NATIONAL REPORT—Dining Elevated Founder Rebekah Green believes that when you add this one novel item to a table setting, it can completely transform the guest’s dining experience.

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The idea for her flatware rests was sparked at a dinner party with friends.

“A person at the party said, ‘Don’t you hate it when you see utensils on the table?’ I’m not a germaphobe but the more we talked about it, it struck me that it didn’t make sense for diners to put utensils on the surfaces when they don’t know how clean they are,” said Green.

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Restaurants serve more than 70 billion meals in the U.S. each year, according to research titled “Study to Assess the Prevention of Microbial Cross-Contamination From Tables to Utensils Using Flatware Rests” by the University of Arkansas’ Division of Agriculture ....

The November 2019 issue of the seminal scientific public health journal, the Journal of Environmental Health, featured Dining Elevated UPLIFTS in a five-page research study from page 24-28.  The in-depth article detailed the expansive research performed on Dining Elevated's flatware rests at the University of Arkansas's Department of Food Science and Food Safety .  

 

This professional research was funded, in part, by the USDA and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The conclusion of the study reported a rate of 100% effectiveness when UPLIFTS were used as barriers to cross-contamination.  With lab tabletops inoculated with common restaurant contaminants, like Norovirus, E. Coli, and Salmonella, the utensils remained untouched and unaffected when paired with a flatware rest.  This provides unprecedented evidence that UPLIFTS protect public health. 

 

Eater D.C. did a spectacular write up of the newly-opened restaurant, Cherry, inside the W Hotel in downtown Washington D.C.  Cherry claims it has D.C.’s biggest open-fire grill which serves as both an epic cooking surface as well as the restaurant's main customer engagement attraction.

 

Adrian Mishek, Cherry's Director of Food and Beverage, sought out another customer engagement tool in Dining Elevated's Uplifts.  As seen on the dining tables and bar-side place settings throughout the entire restaurant, the flatware rests were hand selected by Adrian for their color and material to enhance the restaurant's theme and his customers' dining experience.  The Black Walnut Rounded Flatware Rests are now finding their way onto Instagram posts as excited diners experience this trending tableware accessory for the first time! 

Delish.com explores how Dining Elevated's Uplifts made it from an idea in the designer's mind to the tables of Bravo's Top Chef. 

Journalist Madison Flager discusses the fact that the inclusion of the luxury dining table accessories marks the first time in 16 seasons that the show has added something new to its place setting designs. 

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In the article, Madison covers topics like Uplifts having been researched by the University of Arkansas' Food Science Department as a simple solution to prevent cross-contamination in restaurant environments.  Another is that the flatware rests are now available through restaurant supply online at Don.com. Finally, Madison talks about how almost all of us have a technique for elevating utensils off of dining tables – and this tableware item solves that concern entirely!

Dining Elevated's Tableware Accessories made it around the world and back on season 16 of Bravo's Top Chef!  Starting their modern place setting adventure in Louisville, KY and finishing in Macau, China, these hand-crafted flatware rests elevated the utensils and dining experience of Top Chef judges Tom Colicchio, Padma Laskshmi, Gail Simmons, and Graham Elliot,

 

See the 4" Buttercream Travertine Uplift used in the first outdoor set up. 

Spot the 4" Solid Brass Square Bar Uplifts under the judges' flatware in the fine dining set up.  Lastly, 4" Solid Copper Low Profile Uplifts can be found on the luxury dining table sets of Top Chef during the spectacular finale in Macau. Check out the link to see footage of all three place setting designs created to elevate the judges' dining experience. 

Merilee Kern, producer and executive editor of The Luxe List International News Syndicate recently reviewed Dining Elevated's Uplifts for her July 15, 2019 Stewardship Report Summer Guide. This platform is a leisure, lifestyle, and consumer goods review report on noteworthy travel experiences, products, services.  Merliee covers all price points – from the highly affordable to the luxury extreme. Uplifts somehow fit squarely into both categories.  Flatware rests represent extreme dining luxury at a highly affordable price.

 

Merliee keeps her finger on the pulse of what’s trending across all lifestyle product, service, and travel categories.  We feel extremely honored to have our luxury dining table accessories included in her review of what's new in foodservice!

Rekaya Gibson (how lovely is that name!) put several of our flatware rest designs through their paces in her review of Dining Elevated's Uplifts for Cuisine Noir online.  Testing out the Black Walnut, the Clear Acrylic Half-Round, and the stackable Stainless Steel Triangle flatware rests, all three tableware accessories passed with flying colors!

 

Summer travel was the focus of the article, and since these three designs are some of our lightest weight, most packable, and travel-friendly styles, they seemed to fit the bill (and her suitcase) just perfectly.  Nothing is better than knowing that wherever you go in the world, your utensils are elevated safely off of a table's surface and you are protected from foreign contaminants in foreign locations! 

Travel confidently and pack Uplifts! 

Dining Elevated Uplifts are connecting with an international audience! The Brazilian Times in Boston heard the buzz that these place setting accessories are making their way around the world. We're so proud to see flatware rests featured in other languages!

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Sustainability and Sophistication
Get to know about Dining Elevated line. If you're concerned about the sustainability of the planet, the entrepreneur Rebekah Green, always innovates with sustainable projects. Her passion for design and cuisine led her to develop a project that has attracted more and more attention from restaurant entrepreneurs who care about design and the comfort and satisfaction of their customers: Dining Elevated.

Hotels Magazine featured Dining Elevated's Golden Chestnut Natural Travertine Stone flatware rests on the pages of their esteemed hospitality publication in November 2018.  Hotels Magazine has been in print since 1966, and editor in chief, Jeff Weinstein, has been tracking and setting trends in the hospitality industry since its inception.  

 

We are proud to have our restaurant dining table accessory recognized as a place setting trend that's here to stay. Honored alongside the greatest Hoteliers of the World, this issue was dedicated to those companies and individuals which are making a real impact on the health, well-being, and customer experience of dining guests and travelers. Thanks so much Jeff, for the recognition of our work in that space.