We are less than a week away from the CEDA Grand Prix on Monday 15th June and we are proud to say that five of our projects have been shortlisted to win the prestigious industry award in their respective categories.
The ceda Grand Prix, hosted by ceda, is an acknowledgement and appreciation of the innovation and talent within the foodservice industry, awarding companies who have demonstrated excellence in design, project management, and customer service.
There is a sense of anticipation and excitement so strong you can taste it. We are thrilled to be attending once again, sitting among the brightest stars in the foodservice world; celebrating how far the industry has come and where it is heading.
When it comes to designing commercial kitchens, no two days are the same. Requirements and expectations of the clients, limitations of funding, physical space, regulations, legal requirements all culminate to a buffet of challenges that NWCE feasts and thrives from. It’s inescapable unexpected issues will always crop up regardless of how well prepared you are.
Keep reading, because we are going to take you journey of our five projects that have cemented themselves as excellent examples of what foodservice professionals are capable of in the foodservice industry.
Youth Zone Grimsby
Horizon Youth Zone (Youth Zone Grimsby) is a youth zone based in the centre of Grimsby, a port town in Lincolnshire. It is a registered charity. Horizon is a member of the OnSide Youth Zone network and emulates its structure of providing membership as cheap as possible or one-off entry fees for 8–19-year-olds (or up to 25 for those with additional needs).
A development of a fully functional and efficient kitchen, capable of supporting both back-of-house food preparation and front-of-house service within a cohesive layout was required to fulfil the needs of the youth zone.
Our design considerations were, therefore, predominantly composed of a back area for cooking food, and a front-of-house that synergise effortlessly. core part of the design was the cookline: designed to include Combi ovens, Griddle, 4-ring induction hob. Supplementary to the cookline, we incorporated hand wash basins preparation tables and prep sinks, blast chiller, refrigeration units, and dedicated dishwashing area.
The front-of-house space was also carefully considered, featuring a microwave convection oven, toaster, coffee machine, Hot water boiler, Service counter with integrated drop-in chilled and heated wells.
Our design team had to change their design when the client floorplans changed whilst planning the drawings. As a result, the front counter has a slight L shape, instead of a straight counter.
The feedback we received from this work has been humbling, with OnSide saying:
‘NWCE has worked with the wider net of youth zones for 3 years now, and the delivery on quality when it comes to site kitchens is second to none.
Their dedication to our kitchen at Grimsby Youth Zone is no exception and is a testament to their unwavering professionalism both in their efficiency and in the demands of the end user and the limitations and constraints the team had to undertake.’
SiSi Glasgow
Our kitchen designs travel across the border into Scotland with SiSi at The Social Hub, Glasgow.
SiSi rooftop Glasgow is one of two SiSi sites, with the other being based in Barcelona, Spain. Their menu is inspired by Mexicana flavours and features locally sourced produce. The company takes pride in sourcing from sustainable suppliers. Dishes such as guacamole, frijol negro, pollo fritto, and flautas are emblematic of the Mexicana palette that Sisi brings to Glasgow’s doorstep. SiSi flexes an equally diverse range of drinks such as cocktails, draughts, Tequila, and beers. This bar/restaurant opened its doors to the public in August 2025.
The installation at The Social Hub Rooftop, Glasgow, presented a complex set of architectural and regulatory hurdles that required innovative spatial planning and technical collaboration. Firstly, the structural and volumetric constraints restricted headroom: the site featured a lower-than-standard ceiling height, which was further reduced by a mandatory 300mm raised floor and the presence of two existing structural beams. Another challenge was mechanical integration. Significant coordination with M&E (Mechanical and Electrical) designers was required to strategically position ducting and ventilation components within these limited vertical clearances.
Secondly, we had to consider specialised ventilation requirements and internal containment. Because the space was not originally designed for culinary use, external duct routing was impossible. We had to devise a recirculating solution. To overcome this, a comprehensive bespoke recirculating system was utilised, allowing all air filtration and extraction to be contained entirely within the kitchen footprint.
To maintain strict food safety standards within a compact footprint, we implemented zonal separation and food safety isolated glass wash area; the glass wash station was sequestered to one side of the space.
We utilised high upstands on bespoke fabrications to provide a physical and hygienic boundary in the form of physical barriers, ensuring the area remained secluded from the primary food production zones.
Nobody wants a fire, especially not in the middle of kitchen rush hour. Fire safety and regulatory compliance and Scottish building standards are essential to guarantee legality and safety. Compliance with local regulations necessitated a minimum 1000mm clearance around the entire kitchen perimeter for emergency access.
A circuit flow design was successfully achieved by implementing a “circuit flow” layout, which provided two independent points of access/egress, optimising both safety and staff mobility.
We thoroughly enjoyed working on this project, and the feeling is mutual (as you will see below:
‘Working with NWCE on the SiSi Glasgow rooftop restaurant and bar was a genuinely positive experience. From early design through to handover, their team — designers, project managers, and engineers — approached every stage professionally and adapted well as challenges arose.’
The Social Hub Glasgow is a complex building in a busy city, and delivering a project like this comes with real logistical and spatial constraints. NWCE navigated these effectively and kept things moving.’
Ship, Greenwich Ground Floor
Variety is the spice of life, and our industry is by no means an exception to this rule. The Ship, Greenwich is a testament to how diverse a bar and kitchen can be.
The Ship is a Bistro Restaurant in Cutty Sark Gardens, Greenwich on the Pier Promenade in London. It is a ship shaped restaurant that showcases and symbolises the maritime history of the area through its interior design and menu, consisting of oysters, raw yellow tail, sole fillets, grilled meat, and vegetarian options. The Ship strives to be the centre of attention and a hub for socialising for tourists and locals alike.
The design of the bar required us to optimise a timber structure that had been predetermined by the architectural team.
Within this allocated space, we strategically positioned a cask dispenser area, an oversized double cocktail station, and two smaller cocktail stations placed off to the side to serve less frequented areas. All bar elements were installed on integrated plinths, a decision made to support hygiene standards. This approach later posed a challenge when, after the plinths were installed, the bar layout was requested to be altered.
At this stage, our redesign had to work around the fixed plinths, including their pre-allocated bin voids. For bottle storage, we specified glycol-powered coolers, which minimise operating costs, reduce indoor heat and noise emissions, and allow for centralised maintenance.
The ceiling beams intersected the canopy at two points; specifically, at the first and second thirds of the span. This arrangement required close coordination with the mechanical and electrical (M&E) contractor to ensure that ductwork could be properly routed to the spigots. Due to the flow ceiling design, the canopy needed to be installed flush against the beams to maximise available height and maintain compliance.
During the design phase, two large columns were originally positioned directly on the cookline. Multiple adjustments were made to the suite to accommodate these columns. Ultimately, a decision was made to remove them, creating a column-free space that remained structurally sound. This change greatly simplified the design process for the cooking suite.
NWCE has been exceptional in every aspect of their design, project management, and installation. This particular project was a large undertaking, and they coordinated teams both internal and external to their company with confidence and the highest degree of professionalism.
The kitchen, bar, and back of house needed to be consistent with the nautical theme of the establishment, reflecting the aesthetics and branding of The Ship whilst not losing any functional and practical elements required from these areas.
Here’s what our client had to say about our work on The Ship, Greenwich.
‘From the cookline layout and design incorporating a bespoke spoon sink for the chef to the unique cocktail bar stations for the mixologists, they tailored the design to our every operational need.
The complexity and the ambition of the design required NWCE to call upon their extensive expert knowledge of equipment selection, keen eye for ergonomics. An ingenuity for innovation and originality shone through in their designs.
Their expertise and dedication when it came to the implementation of this project was second to none.
Seeing The Ship come to life, serving the many customers that come to this iconic corner of London, has been astounding. From the very beginning, NWCE rose to the challenge and they did not disappoint.’
Mollies Diner
You can never go wrong with the classic burger and diner experience, that’s why we loved sinking our teeth into the Mollies Diner kitchen project in Manchester.
Mollies Motel & Diner’s, Manchester, is the third instalment of the Mollies Motel and Diner chain, being the largest venue of the three as well. This motel is located in Old Granada TV Studios which was the first purpose-built television studio in the UK, sustainably reusing an unused building rather than building a new one.
Mollie’s Motel and Diner has been described as ‘a modern take on the retro-American Diner’. Their menu includes but is not limited to milkshakes, buffalo hot wings, cheeseburgers, mac and cheese, and other staples of American food.
The lower ground floor presented a significant engineering challenge in adapting bespoke fabrication to house bottle coolers, frosters, and soda guns within a non-modular frame. On the ground floor, coordination issues arose from inconsistencies between the original Tricon specifications and tender documents.
For example, NWCE had to identify and advise on missing water connections required for the specified water-cooled ice machines. Furthermore, on Level 01, a major challenge occurred when the service area’s location was changed after the equipment had already been manufactured. This required a complex redesign to fit the existing units into a new footprint while re-coordinating all plumbing and utility connections.
Site-specific obstacles required rapid problem-solving, such as the discovery of a subwoofer box in the corner of the lower ground bar; NWCE resolved this by developing a custom shelf with sound-deadening materials to prevent vibration distortion. On the ground floor, poorly placed waste points by the main contractor created significant issues. One waste point behind a rack dishwasher threatened to cramp the “U-shaped” dishwash area, necessitating a redesign to ensure enough space for 2–3 operators. Another waste point behind the combi ovens required the wall to be boxed out to create a flush surface against the columns.
A testimonial from Mollie’s states that:
‘The installation was executed to an exceptional standard, with careful attention to detail and strong coordination with the wider construction team, which was extremely complex at times. The finished kitchens and spaces have significantly enhanced our operational efficiency and enabled our teams to deliver product consistently, to the desired standards & provide an excellent guest experience.’
Soho House, Manchester
Soho House is described as ‘global collection of clubs, hotels, restaurants and cinemas created mainly for people working in creative industries.’ Soho House is an internationally recognised private members club Manchester is the latest of 48 total ‘houses’ belonging to this group, being the first instalment in the north. Dishes include ‘Crab Fried Rice with shrimps, scallops and XO sauce from Soho House Bangkok, and House classics like Brick Chicken with spicy yoghurt, cherry tomatoes, grapes and basil from Soho Warehouse in Los Angeles.’ However, Soho House also has dishes inspired by local Mancunian cuisine ‘such as the House Pie with monthly rotating fillings and the House Broth’.
The Tricon design had a Lincat dewatering system which was designed into a piece of fabrication as a drop-in. this didn’t work due to how the machine operated and also that the client wanted to remove this as it caused issues with flow and the dumps area of the dishwash section. there were some design tasks where we tried to incorporate it, however it was decided to remove this item from the scheme and relocate it elsewhere.
Another challenge we had on level 7 was inconsistency with the M&E contractor. They placed ducting in the incorrect place, meaning that NWCE had to redesign some of the kitchen as canopies where unable to be installed.
To achieve this, we were able to place Ultravents on the Rationals and place them on a lowered stand to help with the clearance between the oven and low ceilings.
Soho House commends how our adaptability to our brief and
‘We have worked with NWCE on our recently opened house in Manchester, we found them to be responsive to our brief and ensured that our designs were enhanced with industry best practice. The repurposing of the existing 1950s building had multiple spatial and operational restrictions, including how we can efficiently serve food through multiple floors. We found NWCE to be proactive, collaborative and possessing a good attention to detail.’
Conclusion
These kitchens are just the tip of the iceberg. Every day, we get asked to design another client’s dream kitchen that will bring their culinary ambitions into fruition. Every year, we are asked to showcase are best ones, and every year, we are spoilt for choice.
Keep your eyes peeled for the Ceda Grand Prix results on Wednesday 17th June.
