by Holly Kapsalis
From leasing space to hiring staff, setting your menu and building your marketing strategy, purchasing dinnerware can often fall to the bottom of an aspiring restaurant owner’s priority list. But this often-overlooked to-do list item is actually one of the most crucial. In addition to enhancing your food and chef’s culinary delights, it impacts the entire look and feel of your establishment. Ensuring your dinnerware selection is aligned with the emotional response you’d like to invoke in your customers is sure to set you up on a path to success.
With a variety of dinnerware options on the market, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. From disposable dinnerware to the finest china and everything in between, you’re probably wondering where to start.
It’s important to consider customer expectations and your brand. While high end chinaware may be ideal for upscale, fine dining establishments, on-the-go food truck customers will expect disposable dinnerware. While there are countless other options on the market ranging from vitrified glass to polycarbonate to earthenware/stoneware, today we’re going to explore melamine – and why it may be the perfect solution for your establishment.
What is Melamine?
Melamine is a chemical that is used to make hard plastics. Wood pulp is the key component in melamine, which when heated along with hardening components, creates a nearly indestructible material.
Why Melamine?
There are numerous benefits to melamine dishware, including:
Durability
Few products can match melamine’s durability, which when cared for properly has a 10-20% average yearly replacement rate compared to porcelain’s 50-150%.
Safety
Melamine is certified BPA-free and a completely food safe material. In addition, it doesn’t absorb the heat from plated foods which reduces accidental burns. It’s also incredibly lightweight, which eases the load on your staff. Melamine is also one of the best and safest materials to use in outdoor dining – there’s nothing worse than broken glass at a wedding or poolside.
Cleanup is a Breeze
Melamine is dishwasher safe and easy to clean.
Appearance and Value
No other dinnerware option beats the durability yet sophistication of melamine. It can mimic many other materials, including high-end chinaware, offering the best of both worlds!
For instance, Cal-Mil, the go-to company for foodservice professionals looking to enhance their displays and food presentations, offers a variety of melamine-based products, including the Marin and Hudson collections.
Inspired by the organic feel of Marin County, CA, the Marin premium dinnerware collection is designed for sophisticated yet approachable outdoor dining, and is available in three earthy tones: Ivory, Ash, and Cinder. (see video below)
In addition, their ever-popular Hudson Collection, which recently expanded to include Low Rim dinnerware in a variety of trending colors, aims to make every table #InstaReady! (see video below)
Why Cal-Mil
For over 50 years, Cal-Mil has offered a variety of solutions to elevate your dining room and exceed customer expectations. Cal-Mil’s commitment to staying on top of the latest trends means any tabletop will be the envy of your competitors’ eyes.
Tired of long lead times? We hear you! Cal-Mil products are manufactured locally by their own staff, which means you can say goodbye to shipping delays! Their melamine collections, including the Marin and recently expanded Hudson collection, are fully stocked which means you can get to doing what you do best – delighting your customers.
In addition, Cal-Mil can fully customize any melamine product to meet your needs. Bring your vision and their helpful team will take care of the rest, with minimal order requirements.
