DAVENTRY-based Catering Design Group (CDG), the award-winning restaurant and commercial kitchen design company, has completed a transformation of the catering and dining facilities at Whitgift School in South Croydon, an independent school for boys aged 10 to 18.
CDG was recommended to the school by its caterer Chartwells, following previous collaborations on several successful independent school projects. The brief to CDG was to design and build an extension to the existing dining facility, ensuring it was in keeping with the aesthetics of the school and its historic parkland setting, whilst reflecting its reputation and high-quality offering. As part of the brief, CDG was also commissioned to create a dedicated area for staff and boarders, which would allow for an increase in capacity and enhanced dining experience.
Additionally, the wider brief also included an upgrade to the kitchen and supporting back-of-house areas, including the supply and installation of new cooking equipment, the conversion of an existing dry store into a dedicated chilled prep area and the creation of a new, external dry store.
The designs for the new extension feature a seating area with a small hospitality/meeting space. The area is glazed to retain a sense of space whilst still offering privacy for up to 12 people for use across a variety of functions.
Furniture, lighting and finishes were chosen to provide a more contemporary, fresh approach, whilst remaining sympathetic to the traditional features and architecture of the school. Feature parquet flooring was used in the dining space and limestone-effect flooring in the servery.
To elevate the space to give a premium feel, the CDG team created a ceiling coffer with integrated lighting to frame the seating area, whilst large industrial style pendants were strategically positioned over the food counters and central seating areas, adding a burst of colour to break up the space.
For further information visit www.cateringdesign.co.uk or call 01327 314860.