Ippudo is a world renowned ramen emporium with many restaurants across Japan and, more recently, in the US, Australia, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, China and Taiwan. The new London restaurant, opened in October 2014, is the first European location for the group.
The site needed a stunning, large, open kitchen – totally visible from the restaurant – and a fully fitted bar as well as various ‘behind the scenes’ facilities which included a preparation kitchen, a noodle kitchen, ambient, refrigerated and freezer storage rooms and, finally, a super-efficient dishwashing station.
Nelson Catering Equipment, with its extensive experience in kitchen design and installation, was commissioned to provide these facilities. Nelson’s team needed to translate the exacting requirements of the Japanese kitchen brigade into UK approved equipment alternatives which involved various cooking demonstrations for the chefs in Ippudo’s test kitchen on UK specified kit. Also, bespoke fabrication needed to be arranged and a tight installation schedule had to be adhered to.
“We were delighted to be commissioned for this exciting venture,” comments Andy Bugge, who project managed the entire job with the support of Nelson’s experienced design team. “It’s the chain’s first venture in Europe and, as such, will be an important flagship for the brand.”
Over the past 30 years, Nelson Catering Equipment has built a solid reputation for its all-encompassing kitchen design and installation service with an extensive client portfolio ranging from restaurant and bar kitchens to major event-production kitchens.