Color Coming Back to Tabletop: Differentiating The Dining Experience

Shanghai’s Spanish “El Willy” using a variety of colors in its dinnerware. “Design is becoming extraordinarily important and people want their uniqueness, they want their own look. The idea of it is certainly starting to ramp up. These places are wanting to set themselves apart and make the crockery more of a part of the experience of their restaurant.” says Australian tabeware importer and manufacturer Daniel Grundman of H.A.G. Australia in a just published article in Hospitality Magazine written by author Rosemary Ryan

TabletopJournal feels has been discussing for some time now – that tabletop, particularly the dinnerware, but all tabletop – plays a mjor role in defining the guest experience and helping to differentiate a restaurant. With white plates of all sizes, shapes, and quality (remember when square plates were “edgy”?) the tabletop area has become treated as almost a commodity area. I mean, since you have to have plates why not just get the cheapest white plates you can and be done with it. Right???

As restaurateurs more and more grasp the idea that they are not in the food & beverage business, but rather the dining experience business, they discover the need to make their dining experience unique and special. And while it is still true that in the theater of dining out, food & beverage are the leading stars, tabletop remains an exceptionally strong co-star. Like the great character actors whose name you cannot quite remember, great tabletop adds a sensory texture to the meal and the entire dining experience while remaining rather unobtrusive. And like those same great character actors that quietly elevate a movie’s cimematic impact, it is the tabletop that often helps transform a “good” meal into a something far more memorable. The glassware, cutlery, dinnerware and serving pieces all have roles to play in elevating the overall dining experience. That’s why TabletopJournal always trys to recognize and applaud the well-thought out tabletop. With respect to the dinnerware portion of the tabletop, for quite some time now, restaurant tabletops have been covered by an “ocean” of white, white,….and more white….when it comes to dinnerware. Despite some believing this has resulted  because chefs have wanted a white canvas for their culinary creations, TabletopJournal thinks the reasons are many more than that, but we’ll save all that for another day. We also believe that chefs and restaurateurs are coming around again to the idea of using tabletop to help differentiate the dining experience for their guests. Author Ryan in the above mentioned article seems to agree.

Singapore’s Sky On 57 So far now, we will continue our evangelistic journey to raise the conciousness and help tabletop gain its rightful respect in the role it plays in the guest experience. Thanks to author Ryan in joining us in this pursuit.

You can read Rosemary Ryan’s entire article by going here:
http://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au/management/an-appetite-for-colour-tabletop-trends?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Hospitality%20Newsletter%20MREC%20-%20send%20-%3E%2028/06/2012%202:27:09%20PM&utm_content=

Well Done.