the style of your restaurant. It needs to be in sync with your furniture as well. Therefore, considering your theme when getting the proper cutlery for your restaurant takes top priority in our restaurant cutlery tips. If your restaurant has strong aesthetics, then buy cutlery that matches those aesthetics.

6. Functionality and Practicality

Other vital restaurant cutlery tips include considering the functionality and practicality of your equipment and utensils. When buying cutlery, ask yourself these questions &#; how comfortable is it to use? Is it convenient to hold? Is it easy to clean? Would it last long? It is nice to go for the style and theme of your restaurant. However, it is equally important to find the right balance between the style and durability of the product. Stainless steel is generally easy to clean and maintain and is another top choice of restaurant cutlery.

7. Something Safe For The Kids

Sometimes the cutlery you select for your customers won&#;t be easy for the kids to handle. If your customer base includes families with kids, then it is recommended that you get some easy and light cutlery for them. If the cutlery is bright and colourful, it will cheer up children. This cutlery tip can easily set you apart from your competition and help you score brownie points with your customers.

Managing so many things at once in a restaurant may seem overwhelming and chaotic. The right restaurant software and a consultant can help you tremendously. 

We hope you find this blog helpful in selecting the proper cutlery for your restaurant. For regular restaurant-related updates, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter.

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