Case study · Public sector
Maison Dieu, Dover
A three-zone, all-electric commercial kitchen and bar inside Dover's Grade I listed Maison Dieu, delivered as part of a £10.5m heritage restoration.
Client
Dover District Council
Location
Dover, Kent
Project value
£100k+
Build time
8 weeks
Capacity
Up to 300 covers per banquet
The brief
A commercial kitchen and bar inside a Grade I listed building
Dover District Council appointed Kent Commercial Kitchens direct for the catering package on the £10.5m restoration of the Maison Dieu — an 800-year-old, Grade I listed and Scheduled Monument building, restored under heritage main contractor Coniston Ltd.
The brief was a three-zone, all-electric commercial catering installation: a basement banqueting kitchen capable of serving up to 300 covers per banquet, a first-floor service kitchen to support events across multiple floors, and a bespoke bar to serve the Connaught Hall. The constraints were significant. Strict drill-and-fix rules across the listed fabric. No on-site gas. Heavy equipment to be moved through a working heritage building as planned logistics, with trained operatives and specialist lifting kit.
What we did
Three zones, all-electric, delivered in 8 weeks
Basement banqueting kitchen
The main production kitchen, designed to serve banquets of up to 300 covers across the building's event spaces. All-electric throughout — Rational combi ovens, Falcon cooking, Foster blast chiller and refrigeration, Maidaid rack conveyor dishwasher for high-volume service throughput. Walk-in cold and freezer rooms supplied and installed alongside.
First-floor service kitchen
A secondary food prep and service space supporting flexible event use across multiple floors. Compact layout optimised for quick service, full electrical and plumbing installation, stainless steel fabrication throughout for hygiene and durability.
Connaught Hall bar
A bespoke bar to serve the main event space. Bar fabrication and under-counter refrigeration, Scotsman ice machine, Hobart glasswasher, JE Hall refrigeration, full cellar cooling system. Supply and install of all bar service equipment and dispensers.
Equipment was specified manufacturer-by-manufacturer for an all-electric brief, with refrigeration sized for service-day peaks. Logistics planning was as much a design challenge as the kitchen itself: routes through the building agreed in advance with the heritage main contractor, heavy items moved by trained operatives with specialist lifting kit, every drill-fix point signed off against the listed-building consent.
Equipment specified
All-electric, service-spec
- Rational combi ovens — production cooking
- Falcon cooking equipment — banks across the banqueting kitchen
- Foster blast chiller, bottle fridges and refrigeration
- Maidaid rack conveyor dishwasher — banqueting throughput
- Scotsman ice machine — bar service
- Hobart glasswasher — bar service
- JE Hall refrigeration — cellar cooling
The installation
Inside the finished kitchens and bar
The outcome
Reopened to the public, 10 May 2025
After 800 years, the Maison Dieu reopened to the public as a permanent civic venue on 10 May 2025. The commercial kitchens and bar are now in regular service for banquets of up to 300 covers, civic functions, weddings, and community events. The catering installation was delivered in 8 weeks on the agreed programme, signed off against listed-building consent, and handed over for first service.
"The kitchen package was a critical-path element of a complex heritage build. Kent Commercial Kitchens designed for the building's constraints, sequenced their works around the wider programme, and signed off clean against listed-building consent. The catering installation hit handover on schedule."
- 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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