The National Catering Equipment Centre in Bristol opened earlier this month and, after fitting a high-tech 100m2 demonstration kitchen at the new Centre, the Space Interiors and wider Space team were recently down on site to see the final stages of the project come together.

With so many ongoing developments and innovations in the world of catering equipment, the National Catering Equipment Centre (or NCEC) welcomes industry professionals to a central place, where the best equipment and products – from over 40 leading suppliers – are showcased.

Space Interiors took on the role of the main contractor for the National Catering Equipment Centre, spending 5 months on site.  The key areas of the project included a mezzanine floor and glass balustrade, plus a versatile state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen and 18,000 square feet of exhibition space.  All this within a tight timeframe, needing close management to ensure all required works were complete ready for opening.

About the National Catering Equipment Centre (from the NCEC website)

There are 3 main areas of the NCEC

1) Exhibition Area
The exhibition area showcases over 40 industry leading brands. You’ll find over 1000 products with experts on hand to help you with everything from cooking machines to furniture.

2) Demo Kitchen
Our Brand Sales Development Chef will take you through brand comparisons, menu development and product demos.

3) Catering Store
Nisbets have moved their Avonmouth outlet within the NCEC.

View the time lapse video below of the NCEC project below:

NCEC (National Catering Equipment Centre) Timelapse from Space Group on Vimeo.

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“I would recommend Space to any catering team looking at a new build or refurbishment project”.

The feedback above was from Mark Farnsworth one of the directors at Tong Garden Centre in Bradford after the team at Space handed over their sparkling new restaurant design and server counters earlier this year.

The Tong Garden Centre design needed to be able to accommodate large numbers of customers through its very busy lunchtimes using a combination of servery counters to suit Tong’s offering of both self-service and served hot food. There needed to be a real emphasis placed on efficiency and how the customers would move through the new restaurant design.

The team at Space took the time to really understand the needs of the client, and exactly what they were looking for before starting the garden centre design project. Space pride themselves on understanding their clients and interpreting a given brief.  Using their experience, the Space team advise and propose options for consideration, allowing the client to choose the route based on their insight of their business and customers, delivering what is right for their restaurant.

The final garden centre design included two large servery counters the first being a large u-shape with deli counter serving coffee, cakes and cold drinks.  This counter also incorporates a small dish wash room located at the rear of the ‘U’.  This feature delivers a significant time-saving in getting clean crockery back for the customers to use.  The second of the two servery counters is an inline counter serving hot food.  This counter is beautifully finished in brushed aluminium with retracting hanging pendant heatlamps.

The whole project took twelve weeks from start to finish and after handover we received some wonderful feedback from the client, shared below:

“We were very pleased with Space Catering from the very outset of the project.  Their sales team listened to our requirements and added value where they could but didn’t force unnecessary equipment or unduly expensive items onto our schedule which was a refreshing change!  Once we got through to installation we were really impressed by Peter Dunne who project managed our installation.  Peter was very organised and ensured every little issue was handled efficiently and effectively.  In short, I would recommend Space to any catering team looking at a new build or refurbishment project”.

For anyone new to the phrase, a turnkey solution means that the client will only have to turn a key to have the business or project up and running. Giving the client the time to focus on their concept, their team and all the other tasks involved in launching or re-launching a business.

Turnkey solution project managers are adept at managing every element of a full-service project, making use of multiple disciplines from back of house equipment and design to front of house furniture and interiors.  Input from the client is reduced, making turn-key solutions efficient and cost effective.

Clients can expect a turnkey solution project to be returned to them and fully operable when they are ready.

So why choose a turnkey catering contractor for your next project?  Turnkey solutions take the stress out of projects, with one multi-discipline contractor to brief rather than multiple contractors.

With one contractor, projects are naturally more efficient, saving money and time.

The team at Space has many years of experience in delivering turn-key solutions in all types of hospitality setting. Their in-house expertise includes interior fit-out, layout & interior design, furniture, bespoke front-of-house countering & displays, back-of-house kitchen design layout, cooking platforms and ventilation systems

Space has a proven track-record in delivering turnkey commercial kitchens, restaurants and projects incorporating both front of house and back of house on time and within budget.

In 2016 Space handed over a 306-cover restaurant and kitchen to a very happy management team at the Poplars Garden Centre in Dunstable.  On this project Space were really able to flex their design muscles, incorporating an eclectic mix of side chairs, booth seating, bench seating and tub chairs. Feature pendant lights, and – to create a real sense of theatre for the dine in customers – a pizza prep & cooking area with distressed timber plank fascia and built-in live flame pizza oven was installed as central feature.

Other projects where Space has delivered complete turn-key solutions include All Saints Academy in Cheltenham and The Hut Group in Warrington, Cheshire.

All Saints Academy needs to cater for 1500 pupils and staff every day of the week.  Along with this very busy cafeteria, this project also called for a stand-alone ‘Food to Go’ café servery providing a variety of snacks and refreshments during break periods and a food technology training kitchen that would enable catering students to gain their BTEC qualifications in an authentic cooking environment.

The Hut Group project was delivered in just 13 weeks with only 34 days spent on site.  This timeframe in particular shows the benefit of using Space as your turnkey catering contractor – the faster your project is turned around, the sooner you will be able to open the doors and do what you do best – start trading and looking after your customers.

Get in touch today to talk to us about your project mail@spacegroupuk.com