“From the overall winner TAG Catering Equipment’s main kitchen refurbishment at the iconic OxO Tower Restaurant through to the Outstanding Customer Service Award picked up by Inox Equipment for the delivery of a charity kitchen refurbishment for the Brixton Soup Kitchen the 2015 Grand Prix Awards shine a light on the end-to-end service that CEDA members provide day-in-day-out,” comments CEDA Director General Adam Mason.
“The projects in the profit and not-for-profit sectors cover the gamut of challenges that CEDA members step up to, and meet, including providing high quality and impactful foodservice facilities in small, high profile and challenging spaces. They demonstrate the design, creativity, project management and customer focus that you anticipate from working with CEDA members. There were many first class entries for this year’s Grand Prix Awards and they are reflected in the strength of the shortlist, category winners and the overall winner.”
CEDA 2015 Grand Prix Awards Shortlist and Winners
Small projects
Member
Modo Commercial Kitchen Design
Project
Arabica Bar and Kitchen – Borough Market – London
Client
Arabica Food and Spice – A long standing stall holder in the market
Brief
Design open kitchen and bar area for a rustic restaurant environment along with back of house preparation, warewashing and storage areas as well as an outside kitchen to recreate the market stall.
Judges comment from the entry form.
Modo did a very good job of squeezing a quart into a pint pot whilst achieving the ideal environment that the client was seeking.
Judges comment following their visit
An awkward site under a railway arch presented design and installation difficulties for Modo. They competently tackled this, installing an excellent kitchen for the client.
Member
Vision Commercial Kitchens Ltd
Project
Future Tech Studio – Warrington
Client
Warrington Collegiate Education Trust
Brief
Design, supply and install a café within a college environment and budget but to match high street chain standards. The space was very limited and the timescale was tight.
Judges comment from the entry form.
Vision was able to produce a high quality design and deliver and install within a very short timescale.
Judges comment following their visit
A neat installation fitted and designed into a relatively small area. This was completed in a short time frame to the client’s satisfaction
Member
Gratte Brothers Catering Equipment Ltd
Project
The Woodspeen Restaurant and Cookery School – Newbury
Client
John Campbell
Brief
Design, supply and install a “Theatre Style” kitchen and pass supporting a Michelin star standard operation within a former public house and a finite budget.
Judges comment from the entry form.
Grattes’ design incorporated high quality equipment which not only met the client’s production requirements but also ensured that the “On View” element enhanced the diners’ experience.
Judges comment following their visit
This is top chef John Campbell’s first solo venture and one where he wanted to fuse atmosphere and character with ergonomic needs. All this in an old and difficult building. “Grattes’ design and installation was spot on” said John. They also incorporated low energy refrigeration, remote induction generators all to ensure a low carbon foot print
Small projects category winner
Gratte Brothers Catering Equipment Ltd
The Woodspeen Restaurant and Cookery School – Newbury
Medium Projects
Member
CNG Foodservice Equipment Ltd
Project
BRAD (Bakery Research and Development facility) – Harrogate
Client
Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate
Brief
Design, supply and install a multipurpose facility to cover chef training, product development and other business critical tasks.
Judges comment from the entry form.
This was not a straight forward project as it involved various departments and disciplines within the client company who all had differing requirements, priorities and timescales.
Judges comment following their visit
Betty’s Bakery looked for a high quality installation for their training kitchen to match their upmarket brand. CNG’s attention to detail delivered exactly to the client’s requirement. Claire Gallagher, Betty’s development manager said “CNG delivered on all fronts we were delighted with the end result”.
Member
C&C Catering Equipment Ltd
Project
Thaikuhn – Spinningfields Manchester
Client
Thai Leisure Group
Brief
Develop a new concept for this client into a design, supply and installation project
Judges comment from the entry form.
C&C had to design ultra-compact yet practical kitchen and bar areas to enable the client to maximise the front of house area and as they were working direct for the operator, communication with other trades had to be faultless.
Judges comment following their visit
C&C really had to think outside the box to provide Thaikhun’s unusual and unique concept creating a Thai street food environment. They took the client’s vision and turned it into reality in a difficult site and short time frame. Particularly challenging was the extraction system which vented out 14 floors above the restaurant. The client’s satisfaction with the project has resulted in C&C being given the next Thaikhun roll out.
Member
JLA
Project
Honda Motors Europe New HQ – Bracknell
Client
Honda Motors Europe Ltd
Brief
Design, supply and install a functional staff feeding facility based on an outline design produced by an interiors company to the client’s vision.
Judges comment from the entry form.
The kitchen had to be installed in an existing office building which had not previously had similar facilities and therefore did not have the required utilities and therefore JLA had to advise on these elements.
Judges comment following their visit
Honda has moved their staff catering to an area that was once offices. JLA (Carfords) were involved in the design from day one. They overcame the many services problems with the builder and delivered a very stylish installation far beyond the normal staff restaurant environment
Member
Court Catering Equipment Ltd
Project
The Pavilion Building – Queens Club – London
Client
The Queen’s Club
Brief
Work as part of a consultant team to redevelop and refurbish this building and to design the kitchen facilities and prepare a specification for tender purposes.
Judges comment
Having successfully tendered for the project, Court had to work closely with the club’s head chef and maintenance manager to finalise the detail design and also carry out a value engineering exercise to reduce the overall cost of the project.
Judges comment following their visit
Retaining the integrity of historic Queens Club including enlarging the kitchen area was the challenge that Courts took on with great success. Head chef Mark Constable was full of praise for the way they managed the contract and the excellent end result.
Member
TAG Catering Equipment UK Ltd
Project
Main Kitchen refurbishment – OXO Tower – London
Client
Harvey Nichols – OXO Tower
Brief
Design, supply and install a more efficient, reliable alternative to the existing kitchen and improve working conditions and maintenance requirements.
Judges comment from the entry form.
The kitchen is on the top floor of this London landmark and the total project period for the rip out and refit was only 24 days, a very challenging time frame considering the location, delivery restrictions and build quality.
Judges comment following their visit
TAG stripped out and installed a kitchen of exceptional high quality in just 24 days. The overall energy management incorporated into this design has made this probably one of the lowest running cost kitchens for its size in the UK. Chef Jeremy Bloor said “TAG’s design has created a quality, stress free working environment which has surpassed all our expectations.”
Medium projects category winner
TAG Catering Equipment UK Ltd
Main Kitchen refurbishment – OXO Tower – London
Large Projects
Member
Inox Equip Ltd
Project
Barclaycard Arena – Birmingham
Client
BAM Construction
Brief
Work as part of a design team for the refurbishment and redevelopment of the National Indoor Arena which included development of the client brief and assisting with the business case as well as kitchen design and preparation of tender documents prior to winning the supply and installation project.
Judges comment from the entry form.
Inox Equip had to help the client raise the profile and take up of the catering offering as well as design and supply the facilities in a large project under difficult conditions as the building was often in use during the contract.
Judges comment following their visit
Barclaycard Arena was a long and complex project stretching over nearly 2 years covering the redevelopment of the arena. We were taken round the site by main contractor project manager Chris Hill and the General Catering Manager, Nick Cole. Their enthusiasm for what mark Kendall and the Inox Equip team had done was very clear. This was a high quality installation in every aspect of design, equipment selection and installation. All this was carried out whilst the arena continued to operate.
Member
Catering Design Group Ltd
Project
Millfield Senior School – Street – Somerset
Client
Chartwells Independent
Brief
The complete design and refurbishment of the catering facilities for both senior students and staff serving 1450 meals at lunchtimes and 1000 breakfasts. The result had to deliver a “wow factor”
Judges comment from the entry form.
This was a huge project (almost £1.2m) and had to be delivered in a tight timescale and involved all disciplines within CDG’s resources.
Judges comment following their visit
CDG were challenged to provide a servery layout to cater for over 1400 students in 90 minute. Rowen Stabbert, Chartwells’ General Manager was delighted with the results. The overall décor was designed to reflect the school’s ideology and achievements. This was accomplished in a very original format.
Member
Airedale Group Ltd
Project
Wellington College – Crowthorne – Berkshire
Client
Wellington College in association with Sodexo
Brief
After tendering against a design brief Airedale had to design, supply and install a complete catering facility and also revisit some aspects of the original brief to introduce more energy efficiency and additionally include a bespoke after sales care package
Judges comment from the entry form.
The project involved working very closely with Sodexo, the catering operators to ensure that they bought into the innovative solutions suggested by Airedale.
Judges comment following their visit
A large difficult listed site presented Airedale with many design problems. In addition the client wanted to reduce the carbon footprint reducing energy and waste. A number of “green” features were introduced including extraction working on demand, a waste management system and low energy refrigeration. Phil Stockwell, Catering General Manager who showed us the site said “it was Airedale’s attention to detail and taking time to understand the college that has made this such a success”.
Member
Court Catering Equipment Ltd
Project
Alpha LSG Premium Kitchen and Culinary Academy
Client
Alpha LSG
Brief
To design a world class airline food production facility covering western, far eastern, Asian, Japanese and Halal food production and with a total capacity of around 70,000 meals a day. The facility also had to include a Culinary Academy and staff feeding facilities.
Judges comment from the entry form.
Court had not only to work in 26 separate areas to a very short programme but had to convince the executive chef of the benefits of new technology over tried and tested equipment. They also had to overcome a major problem at the last minute when it was discovered that the ventilation canopies had to be self-supporting due to structural constraints.
Judges comment following their visit
Court has produced a robust kitchen to accommodate flight catering meal production. “The selection and arrangement of the kitchen was critical for this type of operation” said David Quirk, Alpha’s Facility Manager” and Courts certainly delivered”.
Member
Vision Commercial Kitchens Ltd
Project
Fortnum and Mason – Terminal 5 – Heathrow
Client
Fortnum and Mason
Brief
Vison had to design a facility that paid tribute to the traditional food halls of the client’s world famous Piccadilly operation. The finished design had to be visually stunning, exude luxury whilst replicating the traditional food halls but with a contemporary twist.
Judges comment from the entry form.
The project had to satisfy not only the client’s highly complex brief but also many stringent technical operational requirements imposed by the Airport operators.
Judges comment following their visit
Vision has created a stunning bar reflecting Fortnum and Mason’s historic brand. This was achieved against a demanding T5 specification and difficult working conditions. Zia Zareem-Slade, Fortnum and Mason’s Executive Director was exceptionally complimentary about the achievements of Jack Sharkey and his team from Vision.
Large projects category winner
Airedale Group Ltd
Wellington College – Crowthorne – Berkshire
Outstanding Customer Service
Member
Hatherley Commercial Services
Achievement
Universal Infant free School Meals provision for Nottinghamshire
Client
Nottinghamshire County Council
Task
HCS were tasked with ensuring that the uptake of school meals was met with the installation of new equipment and complete refurbishment of kitchens in 32 schools across the county.
Judges comment from the entry form.
For a small family business HCS were stretched by an unprecedented volume of orders which had to be completed within a very tight “summer holiday” period whilst still honouring existing service work commitments. By careful planning and a lot of hard work, they completed all on time.
Judges comment following their visit
Hatherley, a small company that in the past mainly focussed on service took on a demanding refurbishment and new build project for Nottinghamshire County Council School Meals during the 2014 summer holiday period achieving over 50 installations. We met Michelle Merian, Area Catering Manager and Hillery Stephens, Regional Catering Manager a site in College House Junior School. They could not praise highly enough the work that Hatherley had done to complete all these projects in the limited time available.
Member
Vision Commercial Kitchens Ltd
Achievement
Wilmott Dixon Residential Home Projects – Nationwide
Client
Wilmott Dixon
Task
Design, supply and install kitchens to a high standard for an average of 12 residential homes per year.
Judges comment from the entry form.
Vision have obviously developed a successful working relationship with their client and have been able to meet their continuing requirements by creating a number of standard templates for different size residential homes and being able to adapt these to differing building layout.
Judges comment following their visit
Vision has been working with Wilmott Dixon for 3 years producing quality installations for over 20 care homes and other schemes in education. We were impressed with the quality of their work at our site visit to Wombourne Care Centre. A subsequent meeting with Matt Somers, Wilmott Dixon’s Senior Project Surveyor confirmed their total faith in Vision and admiration for their work. This was reinforced by their commitment to many future projects.
Member
Inox Equip Ltd
Achievement
Surprise Surprise – The Soup Kitchen
Client
ITV
Task
Design, supply and install a kitchen in an existing building in a very short space of time and as it was for a charitable cause it had to be done free of charge and be filmed for this popular TV programme.
Judges comment from the entry form.
Inox Equip enlisted the help of other CEDA members and partners to source equipment donations and also were helped by specialist contractors who provided floor and wall finishes and a ventilation system. The whole project had to be completed in a few days whilst the operator who knew nothing of the project was on holiday.
Judges comment following their visit
This is an unremarkable installation with a mixture of equipment, however, what is remarkable is the impact that it has had on Brixton. “Without the kitchen we would not exist” said Solomon, the man behind this self-help project by the Brixton community providing hot food for the homeless and a focal point for those in need. Every credit should go to those CEDA members and suppliers who donated equipment and time, especially Mark Kendall and the Inox Equip team who pulled it all together and who continue to support it with free service and maintenance. This is certainly outstanding service to a customer in real need.
Outstanding Customer Service Winner
Inox Equip Ltd
Surprise Surprise – The Soup Kitchen
END
About CEDA
Formed over 40 years ago the Catering Equipment Distributors Association represents almost 100 of the leading catering equipment distributors in the UK, and partners with the best catering equipment manufacturers. The association pools knowledge and resources, drives forward professional standards through education and training, and ultimately allows its members to deliver excellent customer service to clients with foodservice operations in the private and public sectors.
Media contact: Matt Rowlands at AMP Public Relations email: [email protected], Tel: 07513 002136
Overall Winner
TAG Catering Equipment UK Ltd
Main Kitchen refurbishment – OXO Tower – London