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The Castle Dairy Restaurant is a dining experience unlike any other. Situated in one of Kendal’s oldest buildings, the restaurant and apprenticeship academy mixes fine dining and catering education with outstanding results.
CHR’s renovation of the kitchen was entered in the CEDA Grand Prix awards under the MEDIUM-SIZED PROJECT category and was awarded outstanding achievement.
The Castle Dairy Restaurant is a 14th Century, Grade 1 listed building in Kendal. The standard of its service led to a recommendation in the prestigious Michelin guide.
CHR had previously overseen a redesign and fit out of the Castle Dairy’s kitchen. This kitchen had a bearing on the restaurant’s outstanding culinary achievements. However, along with much of Cumbria, the building then suffered terrible flooding.
The damage caused by flooding led to the Castle Dairy Restaurant re-enlisting CHR to design a new kitchen.
This project was fraught with issues regarding council negotiations and permissions but a plan was eventually drawn up and agreed. CHR designed a kitchen that would:
Thanks to CHR’s careful planning and expert knowledge, the Castle Dairy now enjoys a kitchen that addresses all these issues.
An early-warning system was installed to alert staff of impending floods.
One of the new main defences against flooding in the kitchen is its ability to be raised in-situ, preventing water ingress. This is achieved through the application of a boxed stainless steel plinth and manual pump lift on the main Eco-Chef induction suite.
In addition, CHR reworked the electrics and induction equipment to be fed down from the ceiling rather than from below. This provides a safety guard of raising water to over 800mm.
All electrical components are now located in the top 1/3rd of the machine, further improving safety. All cabinets were manufactured to be easy to clean, with nowhere to harbour bacteria. In the event of a flood, this equipment could be steam cleaned rather than needing to be replaced.
Whatever equipment could not be made safe in its own position was made portable for swift and easy removal.
CHR reinstalled an Eco-Chef energy-efficient cooking suite as one had been in use before the flood. This technology conserves as much energy as possible and helps to prevent waste and excessive energy bills. Some original parts could be reused, helping to keep client costs down.
Conduction heating was installed, along with hydrocarbon refrigeration. These efficient technologies further safeguarded the operation against excessive energy consumption. Ventilation was also optimised and programmed to run only when required rather than all day.
These alterations helped the Castle Dairy Restaurant operate as efficiently as possible.
CHR always work hard to make each project sustainable. Local labour was employed on this project, helping to stimulate the economy. In addition, 85% of the hardware was designed and manufactured in the UK.
The Castle Dairy Restaurant represented significant challenges for the team, not least of which was its position in a Grade 1 listed building. CHR provided a huge amount of advice and organisation to complete the project in a timely and satisfactory manner.
The project was completed on-time and within budget, allowing the kitchen staff to begin serving exceptional food to the people of Kendal once again.