The front of the house gets top billing as FE&S celebrates the highest-ranked tabletops in the foodservice industry.

in the strategic and functional application of tabletop design in five categories:

• Independent Restaurant with a per-person check average of more than $30
• Independent Restaurant with a per-person check average of less than $30
• On-site foodservice
• Banquet and catering
• Club and resort foodservice

Our judges select the winners based on:

• Overall appearance
• Its ability to support the menu
• The way it represents the overall concept
• How conducive it is to the operation's style of service

Using these criteria, our judges feel the following pages contain the best of the best the foodservice industry has to offer when it comes to tabletop execution.

FE&S would like to thank the following individuals for lending their time and expertise as judges: Katherine Ingrassia
of Ingrassia Design, Dana Tanyeri and Dennis Semro.

Eight Trends in Tabletops

• While reviewing this year’s entries, our judges noticed eight key trends emerging. Here’s a brief overview:These tabletops really showcase the food.
• Despite the higher price point, the  fine-dining restaurants sport even more
• casual tabletops than before.
• Striped napkins are growing in popularity.
• Use of the slate gray color in plateware and other accents is on the rise.
• Gorgeous wood tables of every variety (pine, rosewood, etc.)  becoming more
• common.
• Dishes and other items you might associate with global cuisines, such as Asian, not appearing with that type of food.
• Specialized drink presentations remain very popular.
• Savvy installations continue to use color effectively but sparingly. Today’s stylish tabletops seem to have one accent color, maybe two.