Column G&G Dovetale
Heavy
metal
Mauviel
As the old saying goes, there is comfort in the familiar, and that
is as true for dining as it is for anything else. Valda Goodfellow explores the concept of familiarity…
About G & G
Founded by Paul and Valda Goodfellow, G & G Goodfellows is a highly creative design & Distribution Company with an amazing showroom in Little Portland Street. Offering a truly hands-on service, Goodfellows passion is to bring new and exciting, bespoke food presentation concepts to the UK’s culinary scene. As well as offering a wide variety of the world’s best branded tableware, kitchen equipment, clothing and machines, Goodfellows also collaborates closely with UK craft producers for totally unique products. It works with all sizes of restaurant and catering projects, happy to supply anything from an individual plate to a full restaurant concept.
Y
ou will know from past columns, I often reflect on the prevailing trends for hospitality tableware. Doing this now is so strange, because I think our industry is in a state of flux, particularly in the UK. The post-covid boom is well and truly over, and the economic/ socio-political instability caused, in no small part, by the Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Palestine wars are leaving their mark on a lacklustre first quarter’s tourist trade. It feels like there is little appetite for heavy investment in new openings… but there is light at the end of the tunnel. We have seen a marked improvement in project activity over the past few weeks, which, dare I say, may be down to a better-than-expected UK economic performance. Whether investment is coming into the UK from abroad, or from within, there is now a bit more confidence in the future. Where there is confidence,
42 TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL: HoReCa
there will be more projects. Where there are projects, there will be innovation; and when innovation occurs, it tends to result in a trend. It usually starts with the food, but more recently we have seen
talents? There is room for both. We know chefs drive creativity and innovation, while great concepts are brilliant at finessing an overall experience and then replicating it. Going back to our state of flux in hospitality, it would be easy
“Even at the fine dining level, the prevailing demand is for high-quality white tableware, mixed with silver accessories or copper service items” ‘concepts’, not chefs, driving expansion, not just here in the UK but across the Middle East. International travellers want new experiences but they are also attracted by the familiar, and this is why proven concepts are safe bets. In the past there have been restaurants reliant on a chef that is rarely there; and which fail because of it. But where would we be without these amazing
to conclude we are in a phase where investment is in ‘safe bet’ concepts, which outweighs the influence of individual chefs, leaving us to believe there are no major new trends. This is partly true, and where there is a trend, it is for trying to create a sense of trust. Trust in the quality of food, trust in the quality of service, and trust in the sense of experience. We all know trust