Cruets and Condiment Sets

One per table plus roughly a quarter again. At any moment some sets are in the wash, some are being refilled and some have been taken to a different table and not returned.

Venues that buy exactly one per table end up with half-full shakers on tables because there is never a spare to swap in.

Glass reads best on a table and lets staff see the fill level at a glance, which is the practical argument for it. It also breaks.

Stainless lasts longest and hides the level, so it needs a refill routine rather than a visual check. Plastic is the right answer for outdoor tables and anywhere glass is a hazard, in the same way plastic glasses are.

Humidity. Salt absorbs moisture out of the air, and a shaker that sits on a table near a dishwasher or an open door will cake. Rice in the shaker is the old trick and it works, but the real fix is smaller refills more often.

Store the bulk salt sealed. An ingredient bin with a proper lid keeps the stock dry so you are not refilling from a bag that has already taken up moisture.

Whatever the menu needs on the table rather than carried out: sugar and sweetener, sauces, vinegar, chilli, toothpicks. Anything beyond that clutters the table and slows the clean-down.

Sauces are better in refillable bottles than in sachets if the venue has the washing capacity. Commercial sauce bottles cover that, and they look considerably better than a bowl of sachets.

Most stainless and glass bodies are, and the caddies usually are. Lids with rubber seals and anything with a cork or timber component normally are not, and that is where sets get damaged.

Check each component on the product page before the first wash. A commercial dishwasher will do a better job than hand washing on the parts that can take it.

Wiped every turn, washed every day, stripped and soaked weekly. Sauce residue around a cap and salt crust inside a thread are the two things a wipe never reaches, and both are visible to a customer.

Build it into the close-down list rather than leaving it to judgement. The cleaning cloths and sanitiser for it should live with the section, not in a back cupboard.

Refillable is cheaper per serve and looks better; disposable is faster and avoids the cross-contact questions that come with shared condiments. Most venues land on refillable on the table and sachets for takeaway.

If you are going disposable, the commercial kitchen disposables range covers sachets and single-use serviettes alongside disposable napkins.