Catering Industry

Typical requirements for catering placemats

When a catering professional in any industry, from restaurants, hotels and cafes to residential care homes one of the first requirements that needs to be achieved as to establish how long the placemats are going to last while still looking great and fresh. This would be quickly followed by how much is it going to cost to buy catering placemats for my business.

As with a lot of products the more expensive they are then in theory they will be a better quality. That to a large extend is the same with catering placemats, but what might be economical can turn out to be appropriate for your industry. The same set of placemats might be fantastic and look great for a domestic setting, but might not be robust enough for the wear and tear that inevitably happens when used in a restaurant or hotel setting.

For example, the traditional placemats by Lady Clare are expensive and meant to be used in domestic scenarios where they look great with classic floral, nautical and landscape designs. But for a busy care home or restaurant they would not stay looking fresh for as long as you would like.

Robust for catering, melamine placemats

However, the melamine placemats by Lady Clare are slightly less expensive but the melamine surface is more durable than the classic varnished versions and would withstand more robust usage.

With melamine placemats the surface tends to be able to tolerate temperatures up to around 150C, which is hotter than any food that would be served to your restaurant or hotel guests. The top layer is also going to be more scratch resistant which is particularly useful if the base of your dinner plates has a rough finish.

The Castle Melamine tablemats and coasters range is also a comparable alternative to the Lady Clare melamine range. Or the plain colours available with the Plymouth Pottery Regal Pro placemats. These latter melamine catering placemats are worth considering as the single colour design of either claret, green, cream or grey-black will coordinate nicely with the colour scheme of your business without being too over powering.

Alternative catering placemats to buy, rattan and woven vinyl

When the budget is less than you would like and value for money is a big consideration, then an option is the woven vinyl Fleximats, these are a flexible pvc type of material that will keep the dining table protected and be easy to maintain as they just need to be wiped clean with a damp cloth. They are also large enough at 40cm x 30cm to hold the cutlery and wine glass on the same placemat as the dinner plate, which is a helpful way to outline the space of each dinner guest.

Overtime this type of woven vinyl could start to show any stains, particularly if the spilt food or wine was not wiped off fairly quickly. For a more rustic feel or where a casual dining experience is required then the rattan placemats options are the ideal choice. These are made from a natural sea grass, which is not only an environmentally friendly choice as well as being food safe.

The rigid rattan placemats for restaurants and care homes are available in various shapes and sizes to suit your requirements, including round and a rectangular UK placemats size of 30cm by 23cm. Just like with all the tablemats to buy on our site they are not appropriate for placing in a dishwasher.