An Altro floor-to-ceiling solution has helped to provide celebrity chef, Richard Bainbridge, with a dream kitchen for his award-winning Norwich restaurant.
Richard won BBC2’s Great British Menu in 2015, and opened Benedicts, in Norwich, three years ago. The restaurant has since won a raft of awards and been named in The Times Top 100 Restaurants in the UK, Square Meal Top 100, and been awarded 3AA Rosettes.
“We opened Benedicts on a shoestring, all we had was passion and dedicated staff,” says Richard. “I’m delighted to say that our hard work is now bringing us some great success, and first on the list was that new kitchen. My vision was to expand, with a new extension into the back-of-house to form a larger, more open working environment, with dedicated preparation areas, including a new bakery and butchery zones.
“I promised my staff that as soon as we had the money, I would put in the professional kitchen they deserved, one that we would all be proud to work in, which is what we’ve now done.
“It was essential that the kitchen was modern, well-equipped, easy to maintain and clean, safe, practical and the best possible working environment for my staff. I approached Elite Foodservice Design with my brief and they immediately understood what we wanted to achieve.
“They also impressed me as having superb knowledge, experience and some great ideas — one of which was their recommendation of a top-down Altro solution of floors and walls to give us the integrated, hygienic, sealed box I wanted to work in.”
Daniel Ridd, Design Manager at Elite, says: “The proven combination of Altro Stronghold 30 safety flooring and Altro Whiterock White wall sheet is one we install widely in hard-working commercial kitchens.
“It’s a bullet-proof system that always delivers, so we knew it would be ideal for Benedicts too. Elite has been an Altro Whiterock Premier Installer for many years, and this system is the best you can get.”
Richard Bainbridge adds: “We now have a beautiful new kitchen and everyone at Benedicts is so proud of it. The Altro floor-to-ceiling solution is playing a key role in bringing everything together and it completely delivers on its promise.
“The Altro floor is incredible; it’s not only great to look at, but very safe underfoot, and so easy to clean. Elite put in some gulleys so water drains away, and that’s particularly good for the cleaning regime, as it dries very quickly.
“The wall sheet is superb, with nowhere for the dirt to hide, it’s professional, bright and, again, very easy to clean. When you work the long hours we do, you want to spend as little time as possible cleaning, but it’s so easy to keep this system pristine.
“Our dream of a beautiful kitchen is a reality. We are now happy to show customers around the kitchen. With our reputation growing, having a kitchen like this is a huge boost and has made us even more ambitious. It will enable us raise our game, set higher standards for ourselves, and create even better food for our customers.”
The Altro floor-to-ceiling solution
Altro Stronghold™ 30 achieves Altro’s highest rating for slip resistance and is designed to minimise risk in areas exposed to grease, oils and fats for the lifetime of the flooring. As well as helping to keep staff safe from slips, it also helps reduce their fatigue, thanks to its 3mm thickness which provides noise reduction and comfort underfoot.
Altro has added five new colours to the Altro Stronghold range and also increased the guarantee from 15 to 20 years.
Altro Whiterock White is the perfect, hygienic alternative to ceramic wall tiles, offering a proven, high performance option. Impact resistant, grout-free and easy to clean, its smooth white surface and classic purity make it a timeless choice for any interior.
Altro Whiterock White is made from a high-quality, food-safe PVCu polymer that can handle temperatures up to 60°C. It meets all current European Union (EU) Directives on health and hygiene, making it particularly suitable for commercial kitchens.
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