Crockery

Vitrified china is fired hot enough that the body itself goes glassy and takes on almost no water. That is what hotelware means, and it is why a commercial plate feels heavier and tougher than something from a homewares shop. Porcelain is finer and whiter and can look better on a table, but a thin rim is easier to chip.

Melamine and polypropylene are plastics, so they don't break. That makes them the sensible choice for poolside service, functions, kids menus, aged care and anywhere a dropped plate is a genuine hazard. They will scratch and dull over the years, they don't hold heat the way china does, and they can't go in an oven or under a salamander.

Rims and feet, nearly always. A plate rarely breaks in the middle. It gets chipped on the edge going into a stack, knocked against a tap or a bench edge at the wash-up, or nicked on the foot when it is dragged across another plate.

Buy plates with a rolled or reinforced edge, because a heavier plate with a thicker rim will outlast a fine one on a busy pass. Most of the damage still comes from handling, so racks in the dishwasher instead of loose stacks, a rubber mat where the plates land, and nobody carrying eight at a time will cut the breakage bill further than paying more per plate does.

Ask that question before the first order, because pieces get replaced for as long as the venue is open. A pattern still in production means you can top up six plates at a time and they will match what is already on the shelf. A discontinued pattern means a mismatched pass, or buying the whole set again.

Choose an established white hotelware line for the best odds. Whiteware and Athena have been made in the same shapes for a long time, they come in plenty of sizes, and the pieces are sold in packs that can be reordered one box at a time. If you choose a coloured pattern, order deeper on it up front, and contact REO to check availability before you build a menu around it.

More than the first order. Crockery is a running cost like gloves or cling wrap, and a busy venue can replace a fair share of its plates every year without anything unusual happening. Budget for it from the start.

REO prices on crockery are sharp, and one pattern bought in quantity from one supplier costs less than a box here and a box there. You get the volume price, and you're not chasing three suppliers the week you need six bowls. Keep a shelf of spares in the storeroom so one bad night does not send you shopping.

Commercial china is made for it, so plates, bowls and cups will go through a dishwasher or glasswasher day after day for years. What shortens their life is the handling around the machine, and the detergent if the dosing is out. Detergent that is too strong will dull a glaze and fade a printed pattern over time, and the wrong rinse aid leaves a film that looks like the plates have not come clean.

Melamine needs more attention. It's fine in a commercial machine, but very hot washes over a long period will take the shine off it, and it can pick up stains from tomato and turmeric. Load it so it cannot flip over and fill with water.

Most crockery stacks, and the shape of the rim decides how well. Coupe plates and stacking bowls nest tightly and take up very little shelf. Wide rimmed plates sit rim on rim, so a stack of those takes more room and gets unstable sooner. Cups and mugs made for stacking say so in the name, and stacking ramekins are worth having if the menu runs a lot of sauces and sides.

Keep the stacks short. The weight grinds the glaze against the foot ring above it and puts fine scratches through the middle of a plate, and a stack above head height at the pass will eventually come down. Use more shelves and fewer plates per stack, with plate racks in the dish area.

Some pieces can, so check the piece before you assume. Pie dishes, eared dishes, roasters and ramekins are made to be cooked in and served from. Standard plates and bowls are made to hold food rather than to be baked, and what cracks them is thermal shock — a cold plate straight under a salamander, or a hot dish put down on a wet steel bench.

Use a plate warmer for service. It brings the plates up gently and holds them there, so hot food arrives hot without putting china through anything harsh. Melamine and polypropylene don't go in an oven, under a grill or in a microwave at all.

Work backwards from the drinks on the menu. An espresso cup, a flat white cup, a cappuccino cup with its saucer and a mug will cover a normal cafe list. Saucers are made to fit specific cups, so match them by the code on each piece rather than by eye. Latte cups and latte glasses are separate again.

Buy more cups than you think you need, especially the small ones. Espresso and flat white cups turn over fastest, they are the ones knocked at the machine, and a busy morning will have every cup either in use or in the wash. Two sittings worth is not too many. Teapots run to a slower rhythm, so a handful of pots and a couple of strainers usually does it.

Cutlery and glassware first, then the service pieces that finish a table. Cruets, salt and pepper shakers, oil and vinegar bottles, sugar bowls, milk jugs and condiment holders all get bought late and then rushed. Buy a box of dipping pots and soy dishes if anything on the menu comes with a sauce.

Then the wash-up side. Plate and cup racks that suit your machine, a rubber mat where the plates land, and somewhere sensible to stack what comes back at the end of service. If you cater or run functions, order the buffet pieces such as risers and chafing dishes at the same time as the plates, while everything can still be matched.