CAFE

The most important dish in a cafe is naturally the coffee cup, which is part of the overall experience, enhances the taste of coffee and supports the interior design, atmosphere and concept of the cafe. A cafe that takes the serving of coffee seriously serves coffee drinks in cups especially designed for the drink.

The coffee cup affects the taste and coffee experience

In Finland, we have a growing interest in artisan cafes, roasteries and coffees as well as a growing number of coffee enthusiasts. Drinking coffee is an experience and, therefore, coffee consumption outside home is growing. The settings and service of the cafe support the overall experience.

The coffee cup has a great impact on the taste of coffee and the coffee experience

There is an enormous range of different coffee cups available. At least the following points should be considered when choosing the cup:

• Durability: are you prepared to constantly renew the coffee cup set or do you want the set to last for years?
• Storing: how much storage space do you have? If you only have limited storage space, choose stackable cups
• Coffee drink menu: do you serve special coffees in addition to filter coffee? Do you think that your customer base will want to have their coffee in special cups?
• A single set or different kinds of cups?
• Remember that you also need teacups that fit the style of the coffee cups!

When buying new drinking glasses for your cafe or restaurant, pay special attention to the target group of your restaurant, volumes and storage spaces. These points have an impact on the choice of the glasses: what kind of glass material, size, style, colour and price is suitable for the glasses of your restaurant.

Restaurant workers often find the storing of the glasses challenging. Therefore, you should choose glasses that can be used in multiple ways and for different purposes. Many glasses are suitable for serving starters, desserts, soups and salads as well as drinks, for example. You can make even an ordinary dish interesting by using different plating methods.

Wines are also part of the cafe world. On the Licensed restaurant tab, you can learn more about suitable wine glasses and get the best tips!

RESTAURANT

The set of dishes reflects the style of the restaurant.

The following points have an impact on the selection of the set of dishes

• the service concept and business idea of your restaurant
• customer volumes
• frequency of use of the dishes: do you use the set once a day or continuously
• what should the set look like
• what are the food and drink products served in your restaurant
• how heavy is the use of the dishes
• budget.

Kitchen utensils support success

It is not insignificant which utensils you use to run your kitchen. The business idea of your restaurant has an essential impact on the selection of kitchen utensils, such as the set of dishes.

E. Ahlström’s five tips for choosing kitchen utensils:

• The most important selection criteria are the concept and business idea of the restaurant: do your prepare everything yourself or use pre-prepared products?
• Pay attention to the volume and budget: what kind of customer volumes are you pursuing, what is the possible renewal interval of kitchen utensils?
• Think about the materials: coated or uncoated, machine washable, plastic or stainless steel utensils?
• Pay attention to the Food Act and authority regulations.

LICENSED RESTAURANT

Beer glass

In addition to serving beer, the purpose of a beer glass is to protect beer, in other words, preserve the scent and flavour of the beer. A beautiful beer glass enhances the appearance of the drink and turns the enjoyment of the drink into an aesthetic experience. A suitable, well-washed beer glass is an indication of the restaurant’s service level and appreciation of beer.

A British pint glass is the backbone of all restaurants. Stackable glasses are recommended for serving draft beer. A good beer restaurant has also multifunctional tulip glasses in its selection. The narrow middle of the tulip glass facilitates the beer head creation and encapsulated beer aromas.

Wine glass

Wine glasses are often the most visible parts of the table setting, and they give a strong impression of the restaurant.

If you want to create a relaxed and spontaneous atmosphere in your restaurant, choose simple and short-legged, or even legless, wine glasses. Festive wine glasses usually have long stems and are made of thin glass material: they shine and chime beautifully.

Champagne and sparkling wine should be served in a tulip-shaped glass which replicate the aromas better than a flute-shaped glass.

Drink glass

A stylish drink glass completes the drink. The drink glass supports the style and drink list of the bar. Shiny glasses bring out the colours and structures of the drinks. Trendy, bronze and gun metal glasses and mugs increase visibility.

Drink glasses can also be stackable, which reduces the need for storage space.

Bar utensils

A well-equipped bar has at least the following utensils:

• Mixing glass, cocktail spoon, shakers, sieves, jiggers, blender, hand-held lemon squeezer
• Bitter and spray bottles, pipettes, tweezers and ice cube tongs
• Chopping board, good knife, small grater, boxes and cans for decoration and friction trays
• Set of glasses that fits the style of the bar