THERE'S a good chance that when you sit down for a meal at a Birmingham restaurant, you'll use cutlery bought from the same firm that supplied the glasses you sip from, the plates from which you eat and the equipment the chef used as he prepared the meal.
Welcome to Red Rob - a catering supply firm that handles the requirements of many of this city's leading eateries, bars and clubs.
Step inside the unassuming city centre building and you will find an Aladdin's cave of kitchen and bar kit.
It's a place where your can buy anything from a 5p teaspoon to a kitchen design costing £250,000.
Owner and managing director Kevin Paul Roberts sits at a table surrounded by shelves of glasses, plates, dishes, bowls and cutlery.
"The idea behind many restaurants has been developed around this particular table," he says.
"Sometimes over a bottle of wine late into the night.
"We like to talk things through with customers and offer advice."
The business, established for more than 20 years, is a labour of love for Kevin, a keen cook and proud Brummie who previously worked in sales and marketing with Nestle.
He loves the idea that his business as been at the forefront of the culinary revolution that has taken place in Birmingham over the past decade.
"Years ago people used to exhibit at or visit the NEC and they'd jump on a train back to London straighter after," he remembers.
"That's changed now. There's a great buzz about Birmingham. It's a very exciting and multicultural place."
Kevin admits he gets a thrill when he has the chance to walk customers and suppliers through the new-look Birmingham - to the Mailbox, along the canals, through Brindley Place and to the Bullring.
He says that last year was a vintage one for restaurant openings in Birmingham, with many fine new places opening.
This year, he predicts, will see another spate of good restaurants arriving, with several already in the pipeline. Walk around the store - past the crockery, glassware and cutlery, past the paper parasols for cocktails and the liquids for powerful dish washers, past the knives, pans, ovens, menu covers and coffee machines - and you'll realise that Kevin and his team may soon be handed some pretty big shopping lists.
But domestic cooks needn't feel left out - it's open to us to.