Author: Azhar Obaray

South Africa’s hospitality, travel, and wine industries continue to receive prestigious global and local recognition, reinforcing the country’s reputation as a premier destination for culinary enthusiasts, luxury travelers, wine connoisseurs and nature lovers alike. These accolades celebrate South Africa’s commitment to quality, innovative design, and uniquely unforgettable guest experiences, making it a beacon for both travelers and the global hospitality community.

Among the recognitions is The Inside Guide’s “The Hot List”, a curated selection of South Africa’s finest dining spots, artistic spaces, and must-visit hangouts. Such guides, alongside international awards, highlight the depth and diversity of what South Africa has to offer.

South Africa’s vineyards have secured their place on the global stage, with five estates earning spots in the World’s Best Vineyards Awards. Creation Wines in the Hemel an Aarde Valley in Hermanus (Western Cape)….the name translated in Afrikaans to “heaven and earth”, a very fitting name… achieved an outstanding 3rd place globally, also claiming the title of Best Vineyard in Africa. These accolades reflect not only the exceptional quality of South African wines but also the immersive experiences provided by the country’s wine estates—blending breathtaking landscapes, great service, locally sourced ingredients and decor, and unique hospitality.

In the hospitality sector, a luxury lodge in Mpumalanga province earned three global awards at the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2024, showcasing South Africa’s ability to deliver personalized, world-class experiences. These honors, alongside recognition at the Global Brands Magazine Awards, highlight the country’s ability to compete on a global scale and set benchmarks for excellence in service and guest satisfaction.

With so many Core branches customers receiving well-deserved recognition, hubs like Cape Town,  Johannesburg and Durban are celebrated as global hotspots for world-class establishments. Beyond these cities, hidden gems in South Africa’s other provinces also shine brightly, making the country a destination of choice for travelers seeking diverse and enriching experiences. It’s not just about existing clients; this moment is about celebrating South Africa’s place on the global hospitality map and the wider recognition of Africa as a must-visit destination.

Core Catering Supplies is proudly South Africa and proud to support some of the establishments celebrated on these global platforms, and equally as proud to celebrate those that have not yet received the recognition.  Core aims to provide a concierge experience for our customers, helping them make their businesses better. Part of that is offering a unique mix of trusted international names like HEPP for cutlery, Steelite for crockery, APS Buffetware, and ONIS glassware as well as innovative hospitality solutions.  We strive to provide our clients with everything they need to consistently deliver award-winning guest experiences. For those who haven’t yet partnered with us, we invite you to visit a Core branch or explore our products online—and experience how we help you “Enjoy the Difference.”

Stoke-on-Trent, the historic heart of UK ceramics, has a legacy steeped in craftsmanship and innovation. Steelite International continues to honor this tradition by combining time-tested techniques with modern advancements to create ceramics that are durable, beautiful, and highly functional.

Forming the Ware

The journey begins with the careful selection of raw materials. China clay from Cornwall is prized for its white-firing properties, while ball clay from Devon and Dorset enhances plasticity. These clays, combined with feldspar and silica, form the basis of Steelite’s ceramics, ensuring strength, stability, and performance.

Steelite’s forming process employs advanced molding techniques to craft consistent, high-quality shapes. Each piece is precision-engineered to meet the rigorous demands of professional kitchens, while bespoke options allow for customization to suit unique requirements. This meticulous attention to detail ensures that every piece embodies both practicality and artistry.

Designing the Ware

Central to Steelite’s appeal is its commitment to exceptional design. Each piece is a collaboration between craftsmanship and creativity, with colors hand-mixed to achieve unique and bespoke finishes. Steelite’s design team works closely with clients, offering tailored solutions that reflect individual styles or branding.

From intricate patterns to subtle textures, the design process ensures that every piece is not only functional but also visually striking. This bespoke service allows hospitality venues to elevate their table settings, creating memorable dining experiences that align with their identity.

Firing the Ware

After forming, the pieces undergo a biscuit firing, transforming the clay into a hardened, durable state. Historically, firing relied on wood and coal in traditional kilns. Today, Steelite uses energy-efficient gas and electric kilns, which significantly reduce environmental impact.

The precise control of firing temperatures results in vitrified ceramics with extremely low porosity (water absorption ≤0.2%), ensuring that each piece meets the highest hygiene standards. This step is critical to creating ceramics that can endure the demands of professional use without compromising quality.

Glazing

Glazing is where functionality meets beauty. Steelite uses lead-free glazes that enhance durability while meeting rigorous safety and environmental standards. The glaze is applied to bisque-fired ceramics through dipping, spraying, or hand-painting, creating smooth, glossy surfaces resistant to wear and tear.

Refractory pins support the items during glaze firing, preventing imperfections on the piece’s foot. After firing, these marks are carefully removed through grinding, ensuring a flawless finish. Steelite’s innovative glazing techniques provide pieces that are both aesthetically appealing and designed to withstand frequent use in hospitality settings.

Sustainability and Innovation

Steelite leads the ceramics industry in eco-conscious practices. From energy-efficient kilns to recycling materials and minimizing waste, the company integrates sustainability into every stage of production. By blending traditional craftsmanship with innovative processes, Steelite creates ceramics that honor the rich heritage of Stoke-on-Trent while addressing modern environmental challenges.

Experience Steelite with Core Catering Supplies

Through its exclusive partnership with Core Catering Supplies, Steelite’s exceptional ceramics are now accessible in Southern Africa. Whether you’re seeking timeless designs, bespoke creations, or durable solutions for professional use, Steelite offers a perfect fusion of tradition, artistry, and innovation. Explore their collections and discover how their ceramics elevate the dining experience.

In a competitive market, a memorable impression is key. At Core Catering Supplies, we provide customisable branding solutions across our premium hospitality and catering products, ensuring your brand is represented with the highest quality. Whether enhancing your restaurant’s ambiance, adding style to your café, or offering personalised corporate gifts, our solutions are designed to meet your unique needs.

Creative Branding Techniques to Bring Your Brand to Life

Our branding services encompass a variety of techniques, each suited to different materials and designed to make a lasting impact. From laser engraving on wood, metal, or glass items, ideal for barware and tableware, to embossing and debossing for adding luxurious texture to leather goods like premium menu covers, our methods ensure your logo shines. We also offer glass printing for custom glassware, a popular choice for restaurants, hotels, and special events. For intricate designs, laser cutting on wood offers a sustainable option perfect for eco-conscious brands.

Our past projects reflect the versatility of our branding services, from engraved and printed glasses, embossed leather aprons and laser cut chef knives for corporate gifts to custom bottle openers and embroidered linens for events and hospitality settings.

Customisation for Every Occasion

No matter the setting, our branding solutions are designed to meet a range of needs:

• Corporate and Promotional Gifts: Show appreciation to clients and employees with branded gifts, from glassware to leather accessories, that leave a lasting impression.
• Events and Hospitality: Enhance guest experiences at weddings, conferences, or hotels with personalized items like glasses, wooden signs, and embroidered linens.

For more information or to get started, contact your nearest Core branch or email us Support@corecatering.co.za. Let Core Catering Supplies help you make a lasting impression with branded solutions tailored to your vision

At Core Catering Supplies, we are proud to be the exclusive distributor of HEPP, in Southern Africa, a world-renowned German brand known for its craftsmanship and over 160 years of expertise in luxury tableware. HEPP offers an extensive range of bespoke surface finishes, allowing you to elevate the dining experience for your guests with sophisticated, high-quality cutlery and serving pieces. Whether you’re seeking timeless elegance or bold, contemporary designs, HEPP’s finishing techniques provide endless possibilities to personalise your tableware.

HEPP’s Diverse Range of Surface Finishes

Silver-Plating – Classic Brilliance HEPP’s silver-plating technique combines robust stainless steel with a fine layer of silver, using a galvanic bath to form a strong bond. This process imparts a soft, radiant brilliance, adding timeless sophistication to cutlery and serving items. A hallmark of HEPP’s reputation as the inventor of hotel silver, silver-plated pieces reflect decades of expertise and are perfect for those who appreciate tradition.

Real Gold Finishing – Pure Luxury HEPP offers the ultimate in luxury by coating cutlery with pure gold. This exclusive finish lends a warm, radiant glow to your tableware, turning each piece into a precious work of art. Ideal for establishments seeking to provide their guests with an unforgettable dining experience, the gold-plated cutlery exudes elegance and exclusivity.

Glass Bead Blasting – Timeless, Silky Matt Shimmer For a refined, subtle texture, HEPP’s glass bead blasting technique is ideal. By treating the surface with high-speed glass beads, the result is a silky, matt finish with understated elegance. This process creates an even, homogeneous surface, adding a sophisticated touch to any table setting.

Stonewashing – Distinctive and Rustic HEPP’s stonewashing finish brings a vintage, rustic charm to your table. Each piece of cutlery is uniquely crafted with slight variations in texture, providing an authentic, well-worn feel that is perfect for establishments aiming for a more individual and character-filled ambience.

Brushed Finish – Dynamic Elegance HEPP’s brushed finishes are defined by fine, consistent lines worked into the surface with a grinding brush. This dynamic, linear design adds modern sophistication to cutlery, enhancing any contemporary dining concept.

PVD Coating – Bold Color Accents For those seeking to make a bold statement, HEPP’s PVD coating process offers an exciting array of colors and textures. Using physical vapor deposition, this technique produces a durable, resistant surface with brilliant color finishes. Choose from HEPP’s elegant PVD variants, including gold, light gold, copper, anthracite, and black, to make your tableware truly stand out.

Cross-Grafting – Custom Creations For the ultimate in personalised design, HEPP offers cross-grafting, allowing clients to combine multiple finishing techniques for unique results. This bespoke service is ideal for businesses that want to express their individuality with signature tableware collections.

Personalisation and Customisation Options

Lasering

Stamping

Engraving

At HEPP, personalization is an art form. Monograms, logos, and bespoke designs can be incorporated into your cutlery through a range of techniques, including laser engraving, 3D printing, and traditional engraving. Each piece can be customised to suit your establishment’s unique style, ensuring your brand makes an impression at every meal.

Sustainability and Repair Services

HEPP’s commitment to sustainability goes beyond just high-quality products. Their reconditioning and repair services ensure that your investment in HEPP’s tableware lasts for generations. HEPP’s craftsmen, with their 160+ years of expertise, lovingly restore cutlery and serving items, bringing them back to their original beauty and brilliance. By opting for reconditioning, you save valuable resources while preserving the stories behind each cherished piece.

Selected Ranges for the African Market

At Core, we have carefully selected HEPP ranges that are best suited for the African hospitality industry. Each range reflects HEPP’s commitment to quality and aesthetics, and we are excited to bring these exquisite products to your table. To view these ranges check out our digital catalogue keeping in mind that we have access to each and every range created by HEPP if non of these suit your tastes..

Experience HEPP with Core Catering Supplies Whether you’re looking to elevate your establishment with luxurious gold-plated cutlery or opt for rustic, stonewashed finishes, Core can supply the full range of HEPP products. Reach out to us to arrange a consultation or request samples. With stores across South Africa, we proudly serve clients throughout Southern Africa, bringing the best of HEPP directly to you.

Core Catering Supplies recently sponsored two notable Golf Days—one in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town—reflecting our dedication to supporting a hospitality industry association and raising awareness for an organisation that is close to our heart.

FEDHASA Golf Day at Dainfern Golf Club

In Johannesburg, Core proudly sponsored the FEDHASA inland Golf Day at the renowned Dainfern Golf Club, a key event on the inland hospitality industry calendar. FEDHASA, as the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa, provides essential support, resources, and advocacy for the hospitality sector. It is a cornerstone organization for many of Core’s clients and partners, helping the industry navigate challenges and opportunities.

Sponsoring this event underscores our commitment to supporting the sector’s growth. FEDHASA offers vital services like industry representation, training initiatives, and fostering a strong sense of community within the sector—critical for long-term success. For Core, this event went beyond networking; it was about contributing to FEDHASA’s broader mission of strengthening South Africa’s hospitality industry. By supporting this key association, we help empower our clients with the solutions and expertise they need to thrive in an ever-evolving market.

Enable Centre Golf Day in Cape Town

In Cape Town, Core was honoured to sponsor the Enable Centre Golf Day, supporting the centre’s essential work in providing rehabilitation services to individuals with neurological and orthopedic conditions. Located in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, the Enable Centre is a leading outpatient facility offering a wide range of physical and cognitive therapies, aiming to improve the lives of those with disabilities. The centre plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between public and private healthcare through initiatives like the Equal Access Programme, which ensures that rehabilitation services are accessible to underprivileged communities.

These two golf events exemplify how Core Catering Supplies strives to give back to the community and the industry. By supporting these initiatives, we are not only enhancing social impact, but also empowering our teams and branches to participate in events that promote both business development and meaningful relationships.

Beyond our financial sponsorship, Core remains committed to promoting accessibility within the hospitality and retail sectors. Many of our retail stores are wheelchair-accessible, and we offer online shopping options for customers who are unable to visit in person. Supporting organisations like the Enable Centre aligns with our mission of fostering inclusivity, ensuring that our spaces and services are welcoming to everyone. After all, hospitality is about welcoming all guests.

At Core, we remain committed to building a responsible and inclusive future for the hospitality sector, and these golf days are just one way we continue to support this vision.

Read more about Inclusivity in the Tourism Sector.

By Claire McGuinness – Core Catering Brand and Business Development, Southern Africa

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting Stoke-on-Trent, England affectionately known as “The Potteries,” for a deeper look into the rich ceramic history of this iconic British town. For centuries, Stoke-on-Trent has been considered the ceramics capital of the world, and my visit to Steelite International, one of Core Catering’s exclusive partners, was a fantastic opportunity to explore the birthplace of some of the finest tableware used in hospitality today and to meet the people who are involved in each aspect of the Steelite business.

Stoke-on-Trent earned its reputation as a ceramics hub due to the abundance of natural resources in the area—particularly clay and coal, which fueled both the kilns and the rise of a booming pottery industry in the 18th century. The Trent and Mersey Canal, running through the town, played a key role in transporting materials and products, connecting Stoke’s ceramics to national and international markets. Today, the town’s legacy endures, with a number of leading manufacturers still producing world-renowned ceramics here.

My first stop was the Potteries Museum, where I immersed myself in the historical journey of ceramics, from local artisanal roots to global styles. Stoke’s pottery industry is famous for pioneering techniques and exquisite craftsmanship, and this was a great prelude to my visit to Steelite.

Steelite International is a standout company in Stoke’s ceramics landscape, combining tradition with innovation. Known for their alumina-strengthened vitreous tableware, they produce over half a million pieces every week, serving the global hospitality sector. Sustainability is at the heart of their operations, with Steelite employing ISO 14001-certified environmental management systems to reduce energy consumption and waste. They also utilize recyclable materials, reflecting their commitment to environmentally responsible manufacturing.

Steelite acquired Williams Edwards Ltd, who are renowned for their design and production of bespoke
chinaware for luxury hotels, restaurants, and retailers worldwide. This one brand now sits alongside multiple others and creates a comprehensive range of premium products to choose from.

Walking around Steelite’s vast facilities, I saw firsthand how they blend traditional skills with modern production methods to create durable and elegant tableware. Their sustainability initiatives extend far beyond the products themselves, encompassing everything from energy-efficient kilns to minimizing their environmental footprint.

This visit reminded me of the rich heritage behind the products we offer at Core. Through partnerships with forward-thinking companies like Steelite, we continue to bring world-class, sustainable tableware to the hospitality industry, ensuring our clients have access to both durable solutions and products that respect the environment.

Stoke-on-Trent’s pottery legacy is alive and well, and Steelite’s commitment to excellence and sustainability exemplifies the future of ceramics in both hospitality and home. My visit was a great reminder that tradition and innovation can indeed go hand in hand. We look forward to learning more from our partners at Steelite and sharing this knowledge with our clients here in Southern Africa.

Take a moment to read about the new craft range from Steelite.