Hospitality cutlery

Guests pick up their cutlery again with every course. Weight, shape and finish shape how a table feels, and in hospitality it also has to go through the dishwasher and through people's hands countless times. At Debecker, you choose hospitality cutlery from two brands: Comas, with 54 collections and 647 products, and Robert Welch, British design cutlery since 1955, with 25 collections.

Start by asking which pieces you really need. A brasserie with a short menu can manage with a table knife, a table fork, a spoon and a coffee spoon. A restaurant serving several courses often also needs starter or dessert cutlery, fish cutlery or a steak knife. A hotel that serves breakfast also thinks of teaspoons and butter knives. Put your menu next to the collection and check that every piece you need exists in the same collection.

Then count per piece: the number of covers, the cutlery in the wash during service and a reserve. Cutlery goes missing more easily than glass or porcelain, for example when clearing tables or on catering jobs away from the venue. A generous reserve per piece is therefore no unnecessary luxury.

• Which pieces do you need for your menu, from starter to coffee?
• How many covers do you set at once, and how much cutlery is in the wash?
• Does the cutlery match your porcelain and glassware?
• Do you want a classic finish or a coloured finish?
• Do you want to be able to reorder pieces from the same collection later?

Comas has 54 collections and 647 products in our webshop. The collections include Baguette, BCN Satin Gold, BCN Satin Black, BCN Satin Copper, Kodai, Lab, London, Madrid, Hotel and Chef. With the BCN Satin range you choose cutlery in a gold, black or copper finish, which gives a table its own accent of colour.

Robert Welch has been making British design cutlery since 1955. You will find 25 collections, including Arden, Baguette, Blockley, Honeybourne, Kingham, Radford, RW2 and Stanton. You can read more about the brand and its background on the Robert Welch brand page. Worth noting: both Comas and Robert Welch have a Baguette collection, so you can compare the two.

The table below will help you get started. In the end, cutlery is best chosen with it in your hand, next to the plate you use.

In a hospitality business, cutlery goes through the dishwasher after every service. Check the product information and the brand's care instructions for each item, especially for coloured finishes such as gold, black or copper. A few general habits help with any kind of cutlery.

Also think about your cutlery when clearing tables. Collect it separately from plates and glasses so it does not end up among food scraps or napkins. That way you lose fewer pieces and your reserve stays at the right level.

• Rinse off food residue before the cutlery goes into the dishwasher.
• Place cutlery loosely in a cutlery basket so the pieces are not packed too tightly.
• Do not leave cutlery wet for long after washing, and dry it with a dry cloth.
• Do not use scouring pads on coloured or satin finishes unless the brand allows it.
• Sort cutlery by piece when putting it away, so your mise en place runs smoothly.

Cutlery, plate and glass together make up the table. A white plate leaves plenty of room for coloured cutlery, such as the BCN Satin range from Comas, while a plate with a pronounced colour or texture often goes better with classic cutlery. So also look at our hospitality porcelain when choosing cutlery. In the showroom you see such combinations side by side on set tables.

Many hospitality items, cutlery included, are sold per pack, for example of 6 or 12 pieces. The price per pack is shown with the product. So calculate in packs when you work out your quantities.

For hospitality businesses there is a separate webshop for professionals. You see your prices and terms after signing in.

Debecker's showroom is at Doenaertstraat 16 in Marke, Kortrijk. The tables there are fully set and there is someone who knows the range. Visits are by appointment: request an appointment, and feel free to bring a plate or a glass you already use. For businesses in West Flanders, Kortrijk is close by, on the E17 and near the French border.

Debecker delivers in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Private customers see prices including 21% VAT and pay €8 incl. VAT for shipping in Belgium, free from €100 incl. VAT. Shipping to Luxembourg and the Netherlands costs €25 incl. VAT, free from €1,000 incl. VAT. Hospitality businesses see their prices and terms after signing in to the professional webshop.