Every small detail can make a big difference in any hospitality experience. Consider crockery only; it can improve the guest experience, deliver a sensory experience, and add to your brand’s image. The design and materials can influence the whole perception. The choice of crockery is also important. For example, a fine dining experience may need porcelain, but for a casual eatery, you may need rustic or colourful crockery.
Does this seem like a lot to unfold?
We get it!
That’s why we’re here. In this post, we will discuss the types of crockery with names. Let us uncover the secret of a great hospitality experience with the right plates, bowls, spoons, and more.
What are the Different Types of Crockery?
Let us get straight to the point and discuss different types of crockery for hotels and other food and beverage service providers. To ensure you get exactly what you came looking for, we will present the categorisation based on materials and usage. Here it goes:
Porcelain
Porcelain is fine and elegant tableware with selected materials as its foundation. This dense ceramic is often white and boasts a delicate appearance despite being strong. Its non-porous quality makes it easy to clean. Next comes its glass-like and smooth looks, which, when paired with its timelessness, make it ideal.
However, there are many more reasons why porcelain has made its way to our list of crockery items. Its resistance to chipping and staining is just one of them. These are ideal for many dining establishments, and we are listing them below.
Who Should Go For Porcelain Crockery?
- Formal Dining
- Fine Dining
- Boutique Cafes
- Casual Restaurants
- Staff Canteens
- Mid-range hotels
- Business hotels
- Luxury hotels
Bone China
Let us come to the next item on our list of types of crockery: Bone China. It is a luxurious, durable, and premium option. It is lightweight, but that doesn’t make it any less durable. It retains heat and keeps your food warmer for a long time.
By the way, do you know that bone china crockeries make a sound like a ring when tapped on? It gives a warm, creamy, and milky white appearance, earning the title of ‘white gold.’ Bone china is often mistaken for porcelain, but there is a difference!
Who Should Go For Bone China Crockery?
- Afternoon tea service
- Boutique hotels
- Private clubs
- Speciality cafes
- Fine dining restaurants
- Luxurious eateries
Stoneware
Next, we have stoneware in our list of crockery items! As its name hints, stoneware cutlery features natural, earthy tones and rustic charm. It may not be as refined as bone china or porcelain, making it useful for setups other than fine dining.
Stoneware has heat-retaining qualities, making it ideal for soups and curries. It is heavier and can add a dramatic effect because of that. They come in a variety of colours, which work well with different types of ambience.
Who Should Go For Stoneware Crockery?
- Nature-themed hotels/restaurants
- Farm-to-table eateries
- Mid-tier cafes
- Themed cafes and restaurants
- Bistros
- Casual dining
Earthenware
It’s the warm and rustic appeal of earthenware that makes it to your restaurant’s crockery and cutlery list. It is porous and more fragile, yet affordable for easy replacement. It is built from brown or natural red clay, making it a sustainable choice.
There are many reasons to consider earthenware for your hotel or restaurant. Firstly, it has excellent heat resistance. Second comes the durability. Though it is fragile and easily breakable, earthenware crockery is scratch and chip-resistant.
Who Should Go For Earthenware Crockery?
- Bruch spots
- Cafe
- Themed restaurants
- Boutique hotels
Melamine
If you are looking for a cost-effective and practical alternative, melamine crockery is all you need. It is perfect for spaces with high-volume operations. However, before you do, let us tell you more about it. Melamine is not ceramic, but it can mimic it with a glossy appeal. It’s a hard plastic that is given a permanent shape with moulding.
Melamine crockery is lightweight and has heat insulation. It can be created in many designs, giving you a variety to suit your aesthetics. Oh wait! Did we mention it is durable?
Who Should Go For Melamine Crockery?
- Busy restaurants
- Busy cafeterias
- Food trucks
- Caterers
- Outdoor dining providers
Glass
Glass crockery is smooth, hygienic, and non-porous. These crockeries are made from soda ash, lime, and molten silica. This composition makes them stronger than the usual glass. They are elegant, transparent, and versatile.
A glass crockery is glossy and has a transparent appearance. It is non-porous and thus does not absorb stains, flavours, or odours of the food. Since it is made out of tempered glass, it is chip and crack-resistant.
Who Should Go For Glass Crockery?
- Fine dining restaurants
- Upscale restaurants
- Contemporary eateries
- Cocktail lounges
- Bars
- Cafeterias
- Buffets
Metal
Metal crockery and cutlery are next in the list for many restaurants and hotels, mainly stainless steel ones. These are known for their durability, hygiene, cost-effectiveness, and most importantly, the traditional appearance.
Metal crockeries are versatile. They can be used for cooking, serving, and eating. But what makes them highly appealing is their finishing. You can get hammered finishes, copper bases, or brass handles; each of these can bring an ethnic and classic touch to the dining experience you deliver.
Who Should Go for Metal Crockery?
- Indian restaurants
- Fast dining restaurants
- Food trucks
- Outside eateries
- Health-focused eateries
Types of Crockery Based on Item
Whether you’re looking for the top 10 crockery pieces or want to know what kind of drinkware your hotel needs, you can’t do it without clearing the concepts. In this further part, let us describe the key differences between crockery, cutlery, and glassware.
Dinnerware
Dinnerware is tableware and dishes used for serving and eating. These include plates, cups, bowls, mugs, and serving pieces, such as gravy boats. These are ideal for luxury hotels, fine dining, casual dining, business hotels, cafes, buffets, and themed restaurants.
Serveware
Serveware includes specialised containers and dishes meant to keep food. They present the meals to guests and are used to take food from the kitchen to the dining table. These can include serving bowls, gravy boats, tureens, covered dishes, divided dishes, and similar. These can be a need at casual restaurants, fine dining establishments, hotels, event halls, and banquets.
Drinkware
As the name hints, drinkware covers a list of crockery items meant to hold and consume liquid. Common types are glasses, wine glasses, cups, mugs, beer glasses, speciality glasses, and champagne flutes. These are a must-have for all kinds of restaurants. Clearly, you have to have these among your crockery items.
Cutlery/ Flatware
We are also looking to walk you through cutlery, along with all crockery names. After all, no dining experience is complete without utensils. It can include all, such as knives, spoons, and similar items. However, the kind of cutlery you need can greatly depend on your restaurant’s ambience and functionality.
Choosing the Right Crockery for Different Dining Setups
As of now, you have been familiarised with the concepts and types of crockery with names. In the next part, let us talk about what kind of crockery you choose based on your needs. Things and priorities would have been completely different if it were about daily usage. However, when you associate your brand’s name with it, you need a balance of brand identity, functionality, budget, and durability.
Your Checklist for Choosing the Right Crockery
Make sure that:
- It goes with your brand’s theme, decor, and concept
- It is durable and works well for high–traffic spaces
- Its material goes as per your eatery type, such as earthenware for rustic settings and boneware for fine dining
- The sizes work well with the portions in your brand’s menu
- Your set of crockery should be easy to maintain, with suitability for cleaning and stacking
- The crockery must justify the balance of cost and quality
- You check the samples before finalising
- Work with a brand that ensures quality
- Pick a neutral tone if prioritising versatility
- Choose bold colours if you are planning to make a statement
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing Crockery
It is quite common to get lured by the physical appeal when purchasing crockery. However, practicality is what you need to focus on. Just to ensure you don’t miss out important things, let us drop a list of common mistakes to look out for:
Mistakes to Avoid:
- Skipping the quality checks
- Ignoring the toxic aspects of the materials
- Overlooking the material
- Skipping logistics and storage
- Purchasing fewer or unmatched items
- Ignoring the practicality aspect, such as buying large plates for small portion meals
Steps to Choose the Right Vendor For Crockery
Our post on types of crockery with names and images would be incomplete without guiding you about choosing the right vendor. After all, many hospitality businesses see their guest experience turning bad because of this. Here’s a list of tips on selecting the right vendors for thetypes of crockeries:
Be Sure of What You Want
We mentioned it previously. Let us remind you again. Choose the crockery style as per your brand’s needs, theme, and functionality. You may ask your crockery vendor for logo customisation if needed.
Evaluate the Vendors
Whosoever you decide to go ahead with, check their experience and reviews for a real-life experience. Verify the available product range based on your needs beforehand. Look for bulk pricing, logistic arrangements, and quality standards followed.
Test Before You Decide
Ask the vendors to share some samples before finalising the order. This will give you a glimpse of their quality. Consider the sustainable options over others. Also, look after their customer support.
Conclusion
This post was all about making informed crockery-related choices. Started as a list for types of crockery with names and pictures, this blog has turned into a hotelier’s guide on finding the finest crockery and cutlery options for your business.
We walked you through the list of crockery, covering porcelain, earthenware, bonechina, glass, and metal. Once you have figured out which crockery caters to your brand’s needs, go ahead and evaluate the vendors. Check your business’s vendors, their reviews, product range, logistic arrangements, pricing, and similar.
If you have any more concerns that we couldn’t answer earlier, please refer to our frequently asked questions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the types of crockery?
Based on materials, crockery can come in different types. Porcelain, stoneware, earthenware, melamine, glass, and metal. Based on use, there are drinkware, serveware, dinnerware, and cutlery.
What are the 7 types of table service?
The common table service types are plated, tableside prep, platter, family style, trolley, platter-to-plate, and self-service.
How many types of plates are there?
Nearly 8 to 10. These include dinner plate, dessert plate, salad plate, bread and butter plate, service plate, and canape plate.
What are 7 plates used for?
7 plates are common kinds of dinnerware. These cover a dinner plate, a dessert plate, a bread & butter plate, a charger plate, a soup plate, a side plate, and a salad plate.
What are the 7 types of menus?
The list of types of menus includes à la carte (it presents every item separately), cycle menu (it rotates), static menu (stays the same), Du Jour menu (it features a daily special), Table d’Hote menu(a multi-course meal along with limited choices), Prix Fixe menu ( it is the fixed price menu), and special/dessert/beverage menu. Once finalised, you can decide on the ideal cutlery accordingly.
Which crockery material is best?
The best crockery material for you can depend on your brand’s requirements. Porcelain works well for a fine dining experience, and stoneware is ideal to deliver an earthy touch.
What is a 9-inch plate called?
A 9-inch plate is also known as a luncheon plate, a rice plate, or a dinner plate.
Which crockery is best for health?
Glass, metal, or high-quality porcelain can be called ideal.
Which is best, ceramic or melamine?
No type of crockery can be called the best unless they meet your needs. You can define the ideal material/crockery for your needs based on what your brand wants.
