Case study · Restaurants & cafés
Hartfields Coffee & Kitchen, Uckfield
Specifically, Café kitchen refurbishment Uckfield — Café kitchen expansion and refurbishment in Uckfield, East Sussex — knocked through into the adjacent building, stacked Rational combi ovens, Blue Seal cookline, Bioclad cladding, Altro Stronghold flooring and refrigerated servery counters front of house.
Client
Hartfields
Location
Uckfield, East Sussex
Project value
£50k–£100k
Build time
4 weeks
The brief
Café kitchen refurbishment Uckfield: growing café that had outgrown its kitchen
Hartfields Coffee & Kitchen is an independent café and produce store on Uckfield High Street in East Sussex — a well-established local business with a loyal customer base and a menu that had grown considerably since the kitchen was first fitted. With an expanding dining area taking over the adjacent building, the kitchen needed to follow.
The brief was to knock through into the neighbouring unit and build out a larger, properly zoned kitchen — retaining usable existing equipment where possible, upgrading surfaces and appliances throughout, and delivering a clearly defined layout with dedicated zones for storage, prep, cooking, servery and dishwashing. Completed in four weeks with James and his team continuing to trade where possible during the works.
What we did
Expansion and full refurbishment in 4 weeks
Structural knock-through and extraction upgrade
Wall removed between the two buildings to create the expanded kitchen footprint. Existing extraction canopy extended to span the new cooking line — lengthened to accommodate a stacked pair of Rational SelfCookingCenter combi ovens without adding floor-standing columns. Blue Seal cooking equipment installed alongside on the main line.
Hygienic wall cladding, flooring and ceiling
Bioclad UPVC hygienic wall cladding installed throughout — covering both the original kitchen and the extended area for a consistent, cleanable finish. Altro Stronghold slip-resistant safety flooring laid across the full floor area. Suspended wipe-clean ceiling fitted with integrated LED lighting throughout the kitchen.
Appliances and kitchen zoning
Stacked Rational SelfCookingCenter combi ovens as the anchor of the new cooking suite. Blue Seal appliances across the cookline. Hoshizaki refrigeration and Maidaid dishwasher. Jordao display equipment for the servery. Kitchen laid out in defined zones — storage, preparation, cooking, servery and dishwashing — to improve workflow across a busier service.
Front-of-house refrigerated counters
Refrigerated servery counters supplied and installed front of house to support the café's fresh food display — integrated with the refurbished customer-facing area to maintain a consistent finish throughout the whole operation.
Equipment specified
Specified for a growing café operation
- Rational SelfCookingCenter combi ovens — stacked pair under extended canopy
- Blue Seal cooking appliances — main cookline
- Hoshizaki refrigeration — cold storage
- Maidaid dishwasher — warewashing
- Jordao display equipment — servery
- Refrigerated servery counters — front of house
- Bioclad UPVC hygienic wall cladding — full kitchen coverage
- Altro Stronghold safety flooring — slip-resistant throughout
- Suspended ceiling with LED lighting — wipe-clean finish
- Bespoke stainless steel fabrication — prep benches and sink runs
The installation
Inside the refurbished kitchen
The outcome
A kitchen built to match the business
Hartfields now operates from a properly sized, fully zoned kitchen — built to support a growing café with more covers, a wider menu and higher throughput. Delivered in four weeks as a direct appointment, entirely in-house.
"Just a quick email to say that we are over the moon with our new wash-up area, kitchen and serving counter and feel that you and the team have been very supportive and knowledgeable in response to my many phone calls! This makes a huge difference to the usual dealings with other companies who just sell you a product and have no real knowledge and leave you stranded. Keep up the great work and we will be back for more."
- CEDA Member The Catering Equipment Distributors Association — UK's voice for foodservice equipment specialists.
- ISO 9001 · 14001 · 45001 Certified The only Kent commercial kitchen design-and-install firm certified to all three.
- F-Gas Certified Certified to handle and install refrigerants in commercial refrigeration and cooling equipment.
- Gas Safe Registered All commercial gas installations carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers.
- Part of Advantage Catering Equipment Kent's design, supply and service specialists since 2003.
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